Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained that HSBC failed to protect him from losing money to a scam involving multiple payments from his HSBC account to his own third-party payment service provider account in 2025. HSBC had intervened in many payment instructions and questioned Mr L, who confirmed no third parties were involved and the funds would remain in his control. The ombudsman found that Mr L authorised the payments and bore presumed liability under The Payment Services Regulations, and that HSBC's interventions were reasonable given the payments were to Mr L's own account. The ombudsman was not persuaded HSBC reasonably ought to have prevented the payments or invoked the Banking Protocol, and could not hold HSBC responsible for recovery since the funds remained in Mr L's own account. The complaint was not upheld, though HSBC's previous refund of £2,900 was acknowledged.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while HSBC should take proactive steps to identify potentially fraudulent transactions, the payments in this case were to Mr L's own account for seemingly valid reasons. HSBC intervened multiple times and Mr L confirmed the funds would remain in his control. The ombudsman was not persuaded that HSBC reasonably ought to have invoked the Banking Protocol or that different questioning would have changed the outcome. Since Mr L authorised the payments and they were to his own account, he bore presumed liability under The Payment Services Regulations. The ombudsman could not fairly hold HSBC responsible for losses caused by fraudsters, nor could it say HSBC unreasonably hindered recovery since the funds would have remained in Mr L's own third-party account.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website