Not upheld: scam refund liability complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Miss N lost nearly £9,000 in a 'pump and dump' investment scam after being contacted on WhatsApp by a fraudster posing as an investment advisor. She made approximately 15 payments to two legitimate FCA-authorised investment platforms between June 12-27, 2025, and subsequently discovered the stock she purchased was worthless. Miss N complained to Nationwide Building Society seeking a refund, but the bank rejected her claim. The ombudsman found that the payments were not unusual enough to have triggered additional fraud checks, as they were made to regulated platforms, were relatively low value, and matched Miss N's prior spending patterns. Consequently, the complaint was not upheld and Nationwide was not held responsible for the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the payment instructions were not unusual enough to warrant additional checks before processing. The payments to regulated FCA-authorised platforms would not have appeared suspicious, the values were relatively low and consistent with Miss N's typical spending patterns, and the frequency matched her prior behaviour. While Nationwide has obligations to protect consumers from fraud in certain circumstances, these are not absolute, and 'pump and dump' scams are relatively rare. The payment activity did not present sufficient risk of financial harm from fraud to require intervention.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website