Partially upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms F lost £840 to a travel scam after making two payments of £420 each to a money transfer firm on behalf of a fraudulent holiday company. Santander intervened on one payment and spoke to Ms F by phone, warning her not to pay the money transfer firm directly, but did not adequately explain the specific risks of travel-related fraud. The ombudsman found Santander should have done more to highlight red flags such as suspicious discounts and the firm opening an account on her behalf. However, Ms F was given clear warnings and proceeded anyway, so the ombudsman applied a 50% contributory negligence deduction. Santander was ordered to refund 50% of the loss (£420) plus interest and £50 compensation for an incorrect letter.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Santander should have provided more detailed warnings about travel-related fraud risks during its intervention call, specifically highlighting that the discounted prices might be 'too good to be true', querying whether Ms F felt under pressure, and explaining the risks of cloned firms. If adequate warnings had been given, the scam would have been prevented. However, Ms F bears some responsibility because she was explicitly warned multiple times not to pay the money transfer firm and proceeded anyway, despite clear red flags including the firm opening an account on her behalf and offering suspicious discounts. A 50% contributory negligence deduction is therefore fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website