Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Rightcard Payment Services Limited trading as Lemfi

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C complained that Lemfi refused to reimburse £314 she lost to a task-based job scam in March 2026. The ombudsman found that the international payment did not appear suspicious given Lemfi's business model, was not remarkable in value relative to daily transaction volume, and that Miss C's vulnerable financial position was unknown to the firm. Although Lemfi attempted payment recall, the one-day delay before Miss C reported the scam meant funds were likely already withdrawn. The complaint was not upheld as Lemfi could not fairly be held responsible for the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While firms should take steps to identify and prevent unusual or uncharacteristic payments, it is not reasonable to expect intervention on every payment. The transaction did not bear hallmarks of a job scam, the payment amount was not remarkable relative to Lemfi's daily volume, and Miss C's vulnerable position was unknown to the firm. Although Lemfi could have attempted recovery sooner, the delay of one day before reporting meant scammers likely already debited the funds, making recovery unlikely.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website