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

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that Barclays Bank UK should refund £33,000 he lost after making payments to what he believed was a scam trading platform in December 2024. Although Mr O's account showed profits, the funds were never received. Barclays concluded the platform was legitimate and no scam had taken place. The ombudsman upheld Barclays' position, finding that Mr O had not provided sufficient evidence of contact with a scammer, fraudulent instructions, or proof that he was tricked into making the payments. The payments were made to a legitimate trading platform to an account in Mr O's control, and without evidence of deception, the ombudsman could not conclude a scam had occurred. The complaint was not upheld and no refund was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Payment Services Regulations 2017 framework, noting that bank obligations to protect customers from fraud are based on fraud or a scam being present. The key issue was whether Mr O had evidenced a loss due to a scam. The ombudsman found that Mr O had not provided sufficient evidence of contact with a scammer, instructions to transfer money, or evidence showing he was tricked into making payments. Without evidence of how the scam unfolded, what instructions were given, and the full journey of payments, the ombudsman could not safely conclude that Mr O was tricked as part of a scam. The payments were to a legitimate platform to an account Mr O controlled.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website