Bank Fraud Complaints - Free Guide

About this guide

With ever-rising levels of bank fraud and financial crime, people do not just need to be extra careful but hold their banks to account if they fail to protect them.

You may not be aware but some regulations state that banks should reimburse victims of financial crime if they did not provide adequate security measures.

In this guide, we explain some common types of bank fraud, the process to follow if you’re targeted and how you can complain to get your losses reimbursed by your bank.

Types of bank fraud

Push Payment scams

Authorised push payment (APP) scams are especially common these days. Fraudsters manipulate people into authorising the transfer of money by pretending to be a legitimate payee.

They will send emails, texts or call you asking for the payment of an invoice, encouraging you to make an investment or purchase goods or services that will never arrive.

Online fraudsters are prepared to do anything to take your savings – including posing as a romantic interest or health guru. But once you’ve sent them money you will be ghosted.

Credit card scams

With tools like AI at their disposal, scammers are increasingly sophisticated and can steal credit card details more easily than ever before.

Phishing scams are a common way of stealing credit card details. Scammers lure you onto fake or clone websites and ask you to provide your credit card details – this can be under the pretence of re-arranging a parcel delivery, buying a product or updating your information for holiday booking. Once you’ve put your details into the fake webpage, cybercriminals are free to use your credit card – leaving people with shocking amounts of debt before they’ve even noticed something is wrong.

Crypto scams

Since the rise of Bitcoin in the early noughties, people have been obsessed with cashing in on the boom in cryptocurrencies. While some people have ended up in the black by cashing in their crypto, all the hype has created a perfect opportunity for scammers to steal from people investing their life savings.
Crypto scammers will get you to “invest” in a currency or scheme or request a “crypto-exchange” to a trading platform that doesn’t exist and then make off with your money.

Reporting fraud

Whatever kind of scam you have been caught up in, the most important thing to do is report it to your bank as soon as possible.

Whether you’ve had money taken from your account, or had financial details compromised, your bank can take measures to obstruct the scammers and protect you – cancelling cards, blocking money transfers or freezing accounts to prevent further access to your finances and financial information.

You should also report the crime to the police through Action Fraud: you can call 0300 123 2040 or use their online reporting tool. They’ll log the incident and give you a crime reference number.

Remember, the sooner you report suspicious activity the more likely the bank can give you your money back. Any of the following things should warrant a call to your bank to report it:

If you notice an unauthorised payment.
If you see an unknown charge on your credit card.
If you see unfamiliar charges or receive notifications that suggest someone is accessing your account from another device.
If you sent a payment to someone yourself but think it may have been a scammer.

Getting your money back

Banks often refund scammed money – but it is not guaranteed. Your bank’s policies, the payment method used, the type of scam and how long you took to report it will all affect whether you are immediately entitled to a reimbursement of the funds stolen.

The Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code is a voluntary code that a number of financial businesses signed in 2019. It states that victims will have funds reimbursed to them if the money lost was through a bank fraud or scam. There are some exceptions, such as if the customer ignored “Effective Warnings” from their bank or authorised a payment without having a reasonable basis for believing the payee was legitimate.

However, if a victim is classed as vulnerable, these exceptions would not apply. This code also states that banks should reimburse victims of financial crime if they do not provide adequate measures to protect them.

Complaining to your bank

While banks are generally obligated to refund money lost to fraud, they may deny the refund if they think you were somehow negligent or involved in the scam. However, this can often overlook the vulnerability of customers – or additional measures the bank themselves should have taken to secure your account.

If the bank has refused to automatically reimburse your loss, and you think you have a compelling case for how the fraudsters were able to target you due to the bank’s own security failures, it is worth submitting a complaint.

Use Resolver to raise a complaint for free

When complaining, you should provide as much detailed evidence as you can. Try to include things like:

Conversations with your landlord about disrepair issues, including the date you spoke and anything they agreed to do to address the problem.
Copies of any communications – letters, emails or texts you’ve sent to or received from your landlord.
Reports from surveyors, Environmental Health Officers, pest control or any other experts who have visited your home.

Going to the Financial Ombudsman

If your bank rejects your complaint or takes more than eight weeks to give you a proper response, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for an independent investigation.

As well as providing evidence relating to the fraud itself, you should also provide copies of your complaint to the bank and subsequent correspondence – to show that they have failed to adequately respond to your concerns or refused to reimburse your losses.

To send a complaint to the FOS, you can use the escalation function in your Resolver case file, or submit it directly via their website: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/make-complaint

If they find that you’ve been treated unfairly by your bank, they’ll ask them to put things right. This would usually mean putting you back in the financial position you’d be in if the scam hadn’t happened.

Depending on the nature of the issue and complaint it might include asking a bank to refund a disputed transaction with interest (usually calculated at 8% per year).

Making a bank fraud claim

We know that people who have been victimised by financial scams have already gone through an extremely stressful ordeal – and often lost their faith in financial institutions to fulfil their duty of care. We understand that in these circumstances the process of complaining can add more distress – or put people off pursuing fair treatment.

If you’ve experienced financial losses due to bank fraud, our recommended provider UK Fraud Helpline could pursue a bank fraud claim on your behalf.

Claiming, rather than just complaining or going to court by yourself, will save you time and energy and you should be protected from legal costs later on – paying a fee only if you are awarded compensation.