My bank will not refund the money I was scammed out of — what now?

Banks refuse reimbursement for a small number of stated reasons, and most of them can be answered. What matters is turning a phone conversation into a documented complaint, because the Ombudsman works from documents and the bank's own file.

Safety

Step by step

1. Get the decision and the reasons in writing.Ask for the refusal, the specific reason, and the evidence relied on. If they say you ignored a warning, ask which warning, when it was shown, and what it said. You cannot rebut reasoning you have not seen.
2. Raise a formal complaint, not another enquiry.Use the word complaint explicitly, in writing, through the bank's complaints route. That starts a regulated clock and produces a final response letter, which is the document the Ombudsman needs.
3. Answer the reason given, point by point.Set out what you were told, what the bank's warning actually said, why it did not describe your situation, and what the bank could have done — for example whether the payment was out of character and whether it was queried.
4. Raise vulnerability if it applies, explicitly.Age, illness, disability, bereavement, a recent life event, capacity, English as a second language, or being under sustained psychological pressure. The rules treat vulnerable customers differently and the bank cannot take it into account if you have not said it.
5. Ask what the bank did with the information you gave it.Whether it contacted the receiving bank, when, whether funds remained, and what the receiving bank said. The sending and receiving banks share liability, and a delay at either end is relevant.
6. Wait for the final response or eight weeks.Whichever comes first. You then have six months from the date of a final response to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, so do not sit on the letter.
7. Take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.Free to you. Submit the timeline, the payment details, the complaint, the final response, the crime reference number and the evidence. The Ombudsman can direct the firm to reimburse, plus interest and sometimes compensation for distress.
8. Keep everything in one place.One folder with the timeline, every letter, every reference number and the police report. The strength of these cases is almost entirely in the documentation.

Tips

• If the complaint is about the receiving bank's failure to act — a mule account it should have stopped — the Ombudsman can consider a complaint against that bank too. Ask the Ombudsman how to raise it.
• Free help exists: Citizens Advice can help you frame the complaint, and Victim Support offers help to fraud victims. Neither charges.
• Interest is claimable on the sum from the date of loss. Ask for it explicitly.

Common mistakes

• Arguing on the phone for weeks — Calls do not create the paper trail the Ombudsman needs, and the eight-week clock does not start until the complaint is properly logged.
• Missing the six-month window after a final response — It is a hard deadline. Refer to the Ombudsman as soon as you have the letter, even if you plan to add material later.
• Using a claims management company — They take a cut of an award you can obtain free. The Ombudsman service is designed to be used without representation.

Questions people ask