Bank scam reimbursement depends on how the money moved, when the payment happened and the circumstances of the fraud. Mandatory rules protect many UK bank transfer victims, but they do not cover every scam payment. Contact your bank immediately rather than waiting to establish eligibility yourself. I would keep the payment records and ask which reimbursement rules the bank is applying to the claim.
1. Which payments qualify for bank scam reimbursement?
The mandatory authorised push payment, or APP, rules cover eligible UK Faster Payments and CHAPS transfers made on or after 7 October 2024. APP fraud means you were deceived into authorising a transfer to an account controlled by someone else. Consumers, microenterprises and eligible charities are protected.
Card payments, cash withdrawals, international transfers and cryptocurrency payments are outside this particular scheme. Payments to an account you control are also outside it, although other complaint routes may remain available. Someone taking money without your authorisation is a different category with separate protections. Describe the whole payment chain to the bank.
2. Is every failed purchase treated as fraud?
No. A dispute with a genuine supplier over defective goods or an undelivered service is not automatically an APP scam. The bank must distinguish deception from a civil dispute. Explain why you believe the seller intended to defraud you, including false identity details or evidence that the supposed goods never existed.
An article on Local News Point cannot classify your individual transaction. Keep the advert, order messages and payment instructions so the bank can assess what you were promised and why you sent the money.
3. How much can be reimbursed?
The mandatory maximum is £85,000 per scam claim. A payment firm may reimburse more voluntarily. The limit does not mean that every bank account or payment within one scam creates another £85,000 allowance.
Banks may apply an excess of up to £100 per claim, but can choose a lower amount or none. An excess cannot be applied where the consumer was vulnerable in relation to the particular scam. Claims below £100 are not excluded by a separate minimum threshold, although an applicable excess can reduce the reimbursement to nothing.
4. When should I claim, and how long does it take?
Report as soon as you suspect the scam. A firm can reject a claim made more than 13 months after the final scam payment in that claim. Do not use that outer deadline as a reason to delay: early reporting can help attempts to recover funds.
Reimbursement should ordinarily happen within five business days. In specified circumstances the firm can pause that clock while gathering information, but it must conclude the claim within 35 business days. Keep the reporting date and reference. General coverage through Weekly Journal does not establish when your individual claim clock began.
5. Can the bank refuse because I authorised payment?
Authorising a payment is part of the definition of APP fraud, not an automatic reason to refuse reimbursement. Exceptions include fraudulent involvement by the claimant and gross negligence in meeting the consumer standard of caution. Gross negligence is a high threshold, and the firm must demonstrate it.
The standard concerns specific warnings, prompt reporting, reasonable information requests and police reporting or consent. Explain circumstances that made you especially susceptible to this scam. Where relevant vulnerability materially affected your ability to protect yourself, the gross negligence exception and excess must not be applied.
6. What evidence should I provide?
Supply dates, amounts, recipient details, messages and an accurate timeline, including warnings and what the scammer told you. Respond to genuine information requests through trusted bank channels. Preserve the bank’s explanation for any refusal. Press Hubs is a website, not a place to submit confidential claim documents.
7. What if I disagree with the outcome?
Ask the bank to explain its decision in writing.
Complain to the bank first. For payment service complaints, it normally has 15 business days to respond, extending to 35 in exceptional circumstances. After its final response, or the applicable deadline, approach the free Financial Ombudsman Service. A scheme exclusion or reimbursement cap does not automatically end every possible complaint about the bank’s conduct.
This guide reflects rules checked on 29 October 2026 and provides general information; individual reimbursement decisions depend on the payment and evidence.
