Thousands of bank customers wrongly denied refunds – what to do if you’re owed money

Thousands of banking customers were wrongly denied refunds after falling victim to fraud, new data from the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) shows.

Digital-only bank Monzo, wrongly denied 34% of 3,372 fraud and scam complaints, while NatWest incorrectly rejected 33% of 1,972 cases.

Multinational bank HSBC erroneously declined 32% of 2,535 fraud complaints.

Some £629.3 million was stolen through payment fraud in the first six months of 2025, up 3% from the same period in 2024, according to figures from UK Finance.

Authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where the criminal tricks customers into sending money, is one of the most common types of scams.

This included investment scams, romance scams, purchase scams and impersonation scams.

Customers lost £372 million to APP fraud in the first half of 2025, with just over 1.98 million cases being reported.

What to do if you think you’re owed money

New rules introduced in 2024 by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), mean that banks must repay customers who fall victim to APP fraud.

You can claim up to £85,000 back from your bank as standard, however, providers can choose to repay more than that on a case by case basis.

To start your claim, you’ll contact your back directly or call 159, which will connect you to your bank’s fraud team.

Refunds usually take around five business days from making the claim or up to 35 days if your bank needs more time to process the details.

If your claim is refused, you can file a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Servic,e which will review your case and could help to get your money back.