Unauthorised payments
If you did not consent to the payment, the Payment Services Regulations generally require the firm to refund it, unless the firm can show you consented or that you were grossly negligent with your security details. A wrong guess from the bank is not the same as evidence.
Authorised push payment scams
Where you did consent, because you were deceived, a mandatory reimbursement scheme covers many consumer Faster Payments and CHAPS payments made in the UK on or after 7 October 2024. In broad terms:
- The claim should be raised within 13 months of the last payment in that scam.
- The scheme cap is £85,000 per claim. A firm may pay more. The cap is not the Ombudsman’s cap.
- A firm may take an excess of up to £100, but not from a customer whose vulnerability meant the excess would be wrong.
- Firms aim to reimburse eligible claims within five business days, and they can pause to investigate, up to 35 business days.
- International payments, many card payments, civil disputes, and payments for an unlawful purpose sit outside the scheme.
When the scheme does not apply
Older losses, and payments the scheme excludes, can still be a complaint about whether the firm treated you fairly and watched for the risk it could see. The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at those complaints. For complaints referred on or after 1 April 2026, its money-award limit is £455,000 where the act or omission was on or after 1 April 2019, and £205,000 where it was earlier.
This is a plain-English map, not legal advice. Rules and limits change. The Payment Systems Regulator and the Financial Ombudsman Service publish the current versions.