APP scam refund checker

Check the likely route

Do not wait for a perfect explanation

Call the bank immediately using official contact details. Then write down the payment reference, account name, sort code, account number, date, amount, platform or person involved, and the warnings shown before you paid.

Who the reimbursement rules cover

Since 7 October 2024, UK payment firms have had to reimburse most victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams. An APP scam is one where you were tricked into sending the money yourself: to a fake solicitor or builder, to a "safe account" suggested by someone posing as your bank, to a romance scammer, or to a seller who never existed. Because you authorised the payment, it is not treated as an unauthorised transaction, which is why a separate set of rules was needed.

The rules are set by the Payment Systems Regulator. The Government is legislating to merge the regulator into the FCA, and its proposals keep these powers in substance.

What to do in the first hour

1. Stop paying. Do not send anything else, however urgent the other person makes it sound, and stop replying to them.
2. Call your bank. If you are not sure a number is genuine, dial 159. It connects you to the fraud team at banks covering more than 99% of UK current accounts, it cannot be spoofed, and 159 will never call you.
3. Report the crime. Report Fraud has replaced Action Fraud for England, Wales and Northern Ireland: use reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
4. Keep the evidence. Save the messages, emails and adverts, the payee's name, sort code and account number, the payment reference and time, and any warning your banking app showed before you paid.
5. Secure your accounts. If you shared passwords, card details or one-time codes, change them and tell your bank straight away.

How your bank decides

Your own bank, the firm that sent the money, handles the claim. The sending and receiving firms split the cost of a refund 50:50, so both have a reason to act. Once you report the scam, the bank should reimburse you within 5 business days. It can pause the clock to ask you for more information, but it must reach an outcome within 35 business days.

The bank may deduct an excess of up to £100. It can refuse altogether only if you took part in the fraud or were grossly negligent, and the burden of proving gross negligence falls on the bank. The regulator describes gross negligence as a higher standard than ordinary negligence: a significant degree of carelessness. It is judged against four expectations, and a bank cannot add others through its terms and conditions:

1. Warnings. Have regard to a specific warning from your bank or the police that set out how likely the payment was to be a scam.
2. Prompt reporting. Report the scam as soon as you realise, and no later than 13 months after the last payment.
3. Information. Answer reasonable and proportionate requests from your bank about the claim.
4. Police. If your bank asks, report the scam to the police or agree to the bank reporting it for you.

If you were vulnerable to that particular scam, the bank cannot apply the gross negligence exception or the excess.

If the bank refuses or delays

Complain to the bank in writing and ask for a final response. For complaints about fraud, scams and other payment services, a bank normally has 15 business days to reply. In exceptional circumstances it can take up to 35 business days, but it must write to you by day 15 explaining the delay.

If the bank has not replied in time, or you disagree with its answer, take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It is free, and you have 6 months from the date of the bank's final response to refer it. The complaint escalation planner keeps track of the dates.

Worked examples

A fake car advert. A buyer pays £2,500 by bank transfer in March 2026 for a car that does not exist, and reports it to the bank the next day. It is a Faster Payment made after 7 October 2024 and reported well inside 13 months, so the rules apply. The bank should refund £2,500 within 5 business days, or £2,400 if it applies the full £100 excess.

A "safe account" call. Someone posing as a bank's fraud team persuades a saver to move £120,000 by bank transfer in April 2026. The rules cap reimbursement at £85,000 per claim, so the most the bank must repay under them is £85,000, or £84,900 after an excess. The other £35,000 is outside the rules.

A fake online shop paid by card. A shopper pays £400 by debit card to a website that never delivers. Card payments are outside the APP rules, so the route is a chargeback through the card provider instead, or a Section 75 claim for a qualifying credit card purchase. The Section 75 and chargeback guide explains both.

An older transfer. A payment sent on 1 August 2024 falls before the rules started. Complain to the bank anyway, and if the answer is no, ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to consider whether the bank acted fairly at the time.

How this checker works

The checker applies three tests in order: whether the payment was a UK Faster Payments or CHAPS transfer, whether it was made on or after 7 October 2024, and whether you have contacted your bank yet. It then shows the route those answers point to, with the £85,000 cap and the possible £100 excess. It cannot judge warnings, gross negligence or vulnerability, because those depend on the facts of your case, and it stores nothing: your answers stay in your browser and disappear when you close the page.

Sources and useful links

• Payment Systems Regulator: APP fraud reimbursement protections
• Payment Systems Regulator: consumer standard of caution guidance
• Financial Ombudsman: time limits
• Report Fraud (City of London Police)
• Stop Scams UK: the 159 phone number
• Payment Systems Regulator: PS24/7 reimbursement maximum
• FCA: fraudulent payments and APP fraud
• Financial Ombudsman: scams where you were tricked into paying