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Claim to your bank for a refund after a bank transfer scam (UK)
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales · in English · for consumers
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For a personal customer tricked into sending money by bank transfer to a fraudster — a fake investment, a purchase that never existed, a caller pretending to be the bank or the police. Under the reimbursement rules for authorised push payment scams, your bank must normally refund payments made by Faster Payments or CHAPS since 7 October 2024, up to £85,000, if you claim within 13 months of the last payment. The letter makes the claim in writing and asks for a decision; if refused, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free.
- Made for use in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- A fraudster talked you into sending money by bank transfer and you want your UK bank to refund it.
- Someone pretending to be your bank told you to move your savings to a safe account.
- You paid by transfer for a car or a puppy that never existed.
- Your bank will not refund an APP scam and you want to claim in writing.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Bank or financial firm
- Firm's postal address (complaints team)
- Account number
- Each payment: date, amount and the account it went to
- Amount claimed
- How the scam happened
- Date you reported the scam to the bank
- Crime reference number (if any)
Common questions
- How much can my bank refund after an APP scam, and how quickly?
- Up to £85,000 per claim, for Faster Payments and CHAPS payments between UK accounts made since 7 October 2024. The bank may deduct an excess of up to £100, but not for a vulnerable customer. It must normally decide and pay within five business days of your claim, or up to 35 if it needs more information.
- When can the bank refuse to refund a scam payment?
- If you were party to the fraud, if the claim is made more than 13 months after the last payment, or if you were grossly negligent, for example by ignoring clear and specific warnings from the bank or the police; gross negligence does not apply to a vulnerable customer. Card, cash and cryptocurrency payments from your own wallet are not covered by these rules, nor is a dispute with a genuine seller, such as faulty goods, which is a civil dispute, not a scam.
- Should I report a bank transfer scam to the police as well?
- Yes. Tell the bank at once by phone or in the app, so it can try to stop the money, and report the fraud to Report Fraud, the police's national service that replaced Action Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040; in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101), and keep the reference you are given. Free support is available from Citizens Advice and Victim Support. Then send this letter as your written claim.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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