‘I have a complaint about a scam that I can't sort out with my bank - what happens next?’

dailyrecord.co.uk:

If you have ever been the victim of a fraud or a scam, you are far from alone. Figures released at the end of January revealed that from April to December last year, consumers in Scotland lodged over 1,300 complaints about frauds and scams to the Financial Ombudsman Service - that’s almost 40% higher than the same period in 2023.Just under half of these complaints were about authorised push payment (APP) scams, where someone is tricked into transferring money to a fraudster’s account believing it to be a genuine payment.However, frauds and scams come in all sorts of guises, and they aren’t always easy to recognise.

For victims, the psychological toll can be as significant as the financial loss. Fraud and scams are crimes where someone cheats someone else out of their money through theft or deception.

Anyone can fall victim to a fraud or a scam. Examples include scams where you’ve been tricked into making a payment, for example to keep money ‘safe’, to pay a fake invoice, to make a fake investment, or to buy goods or services that don't exist.A fraudster may also have found a way to take money from you, for example by convincing you to give them your bank details and then taken money without your permission, by using your debit or credit card without your knowledge or permission, or by stealing your identity.Normally, when something goes wrong and money goes missing, you’ll make a complaint to the bank, insurance company, pension provider or whatever it may be, and they will resolve it.

But what if they can’t, or won’t?This is where the Financial Ombudsman Service comes in. It’s a free, easy-to-use service that was set up by Parliament specifically to help people who have a complaint about a financial product or service,