Refundee recovers £13,000 for HMRC impersonation scam victim

Our client received letters in the post that matched those of HMRC, stating that they had been audited by the Chief Financial Investigator at HMRC and that they owed overdue tax.

The letter, which appeared professional and bore HMRC branding, stated that criminal proceedings would be initiated if they did not pay the overdue amount. The letter included a phone number to contact for enquiries and payment. Our client, believing it was HMRC, called the number and spoke with an apparent HMRC employee. They stated that the overdue amount needed to be paid immediately, or the police would be called.

Worried about legal consequences, our client paid the amount and believed everything was sorted. However, their relief was short-lived when they spoke with a family member, who advised them that this might be a scam and that they should contact the legitimate HMRC. They did so, and HMRC confirmed that, unfortunately, they had been a victim of a scam.

How Refundee built the case for recovery

• Step 1 - Investigation & support: Our team provided support to our client in a stressful situation. They conducted a thorough investigation to establish what happened, gathering necessary evidence for the claim.
• Step 2 - Utilising UK banking regulations for Authorised Push Payment Fraud, we constructed detailed arguments for why the bank should bear liability for the loss.
• Step 3 - Financial Ombudsman escalation: We escalated the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), presenting our evidence and regulatory arguments to make the case for full reimbursement.

Result: £13,000 recovered for our client