Authorised Push Payment Refund FAQs

This appointment is a structured, one-off, 90-minute online Zoom consultation for individuals affected by Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud.

The session focuses on:

• Constructing your timeline
• Reviewing the bank’s reasoning
• Identifying procedural and evidential gaps
• Structuring your complaint clearly and proportionately

During the session, I guide you on how draft a professionally structured letter, using regulatory guidelines and critical decision making guidelines. This is consultation drafting support only. You remain fully responsible for submission and escalation, but I ask you to diarise certain critical dates, so you can follow up any next steps with clarity.

We will:

• Review your completed Discovery Form (you will receive this via email prior to the Zoom)
• Reconstruct the factual timeline
• Identify strengths and weaknesses
• Structure your complaint logically
• Draft the letter live, during the session
• Share a Word document on screen which can be amended in real time (you will receive clear instructions beforehand, explaining how this works.)

At the end of the session:

• The document will be refined
• A final review will be completed
• A clear action plan will be set
• Time-critical dates will be identified

You must have your diary or calendar available, as if the bank refutes your complaint, strict deadlines will apply.  These dates must be logged immediately in your calendar, and on your mobile device.

• Go to the ‘Book a Zoom Meeting’ page, or click one of the ‘Book Online’ buttons on my website.
• A calendar will appear showing available dates and times. Pick the option that best suits your schedule and click ‘Continue’.
• You will be asked for basic details – usually your name, email address, and phone number.
• Click the ‘Confirm Appointment’ button.
• You should see a confirmation screen immediately. Shortly after, you will receive an automated confirmation email.

You will need to:

• Complete and email a Discovery Form to me, at least 48 hours prior to your zoom meeting – this will be emailed to you, once you have booked an appointment
• Provide copies of relevant correspondence
• Have access to your mobile phone, calendar or diary to log critical dates

Technical requirements:

Using a laptop or desktop computer is strongly recommended.  A tablet can work, but is not ideal.  These sessions cannot be conducted via mobile phone.

Joining a Zoom meeting is quite simple, and you do not necessarily need to have a Zoom account to participate. Most people use the Zoom Workplace app, but you can also join through a standard web browser such as Google Chrome or Safari.

The easiest way to join is to simply click the link provided in your invitation.

• If you have the Zoom app installed: Your device will ask for permission to open the link in the app. Click Allow or Open.
• If you do not have the app: Your web browser will open a page. You can choose to download the app then and there, or look for a small link at the bottom that says ‘Join’ from your browser – this allows you to participate without installing any new software
• Enter your name: You will be asked to type in the name you want other participants to see

Once you click the link, you will often enter a preview screen or a waiting room.

• Video: You may see a preview of your camera. Click ‘Join with Video’ to let me see you
• Waiting Room: If you see a message saying ‘the host will let you in soon,’ just wait a moment – I needs to click a button on my end to admit you
• Audio: Once you are in the meeting, a pop-up box will appear – you must click ‘Join with Computer Audio’ so that you can hear me, and I can hear you

Once the meeting has started, you can find your controls by moving your mouse or tapping your screen.

• Mute/Unmute: Click the microphone icon in the bottom-left corner – it is standard etiquette to keep yourself on mute when you are not speaking to avoid background noise
• Start/Stop Video: Click the camera icon next to the microphone to turn your webcam on or off
• Chat: Click the speech bubble icon to type a message to the group
• Leave: When the meeting is over, click the red ‘Leave’ button

The session cannot proceed without Zoom access.  You will receive instructions in advance, to ensure the shared document process works smoothly.

You do. The letter is constructed using:

• Professionally structured paragraphs developed during the consultation
• Selective sections relevant to your circumstances
• Any appropriate freeform explanation you wish to include

The document is refined and checked live to ensure it is proportionate, clear and professionally structured. You send the final version yourself which must be sent via recorded delivery for an audit trail.

Your consultation session includes logging critical dates.  If the bank refutes your complaint, we will  have already put together an action plan for the next procedural step.

If you prefer, another session can be booked on my calendar to compile a response to the Financial Ombudsman.

A final Financial Ombudsman’s decision typically concludes the complaints process.  This service does not include litigation consultation.

However, a Financial Ombudsman referral is a 2-step process, so there are a few chances to construct further points.  Once a final Ombudsman’s decision has been issued, this service unfortunately cannot help any further.

Unfortunately, I cannot provide a percentage for likelihood of success.  Each case depends on:

• The specific facts
• Timing
• Bank conduct
• Vulnerability factors
• Available evidence

No consultation service can responsibly guarantee a refund.  Equally, no Claims Management company can provide a cast-iron guarantee of a refund.  Outcomes always depend on facts and institutional decision-making.  This service improves structure and clarity.  It does not guarantee outcomes.

This is one of the most common areas of confusion.

If you invested money in a project or business that later failed, ran out of money, or simply didn’t work out, that is usually classed as a failed investment or business deal, not a scam.  In those situations, banks generally will not refund the loss.  Financial losses from genuine investments that go wrong are normally considered a risk the investor accepted.  However, there is a narrow grey area that many people are unaware of.  In some circumstances a failed investment can fall within the definition of an Authorised Push Payment scam.  This is when someone is persuaded to transfer money themselves to a fraudster.

This may apply where evidence shows that at the time the payment was made:

• The project was already insolvent or financially unviable
• Important facts were misrepresented or concealed
• The money was never used for the stated purpose
• The transaction was effectively doomed from the start
• You have evidence that proves the above

In these cases, the loss may not be caused by the business failing later, but by the fact that the situation was already fundamentally misrepresented when the payment was made. These cases are not common, and outcomes are never guaranteed.  They depend heavily on the documents, timeline of events and financial reality at the point the payment was sent. This is why some situations that appear to be a failed investment may still warrant a closer look before deciding there is no possible route to recovery.

Yes. I retain:

• A copy of the drafted letter
• Case information for compliance and record-keeping, should your case need to be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I operate in a General Data Protection act compliant manner, and hold an ICO registration.  ICO Registration Number: ZC105575. Your information is not sold, shared nor used beyond this service.

This service provides structured consultation and document drafting support only.

It does not constitute:

• Legal representation
• Regulated claims management
• Financial advice
• Litigation services

No guarantee of outcome is made or implied.  You remain fully responsible for:

• The content you submit
• Decisions taken
• Deadlines
• Escalation actions

This consultation assists with structured presentation only.  Booking constitutes acceptance of these conditions.

This is a structured consultation service only.

You remain responsible for:

• Submitting your complaint
• Responding to correspondence
• Meeting deadlines
• Escalation decisions

Clear boundaries protect both parties.

There is nothing stopping you from handling the case without my guidance.  However, complaints frequently fail because:

• Key points are not directly addressed
• Vulnerability is not clearly framed
• The bank’s reasoning is not engaged with
• Self-submitted complaints without expert guidance, sometimes lack structure

This consultation focuses on letter presentation, aligned to professional assessment criteria.

This service:

• Does not act on your behalf
• Does not contact banks or the Financial Ombudsman directly
• Does not take a percentage
• Does not provide ongoing representation

When you utilise my APP Refund Consultant service, you retain full control of your complaint.  My service is a transparent, fixed-fee consultation.

Many Claims Management companies charge a success fee, framed as a ‘no-win, no-fee’ service, which can prove extremely costly for you.  If you are considering a Claims Management company, I urge you to establish the ‘no-win, no-fee’ percentage, plus any contracted terms/conditions and fees should you decide to not continue with their service.

Many Claims Management companies operate using a high-volume enquiry ‘funnel.’  Advertising generates a large number of enquiries, and the firm then assesses which cases are suitable to pursue Commercially, on a no-win-no-fee basis.  Because the firm carries out the work involved in pursuing the claim, the fee is typically charged as a percentage of any money recovered.

Some firms publish fee structures that can be around 25% of the recovered amount for smaller claims, sometimes reducing for larger recoveries.

Example refund:

(Approximate fee 25%)

£10,000 recovered

£2,500 fee

£20,000 recovered

£5,000 fee

£30,000 recovered

£7,500 fee

It is also worth noting that referring a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service is free for consumers. The Ombudsman charges a case fee to the financial firm, not to the customer.

How this service is different

This service does not operate as a Claims Management company, and does not take a percentage of any refund. Instead, a fixed-price Zoom session (£250) explains how the complaint process works; the evidence that banks and the Financial Ombudsman require, and how to structure a complaint, so that you can decide how you wish to proceed with your own submission.

Yes, in many cases they can.  Although the consultation focuses mainly on authorised push payment (APP) scam situations, a lot of what is explained relates to how complaints are generally handled by organisations authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, often referred to as FCA-reportable firms.

During the session, we look at how complaint processes typically work within these types of organisations, including how timelines are considered, why clearly setting out a sequence of events can be helpful, and how publicly available complaint outcomes can sometimes help people understand how similar situations have previously been assessed.  Understanding these general principles can be useful knowledge if you ever need to raise a complaint with a financial organisation about poor service, or where you believe compensation may be appropriate.  The consultation is simply designed to help people understand how complaint processes work.  It does not provide Claims Management services, and I do not pursue complaints on behalf of clients. Any complaint you choose to make remains entirely your own responsibility.