FAQS

Frequently asked questions

Our master list of what most people want to know first. Anything else, get in touch.

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Why should you use us?

Our founding team has direct experience working inside the Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service and major banks so we understand exactly how banks assess fraud claims and what the FOS looks for when reviewing a complaint.

Unfortunately this varies widely depending on your case and whether your bank agrees to refund you or if we have to take the case further.

Sometimes it can be extremely quick, with many customers receiving an outcome within 15 days of our complaint (the time your bank has to respond).

However, if your bank rejects your complaint and we have to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service it can take as long as a few years (in extreme cases) for FOS to deal with your case. We’ll keep you updated along the way.

In most situations, yes, we are still likely able to help, even if your bank has rejected you.

There are strict timeframes for this, so please get in touch as soon as possible if you’ve already had a rejection.

If your bank contacts you directly with an offer let us know as soon as possible so that we can check that the amount is correct.

We’ll speak to your bank to confirm whether the offer is appropriate. Our fee becomes payable once your bank agrees to refund you.

You can simply fill our form.

The more information you provide, the more likely we can make a quick decision on whether we can take your case on.

By filling in the claim form you’re not committing to using our service, and if you change your mind we’ll not take your case forward or contact you again.

If we decide to take on your case, we’ll let you know and at that point you’ll be sent a copy of our contract with other documentation via email. You’re only committing to our service once you sign and return the contract.

Remember:

You don’t need to use our service. You’re only charged (15-25%) once your case is successful. If you’re unsuccessful you don’t pay a penny. You can cancel at any time for free unless you cancel after your case has been successful or you become aware that your case is going to be successful.

Yes. You can still claim.

As long as you sent the money from a US bank account (or withdrew cash from a US account) you have a case.

Your bank will typically deposit the money straight into your bank account if you still bank with them.

Once you’ve received the money, our fee becomes payable. You can pay easily to our bank account and we’ll contact you with the relevant details.

If you’ve been tricked into sending money from your bank account to a scammer, or someone has managed to gain access to your account and take money, we can help you.

Typically the most common scams we see are cryptocurrency investment scams, property investments scams and scammers pretending to be employers in job/ task scams. We can also help with:

  • Romance scams

  • Safe account scams

  • Investment scams

  • Forex scams

  • Vehicle purchase scams

  • Invoice scams

And many more scenarios – If in doubt about whether we can help, just get in touch.

Only if you win your case. You don’t pay us a penny if we don’t win any money back from your bank. You can check our fees page for the details.

It really depends on what happened in your case and what type of fraud you were the victim of. That said, at Refundee we think that most victims of fraud are owed a refund by their banks, and we’ll only take on your case if we think you have a good chance of success.

The Financial Ombudsman is a free service set up by Parliament to investigate complaints about banks and other entities regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We don’t track down the scammer or attempt to prosecute them.

 We think that banks have failed in their obligation to protect the public from falling victim to scams.

Because of this, we think that banks are liable in most situations for the money people have lost.

Read the information carefully as these are our terms and conditions.

Our Welcome Pack will have been sent to you digitally via PandaDocs for signing. You can read and sign the document digitally and it will direct you to where we need your signature. Once we receive your signed documentation we’ll start your case with your bank, explaining why we think they owe you a refund.

Once our fee becomes payable we’ll send you instructions on how to pay directly to our bank account. Call us on the number on our website before paying.

If your bank contacts you directly let us know as soon as possible. We’ll look into what they’ve said and advise you on the next steps.

If we’ve been unable to resolve your case with your bank and they’ve rejected your complaint, we may refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service for an impartial decision. This does not impact on the fee you may pay.

If you’ve been a victim of fraud, your bank will have referred you to Report Fraud.

Report Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud, and it’s vital that you contact them to report your case. They’ll liaise with the relevant police forces and look into whether they can catch the scammer who stole your money.

Your fraud case with us can be cancelled at any time with no charge for the services you’ve received. However, if you cancel after we’ve started work on your case, and an offer is made, redress is received or you become aware that your case is going to be successful, our usual fees apply. To cancel you can contact us or email us.

No. Your bank is not allowed to treat you any differently for making a complaint.

There are various regulations that might mean that your bank is obligated to refund you. Banks are also required to take proactive steps to prevent fraud and we often find that even when it may seem that the bank has taken steps to protect their customer, the bank actually hasn’t done nearly enough.

In short, probably. Our most common scam types involve cryptocurrency so as long as the money started in a US bank account then we should be able to help.

Any refund given to you by the bank of money you lost to fraud is not subject to tax. If the bank issues compensation, you’re required to pay tax on that element. Normally the bank will deduct the tax (at 20%) from the compensation before paying you.

If you’re not a taxpayer you might be able to claim this back from HMRC. You’ll need to contact them directly in order to complete an R40 claim form.

Tax liability as a result of any compensation award is your responsibility and not something we get involved with.

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We’ve already helped over 6,000 people recover $140 million, and we’re ready to help you too.

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