Santander has fully reimbursed an 84-year-old East Sussex pensioner £102 after she was targeted by a fake online pharmacy that failed to supply ordered medication.
The victim, identified as J.F., ordered 200 Zapain pain relief tablets in June from a website called LoyaltyPharma.com after carrying out an online search. She suffers from serious back pain and sought an extra stock of medication to fall back on when her regular prescribed supplies ran out.
J.F. paid £102 by bank transfer to an account named under an individual, D.M. The tablets were never supplied, and frequent emails sent by the buyer chasing her order were ignored.
An inspection of LoyaltyPharma.com revealed multiple warning signs. Although the website featured photos of uniformed pharmacists reaching for drugs from well-stocked shelves, large sections of text under headings including 'About Us' consisted of Lorem ipsum dummy Latin text. The site also used an email address that bounced back, listed payment options including bank transfer, PayPal, and cryptocurrency, and altered just a couple of letters from a real online pharmacy website while using acom domain rather thanco.uk.
Santander initially investigated the payment under the Authorised Push Payment Fraud Reimbursement scheme rules introduced in October 2024, which mandate refunds up to £85,000 for fraud victims. The bank agreed that J.F. had been defrauded but applied a permitted £100 excess deduction, leaving her with £2.
The decision was challenged on the grounds that deducting an excess is not mandatory and that scheme rules state vulnerable victims should not have to pay it. Pointing out that J.F. is 84 and was seeking medication due to serious pain, Santander reconsidered its position and reimbursed the full £102.
A spokesman for Santander said: "We’re sorry to hear about J.F.’s experience at the hands of criminals. After carefully reviewing her case, and in line with the Payment Systems Regulator’s mandatory reimbursement requirements for authorised push payment scams, we’ve reimbursed her losses."
The spokesman added: "We would urge customers to remain vigilant to the threat of scams when buying online and verify that they are buying from a genuine merchant before making payment. If someone is concerned they have been scammed, they should contact their bank immediately on a verified number or by calling 159."
Consumers purchasing drugs online are advised to confirm that vendors are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency or listed on the General Pharmaceutical Council register, and to report suspicious websites to mhra.gov.uk.
The payment was transferred to an account held at HSBC. The bank was alerted to the incident, although the full name of the payment recipient was omitted from publication after online searches for the name led to a phishing website designed to steal personal and financial details.
A spokesman for HSBC said: "When we receive a report that an HSBC UK account is being used for criminal purposes we act immediately, taking appropriate action to prevent further criminality. We have stringent processes to verify the identity of customers opening accounts, and apply a range of measures to spot signs of criminal activity and minimise the risk of fraud and scams."
Charity card reader refund
In Greater Manchester, a church bell-ringing group called Festival of Bells secured a £75 refund from payments company SumUp after being barred from using their portable card machine.
The group, represented by member T.L., had used the card reader for more than two years without issue to collect donations for cancer charities. Problems began when the group decided to move its bank account to Nationwide Building Society, prompting SumUp to examine the group's credentials.
SumUp informed the group that they could no longer use the device because they were not a registered charity, and the SumUp app stopped allowing them to verify the account. Following intervention, SumUp agreed to refund the £75 paid for the machine.
A spokesman for SumUp said: "As part of our onboarding and then ongoing merchant account management, SumUp does require specific documentation alongside, in cases such as this one, charities to be properly registered." The group is now investigating how to take donations by mobile phone.
Heat pump installation dispute
An Octopus Energy customer in Gloucestershire, identified as S.C., received a £4,000 refund after an installed heat pump failed to heat the home adequately.
The heat pump system was installed last year for £11,500, with £7,500 covered by a government grant and £4,000 paid by the homeowner. The unit only heated the home to a maximum temperature of 18C, while some rooms struggled to exceed 12C in winter, causing energy bills to reach up to £20 per day.
Octopus Energy stated that while the heat pump was not faulty, the property was losing slightly more heat than original calculations predicted. The company is carrying out work to improve heat retention and will refund the £4,000 paid by S.C.
Delayed cash ISA transfer
A bank customer who experienced a multi-month delay during a £40,000 cash ISA transfer has received compensation following bank intervention.
The customer, A.Z., requested the transfer of a £40,000 cash ISA from Lloyds to HSBC on April 20, 2026. The money failed to arrive, and customer service teams were unhelpful, leading to an escalation to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
HSBC issued an apology to A.Z., confirming that the customer has now received the £40,000 ISA funds alongside backdated interest and compensation.
Package holiday location error
A family package holiday to Greece was disrupted when online booking site Loveholidays assigned them a hotel on the mainland instead of the island where their flight landed.
The customer, E.U., traveled with family to Skiathos at the start of July. Upon landing, the family discovered their booked hotel was located on the Greek mainland. Because the last ferry had already departed, they had no way to reach the hotel and had to pay for replacement accommodation themselves after Loveholidays phone support stated it was not their problem.
Loveholidays apologized, stating that a website error allowed a package holiday to be booked with a mainland hotel while the flight landed on a nearby island. The company refunded the cost of the hotel booking and provided an extra £600 in compensation.
