Account raid – who bears the cost?

Andrew Fulton (+44 (0)20 7842 1200, Clerks@20essexst.com) is a barrister at 20 Essex Street.

Transfers from a bank account by other than the true owner can be a consequence of hacked data rather than customer fault yet the institution may ‘deem’ the electronic payment genuine under its terms and conditions; these have yet to be tested, says Andrew Fulton of 20 Essex Street, but the jurisprudence on CHAPS instructions is not encouraging.