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UK Edition

Lost a deposit to a rental scammer? The letters that get money back.

Since October 2024, UK banks are required to reimburse eligible victims of bank-transfer scams — up to £85,000, usually within 5 business days. But the claim has to be made correctly, and first refusals are routine. This kit gives you every letter and checklist, written and ready to send.

What's inside — 8 documents

  • 00

    Start Here: Your Recovery Roadmap

    Which letter to use for how you paid, the day-by-day sequence, and your rights in plain English.

  • 01

    Bank APP Fraud Reimbursement Claim

    The formal claim letter citing the mandatory reimbursement rules — banks must reimburse eligible victims up to £85,000, usually within 5 business days.

  • 02

    Financial Ombudsman Escalation

    For when the bank says no. Rebuts the standard refusal reasons ("gross negligence", "civil dispute") point by point.

  • 03

    Card Chargeback & Section 75 Letter

    Debit card chargeback request and the credit card joint-liability claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

  • 04

    Action Fraud Walkthrough & Evidence Pack

    How to file a report that actually helps your bank claim, plus the full evidence checklist to assemble before the investigation starts.

  • 05

    Letter Before Claim & Money Claim Online

    When you know who took your money: the pre-action letter and a step-by-step guide to suing in the small claims court.

  • 06

    Identity Protection Checklist

    Shared your ID or payslips? CIFAS Protective Registration, credit-file monitoring, and what to do about compromised documents.

  • 07

    Do Not Get Scammed Twice

    The three follow-up scams that target fraud victims within weeks — and the rules that make you immune to them.

Deposit Recovery Kit — £14

Instant download · Fill-in-the-blank letters · Current for the 2024 mandatory reimbursement rules (verified July 2026)

Get the Kit

Why letters matter more than phone calls

A phone report starts the clock, but a written claim citing the right rules is what fraud teams, the Ombudsman and courts act on. Banks reject a large share of first claims — commonly alleging "gross negligence" or calling the fraud a "civil dispute". Both have specific, well-established rebuttals, and they are written into these letters.

Everything in this kit exists for free — here's what you're paying for

We believe in being straight with you: the rules, the Ombudsman, and the courts are all free, and our free recovery guide covers the steps. The kit saves you the ten-plus hours of getting the citations, sequences and wording right while you're stressed and racing deadlines — and helps you avoid the claims companies that charge 30% of your refund for sending the same letters. If you'd rather do it all yourself from scratch, our free guide is genuinely enough. This is the done-for-you version.

Who this is for

Anyone in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland who paid a deposit, holding fee or advance rent to a fraudulent landlord or letting agent — by bank transfer or card — within the last 13 months. It also covers the adjacent case of a real landlord wrongly keeping a deposit.

Frequently Asked Questions

No one can guarantee that, and you should not trust anyone who does. What the kit does is put your claim in the strongest possible form under the rules that took effect in October 2024, under which banks must reimburse eligible APP scam victims up to £85,000. Eligible claims made correctly are usually paid within 5 business days; refusals can be escalated free to the Financial Ombudsman using the included letter.
No. The kit is general information and template letters current as of July 2026, covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. For advice on your specific situation, contact Citizens Advice (free) or a solicitor.
The mandatory reimbursement scheme requires claims within 13 months of the payment. Outside that window you can still complain to your bank under its general obligations and escalate to the Ombudsman, but the mandatory scheme will not apply. The card dispute routes (chargeback and Section 75) have their own time limits — Section 75 claims can be made up to six years after the payment.
The kit includes the credit card route: a combined chargeback and Section 75 letter. Section 75 makes your card issuer jointly liable for the fraud on payments between £100 and £30,000, which is one of the strongest consumer protections in UK law.
This edition is UK-specific — the letters cite UK rules (PSR mandatory reimbursement, Section 75, Money Claim Online). If you were scammed in another country, our free recovery guide covers the right reporting bodies for the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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