Santander Fraud Investigation

I recieved a call from Santander's fraud department asking about two small transactions on my account, one for 86p and one for £3.17.

As I was in a meeting at the time I missed the call but phoned back and realising straightaway that the transactions were not my own I spoke with an advisor. It was then when I was notifed that I had been hit for £720 from my account, this time a transfer.

I raised this as fraudulent activity and my account was blocked with an impending investigation.

I was told what appears to be standard practise, i.e. called within 48 hours, money placed back in account during investigation etc.

Last night, when I got home, I noticed a £500 overdraft on my account which I never sanctioned, I've never had one.

This morning i recieved the £720 back into my account as an account adjustment and was called my Santanders fraud department with a reference number and that the investigation would take between 3 and 10 days.

I then asked about the overdraft and was passed about telephone lines right left and centre. Ended up with a young chap who was incredibly poor at his job, raising his voice, speaking over me, patronising etc. He said it was placed on my account yesterday but that's all he could say. I know, fromy my account usage online, that it was not done using my internet banking so I'm guessing it's through the telephone. He said they would be in contact about that as well.

My question is, can anyone actually shed any light on this for me.

Is it normal for an account adjustment to be made straightaway?

Surely if there is a bank transfer from my account the simple suggestion to prove fraud would be to track where the payment was made to, and who's account it is?

And what are my chances of this being dealt with swiftly, promptly and professionally?

I realise it is not a rare occurrence these days with so much technology involved but it was shaken me, especially the overdraft facility being placed on my account.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Comments

  • WhiteHorse
    WhiteHorse Posts: 2,492 Forumite
    Many years ago, I suffered some account tampering with another bank. That was rectified with truly remarkable speed. I was later discreetly told that the speed was down to the fact that the bank was sure that a member of staff was responsible.
    "Never underestimate the mindless force of a government bureaucracy
    seeking to expand its power, dominion and budget"
    Jay Stanley, American Civil Liberties Union.
  • Calsa67
    Calsa67 Posts: 19 Forumite
    WhiteHorse wrote: »
    Many years ago, I suffered some account tampering with another bank. That was rectified with truly remarkable speed. I was later discreetly told that the speed was down to the fact that the bank was sure that a member of staff was responsible.

    The thought has crossed my mind.
  • rb10
    rb10 Posts: 6,334 Forumite
    What you describe is exactly the way that it is supposed to happen.

    Banks are supposed to refund fraudulent activity straight away, then investigate, and either leave the money there or take it away. (Unfortunately they do not always refund it instantly).

    It does take time to investigate - if the money was transferred to a different bank, then Santander don't know whose account that is. If the fraud occurred over the phone, then they might need to listen back to telephone recordings. If it was in a branch, then they might need CCTV - and even now, not all banks have centralised CCTV systems; getting hold of it really could be a cassette in their internal mail.

    As for your chances of getting it resolved with no hassle to you, who can say?

    When I had fraudulent activity on my Halifax credit card a couple of years ago, they spotted it, phoned to tell me, removed the transactions from my statement straight away, and that was as far as it went. I got a replacement card in the post the following day, followed by a letter confirming what they'd done and why. No hassle, no troubles. Hopefully your experience will be like that one, but who can say ... you may end up fighting them for it yet.
  • I WOULD ADVISED ANYBODY NOT TO BANK WITH sANTANDER
    THEY HAVE TAKEN £174590 FROM MY CURRENT ACCOUNT TO PAY A BILL I HAD ALLREADY PAYED PUTTING ME £15000 OVER DRAWN WITH MY DD DUE TO GO OUT,I HAVE BEEN INTO MY LOCAL BRA,NCH THEY CAN SEE WHAT HAS HAPPEND,THEY HAVE SPENT HOURS ON THE PHONE TO CARD SERVICES SO HAVE I 16 DAYS LATER I AM STILL AWAITING MY MONEY TO BE REFUNDED,I AM AT MY WITS END WITH THEM,SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME,TELL ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE DONT SAY PHONE THERE HELP LINE,I HAVE HAD TO CASH IN A £20000 BOND TO GET SOME MONEY TO PAY MY BILLS PLEASE PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME
  • adindas
    adindas Posts: 6,805
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    £174590 to pay the bill ??
    minstrel1 wrote: »
    I WOULD ADVISED ANYBODY NOT TO BANK WITH sANTANDER
    THEY HAVE TAKEN £174590 FROM MY CURRENT ACCOUNT TO PAY A BILL I HAD ALLREADY PAYED PUTTING ME £15000 OVER DRAWN WITH MY DD DUE TO GO OUT,I HAVE BEEN INTO MY LOCAL BRA,NCH THEY CAN SEE WHAT HAS HAPPEND,THEY HAVE SPENT HOURS ON THE PHONE TO CARD SERVICES SO HAVE I 16 DAYS LATER I AM STILL AWAITING MY MONEY TO BE REFUNDED,I AM AT MY WITS END WITH THEM,SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME,TELL ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE DONT SAY PHONE THERE HELP LINE,I HAVE HAD TO CASH IN A £20000 BOND TO GET SOME MONEY TO PAY MY BILLS PLEASE PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME
  • rb10
    rb10 Posts: 6,334 Forumite
    adindas wrote: »
    £174590 to pay the bill ??

    I have a feeling that the post is not genuine.

    But I'm certainly not replying to anyone who uses all capital letters.
  • adindas
    adindas Posts: 6,805
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    Then s/he just has one post. So he registers just to send this single message ..
    rb10 wrote: »
    I have a feeling that the post is not genuine.

    But I'm certainly not replying to anyone who uses all capital letters.
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,655
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I'd hoped from the thread title that santander were finally being done for fraudulently passing themselves off as a bank!
  • Calsa67
    Calsa67 Posts: 19 Forumite
    rb10 wrote: »
    What you describe is exactly the way that it is supposed to happen.

    Banks are supposed to refund fraudulent activity straight away, then investigate, and either leave the money there or take it away. (Unfortunately they do not always refund it instantly).

    It does take time to investigate - if the money was transferred to a different bank, then Santander don't know whose account that is. If the fraud occurred over the phone, then they might need to listen back to telephone recordings. If it was in a branch, then they might need CCTV - and even now, not all banks have centralised CCTV systems; getting hold of it really could be a cassette in their internal mail.

    As for your chances of getting it resolved with no hassle to you, who can say?

    When I had fraudulent activity on my Halifax credit card a couple of years ago, they spotted it, phoned to tell me, removed the transactions from my statement straight away, and that was as far as it went. I got a replacement card in the post the following day, followed by a letter confirming what they'd done and why. No hassle, no troubles. Hopefully your experience will be like that one, but who can say ... you may end up fighting them for it yet.

    Thanks for your reply.

    I can only imagine that it was done over the phone as there has been no unusal activity using my online account, that's all recorded by date and time.

    It has come to light today that someone has used my details to obtain a credit report from Experian. Experian have since discovered it was a fraudulent application and informed me of it. Will this help me with my bank? I have a latter stating that this is the case.

    Experian were able to tell my that the application was made online and the exact time and date. Funnily enough, I was at my work during this time so it's yet further proof that it's fraud.

    I'm feeling a little more confident this morning that it will be sorted out but it's certainly more in hope than expectation.

    My uncle, a bank manager with RBS, said the fact that the account was adjusted so soon after the event (before the fraud department got back in touch) can only be a positive thing.
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