Abbey Banking Fraud

BurnleyUK

We have been with Abbey for a short time after a re mortgage. Things were OK until I noticed that the balance on our account started to go down by quite a lot each day. Checking direct debits, the amount coming out didn't seem to tally up even with cash withdrawals we had made.

Anyhow, after a while I thought I'd better check my statements only to find some very strange transactions on them. We then went down to the Burnley Abbey branch and after waiting at an empty reception desk for around 15 minutes, complained and panicked about these transactions to be told, "Sorry, the Fraud Team only works Monday to Friday so you will need to ring them up then". Why does a fraud team only work Monday to Friday and why the hell after having money stolen from our account should we have to mess around ringing different departments? No offer of holding our account or canceling the cards was made at the branch, but only done when we called the fraud team. Before this was done, a call to Customer Services gave us an overdraft only for the overdraft to be at it's limit in a day which was not down to us.

It's now been a month since we logged our known suspicious transactions on our statements with the fraud team (I say known, as there's a hell of a lot of cash machine transactions which I think we need to double check). After a phone call today, they've told me they are backlogged and I should hear if we have been successful within two weeks time. We have had no feedback about the ongoing claim, how these payments were taken and been promised people would call back but no one does.

I'm not surprised by this. Abbey has to be the worst bank I've been with. Their telephone customer service is appalling and as it's in India, it is very hard to understand what they are saying or asking you to do. My visit to the Burnley branch was also worrying as not only were we waiting at an empty reception / customer service desk for a while with staff chattering and laughing in a room, we were eventually left alone in a room for ten or so minutes with a pile of customer documentation with account details sat on the desk and a filing cabinet with many folders on display sat open with keys left in it. An obvious breach of Data Protection and Customer Account Safety.

Anyone else had similar or ongoing problems? Who should I complain to at the Abbey where someone will listen and take action?

Paul_Herring

Post Count: 1

Hmm.

Anyhow, after a while I thought I'd better check my statements

After 'a while.'? Hours? Days? Months?

It's now been a month since we logged our known suspicious transactions on our statements with the fraud team (I say known, as there's a hell of a lot of cash machine transactions which I think we need to double check).

If you don't even know which ones are yours, how on earth do you expect the fraud team to know?

Abbey has to be the worst bank I've been with.

And have you opened an account with another bank? Transferred your wage mandates to it? Moved your DD's over to it?

halight

Hi i would open another accout with a diffrent bank at have youe wages paid into this and set up you DDs this other bank. This way you will not lose any more more of your money.
At the same time keep up the heat on abby. Phone them every day to find out whats going on and what thay are doing about it. Go into a branch as offen as you can and make a bit of a fuss.
You will need to go throuh all your staments and mark the ones that are not yours and then make copys of this and post them off to abby and evry time you go into a branch take a copy with you. Make a note of any charges that you clock up as abby will have to give you this money back as well as any that has been taken out of your accout.
I hope this will help
Good luck

BurnleyUK

Hmm.

Have to start sometime.

After 'a while.'? Hours? Days? Months?

A month or two, perhaps three

If you don't even know which ones are yours, how on earth do you expect the fraud team to know?

Let's see how they handle the very obvious ones.

And have you opened an account with another bank? Transferred your wage mandates to it? Moved your DD's over to it?

Yes we are in the process of that.

sara0405

Although I havent had this sort of problem with Abbey me and my partner bank with them and their customer service are useless! Luckily we've never had a serious problem like this and our local branch are just as unhelpful as yours. Could you write to a manager or MD of the company or at your local branch?

I agree with what was posted about. Open a new account with another bank and have your wages paid into their and move all direct debits etc and Good luck getting it sorted with Abbey!

shimmershelly

I am convinced Abbey has gone to pot.
I have banked with them for about 13 years and they have been great until this year when its been error after error, including letting transactions come out of my account from Bangkok without a second thought. It took over three weeks to be reimbursed, but I have an ongoing complaint with them over this which so far has been going on for 8 weeks.
Final straw today, my 11 year old son's account has been debited by £15 instead of the £15 he put in, so he is £30 down and so the phone calls to far flung shores for their "customer service" begins again.

xplora

This gentlemen (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1247959) also having problem dealing with Abbey Fraud Team. Maybe two of you can talk to each other how to deal with these

gec

BurnleyUK wrote: »

Before this was done, a call to Customer Services gave us an overdraft only for the overdraft to be at it's limit in a day which was not down to us.

It seems pretty dumb to me to be given an overdraft extension when someone else is clearly tapping into your bank account!?!?!?!

BurnleyUK

gec wrote: »

It seems pretty dumb to me to be given an overdraft extension when someone else is clearly tapping into your bank account!?!?!?!

Yes, they offered it to us we didn't ask for it. But still, pretty dumb of us to accept I suppose at the time.

BurnleyUK

Two weeks ago I spoke to the Abbey Fraud Team who said the matter will be dealt with within two weeks maximum. Still, no one has got back to me after this time. I've now been advised by an accountant to get the Police and Banking Ombudsman involved.

I'm currently on the phone to Abbey, the first person at the fraud team couldn't deal with my issue so passed me to another department. I then spoke to someone who seemed to be in the same department to be told, "My compuer is being really slow so i'll pass you on to someone else". I'm now on hold.

I've been on the phone for twenty minutes now trying to find out answers.

BurnleyUK

Now been told they can't hear me and will call me back, no one has. On to the ombudsman now, Police next.