Fraud on my current account and bank doesn't seem to be taking me seriously!!!

in Consumer Rights
13 replies 9.9K views
Hi All,

Just wanted to know what my rights are in this situation. I have come back from holiday to find that there has been over 2000 GBP of fraudulent transactions on my barclays current account. Whats more, in I also received a receipt from DVLA confirming that my card has been used to pay for getting a car from a pound in Manchester. Don't recognise the car registration number and don't know anyone in Manchester. I was slightly concerned because the receipt has my name (with a couple of spelling mistakes) and my address on it.

Went into my local Barclays branch last Saturday, with my passport and flight tickets and my debit card. The member of staff in the branch did not seem interested and told me to go home and wait for a form to arrive that I could fill in. After that he said that the money would be paid into my account in 10 or so working days!!! I destroyed my debit card in front of him to make sure that he realised that any further debit card transactions on my account, must be fraud. The form arrived 3 days later, I filled it in and faxed it over to the address and posted it recorded delivery. Decided to phone the number on the form to check that they had received the fax and they asked me a few security questions. They told me that my answers did not match their's and I should go into the branch. They told me I was giving them an incorrect date of birth....which led me to question how the hell anyone could have changed my date of birth!!!

Anyway, went back into the branch yesterday and was told by the staff that they were extremely busy and I should come back on Tuesday!!! I was too shocked to say anything else.

Is this the normal process that banks use to deal with fraud on a current account? Luckily I have other accounts to rely on over the bank holiday, but what if I didn't, how would I survive for 10 days without access to my accounts. More worryingly I have a savings account linked to this current account and what if the fraudsters manage to get access to this in the meantime. Am very worried, but the bank doesn't seem to be taking this seriously. Do I have grounds to make a complaint???

Sorry for the long winded post. Never experienced anything like this before.
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Replies

  • From what I've heard it's pretty much the norm. The banks have to check that it definitely fraud before they will give any money back into the account.

    The reasoning behind it is that if you say £2000 has been taken from your account fraudulently and they give it back straight away, then you can withdraw the money and the bank is going to have to chase you for it if it turns out not to be fraud.
  • edited 10 April 2009 at 12:42PM
    JamesJames Forumite
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    edited 10 April 2009 at 12:42PM
    (Cut, pasted and amended slightly from a different thread - most of it is applicable to you).

    The good news is under the Banking Code (12.12)you should get your money back - unless you’ve been negligent with your PIN (seems unlikely in this case – see below), or you have acted fraudulently or (the crunch) without reasonable care. The bad news is that more and more banks are refusing to cough up and reimburse victims.

    What I’d do now and why:

    Report this to the Police and get a crime reference or incident number.

    Why?

    By reporting this to the Police it will help convince the Bank your really are a victim, and in your case serious.

    Allows early intervention by the police if ATMs or shops PIN Pads have been tampered with. It may also point to a data breach. But don't expect the police to investigate.

    Follow up your original phone call and visit to Bank with a letter and put everything in writing soonest. (Keep a copy, send letter recorded and request a receipt).

    In the letter give your card issuer the Crime Ref or Incident No.

    Ask your bank how the crime was perpetrated i.e. using your Card Details, or if your Card was Cloned and the transactions authorised with your PIN or a Signature.

    Why?

    The letter will prove you reported the crime as soon as you noticed it.

    By asking how the crime was perpetrated will allow you to take the necessary steps to protect yourself from further frauds.

    Good luck.


    PS: You may even be the victim of ID Theft - you can take steps to protect yourself here too.

    Click here.

    You should also check your credit files FREE from ALL 3 Credit Reference Agencies:

    Call Credit (Click on Link to Annual Credit Report).

    Equifax (Remembering to Cancel within the Free Tria Period)

    Experian (Remembering to Cancel within the Free Trial Period).
  • Thanks James for your fantastically helpful post. I am today going to take action and do all of those things.

    Regards and have a great easter weekend.
  • Just phoned the police. They said that banks have their own process of referring crimes to them, so they can't take down the crime until the banks get in contact with them!!! Am now going to the bank to complain to the branch manager. I have gone through the banking code, and although it says that the money will be reimbursed, it doesn't say what timescales the banks have to reimburse this money!!! Can't believe a code of practice for banks can be so vague!!!!! Anyway, maybe complaining to the banks will get them to pay some attention.
  • edited 11 April 2009 at 11:05AM
    JamesJames Forumite
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    edited 11 April 2009 at 11:05AM
    stinkerbell, Sorry I should have said go to the Police and insist they give you an incidence or crime reference number.

    If you've not got details of the person you spoke to at the Police sation, then visit the Nick and report it again in person.

    If the Police still refuse to give you an incidence or crime reference number then record who you spoke to at the Police station and put this in your letter to Braclays. Ask Barclays to give YOU their Crime Reference Number.

    If you so wish contact your MP and the press telling them Barclays won't take your serious.

    You might like to draw this to the Polices attention:

    If you are a victim of a crime, you report it to the police. If you don't, it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t get tackled, and we don’t get the resources in the future to fight it,” said DS McMurdie.

    Click here.
  • edited 11 April 2009 at 12:15PM
    CFCCFC
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    edited 11 April 2009 at 12:15PM
    TBH, the reason that they don't get excited about it is that there is so much of it....and a lot of it is committed internally. To them it's pretty routine and if you have evidence that it's fraud they will just pay up in their own sweet time.

    To you it's really important, to them it's just another fraud.

    http://www.which.co.uk/news/2008/09/barclays-bank-clerk-jailed-over-id-fraud-156506.jsp

    http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org/2009/03/come-on-barclays.htm

    http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=17924 for added understanding

    tip of the iceberg, but the banks wn't tell you that.

    Police won't deal with it unless the bank involves them precisely fr the reason that it's so common.
  • Hi Guys, Thought I would give you an update. Went into Barclays and finally spoke to the Assistant branch manager. She has been the best person that I have spoken to so far. Turns out my date of birth was incorrect on their records...she wasn't sure when it had become incorrect but suspected it wasn't foul play as it hasn't been changed recently (I have been a Barclays customer for the last 30 years!!!). Anyway she acknowledged that this wasn't good for them as a bank and herself decided to log a complaint. I also pointed out that my insurance's were due in the middle of the month and if these direct debits bounced then I won't be insured anymore. She acknowledged this and increased my o/d limit while they investigated at no extra cost so that no direct debits bounced. She even phoned the fraud department to get them to act on the case asap, and said she would give me a call on tuesday with a crime reference number. She told me that the matter should be resolved within a week as it is clear cut and gave me her business card.

    I know all of this doesn't mean I get the money back in my account, but atleast I wasn't made to feel like a timewaster again!!!

    Thanks guys for all your help. Hope others find these posts useful.

    Regards.
  • rachel6188rachel6188 Forumite
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    let us know what happens... xxx
  • runu23runu23 Forumite
    16 Posts
    From what I've heard it's pretty much the norm. The banks have to check that it definitely fraud before they will give any money back into the account.

    The reasoning behind it is that if you say £2000 has been taken from your account fraudulently and they give it back straight away, then you can withdraw the money and the bank is going to have to chase you for it if it turns out not to be fraud.


    is 10 days enough for them to investigate, say telephone banking fraud; what and how do they investigate this ?
  • bod1467bod1467
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    What? This thread was from 2009! Sheesh.
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