Natwest won't refund fraudulent Amazon transactions

VicDoc

Hi,

Three weeks ago Amazon contacted me by email to let me know that somebody had set up what they believed to be a fraudulent Amazon account as it had my debit card details registered, but a different name and address. When I checked my bank account, I was horrified to see that there had been 7 separate fraudulent transactions made through Amazon totalling £899! Rather suspiciously this all started 5 days after I had made a genuine Amazon Marketplace purchase.

I reported this to my bank (Natwest) and immediately stopped my debit card. I have filled out the fraud claim form from Natwest and reported this to the police.

I am now stuck as Amazon have said that my bank is liable to refund my money, but Natwest have refused stating that as I am already an Amazon customer, they are classing these as "disputed retail transactions" rather than fraud. This is despite the fact that somebody has clearly (and fraudulently) used my debit card details to set up an Amazon account! I have not lost or had my card stolen and can only assume that my card details were gained in some way by somebody related to the initial Amazon purchase.

Has anybody else has any experience of this, and does anybody know how I can get my money back?

stclair

Id start off by following the banks complaint procedure.

https://www.natwest.com/secure/global/contact_us/complaints_procedure.htm

pb3

I wish you the very best in recovering your money.

I'd suggest that in future you never ever use a debit card for online shopping.

If your details get stolen then the fraudulent transactions come directly out your bank account rather than through the buffer of a credit card company.

If you read through past posts on the credit card forum then the tales of fraudulent cc transactions will literally turn your hair grey. The recovery proces is stressful enough without the major complication of the fraudulent transactions coming directly out your bank account.

If you don't have a credit card then you should give serious consideration to a prepaid debit card.

jonesMUFCforever

I would dispute the transactions then ASAP the end result is the same - you get your money back.

The previous advice about not shopping with a debit card online is good advice IMO.

Own_Feet

Agree with pb3 about not using a debit card for online purchases. After being a victim of debit card fraud earlier this year despite being pretty security conscious, I now use my cards in a different way: I have one credit card for online payments and have set aside another one for non-online payments (such as at the supermarket, although I mainly pay for groceries in cash now anyway), and I endeavour not to use my debit card for payments at all, whether online or not. I now also remove my card details from the websites of online retailers such as Amazon once I've made a purchase and had confirmation that the payment's gone through.

Hazzanet

Same here - I use a credit card for everything, and only get cash out the ATM with the debit card.

bright_side

I've just discovered today that my debit card has been used 5 times without my knowledge. Alliance and Leicester are looking into this for me and have of course, cancelled the card. I shop online a lot, so in future should I use a credit card instead?? What is the difference when it comes to fraud please?

chris_m

One big advantage is that any fraudulent transactions don't come straight out of your bank account, giving you time to query them before you pay/lose any money.

Of course, if it's also a cashback card you can make money as you shop ;-)

There is also the matter of joint liability between the supplier and card issuer to assist you in the case of damaged or missing goods, which I don't think applies to debit cards.

apples1

Never considered that a cc would be any safer online than a debit card. I nearly always use my debit card online. Is it just the time thing that makes it better?

I only use cc rarely (if ordering a few items (clothes) knowing I will return some but could swap to cc if it were safer. When the cc bill becomes due I always pay in full. If you have a fraudulent charge on your cc bill that you have queried do you just not pay that amount then? Don't you get charges interest on the balance whilst you are waiting for resolution?

I did have a fraudulent charge made on my debit card. It was only £30 and my bank picked it up and called me. I was amazed! They (Smile) refunded it at once.

chris_m

apples1 wrote: »

If you have a fraudulent charge on your cc bill that you have queried do you just not pay that amount then? Don't you get charges interest on the balance whilst you are waiting for resolution?

The disputed amount gets "frozen" pending investigation. I guess that interest would be charged if the transaction is finally deemed to be your responsibility,

The important thing (IMO) is that fraudsters cannot literally empty your bank account because there is no direct link between the credit card and your bank account. OK, they could cause your credit card to be stopped, either because the limit is exceeded or the fraud has been spotted, but that's a LOT less inconvenient than having no money at all.

VicDoc

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies to my original query. After much arguing with NatWest and their rather unhelpful Fraud Department, I wrote to them quoting section 12 of the Banking Code (to which they subscribe), which basically states that you will not be liable for fraudulent transactions made online. A few days later they refunded me in full!