Fraudulent banking transactions: Tell the FSA Consumer Panel your views

chris_h16

• Have you had someone take money from your bank account without your knowledge?
• Yes
• When was this?
• 2009 i think
  
• What was your bank's response when you raised this with them?
• I phoned them and told them there was two transactions for £30 each related to Vodafone topup which i hadn't done. They put me through to the fraud department and closed my account and cancelled my cards to investigate. Told me no charges would be charged and if they did i could get them refunded as my account was passed to the fraud department.
• Did your bank refund the money taken?
• Yes
• If you did get your money back how long did it take?
• Not sure exaclty i think it was about 2 weeks
• Was the bank helpful in its response?
• Pretty good
  
• What could, or should it have done better?
• I had to reclaim some charges that i received as direct debit came out when i didn't have the funds in because the fraud transactions made me overdrawn. I HAD TO do this in store as they couldn't do it over the phone.
  

febe

• Have you had someone take money from your bank account without your knowledge? yes
• When was this? late last yaer
• What was your bank's response when you raised this with them? it was them (nationwide) that actually informed me. they had put a stop on my account and stop a further transaction
• Did your bank refund the money taken? yes
• If you did get your money back how long did it take? a few days
• Was the bank helpful in its response? to be honest they were great i might not have even noticed it right away as the initial amount was only small.
• What could, or should it have done better? can't see how :-)

deepindebtor

I had money taken without my knowledge from my Halifax Ultimate Reward account.

This caused lots of payments to bounce, racking up huge charges as some payments automatically were retried, again without my knowledge.

By the time I was aware of what was going on I had hundreds of pounds of charges.

The Halifax were un-sympathetic and in the end only offered to pay half of the charges, leaving me to pay the rest while unemployed.

I struggled, skimped and saved to pay those charges back as they promised me everything would be fine once I had done that.

They have not honoured their promise and kept my account frozen.

To add insult to injury they continue to apply the monthly charge to my frozen account and tell me the account is closed and cannot be re-opened, denying that they told me everything would be fine if I paid the money back quickly, so they just screwed me over to get their money back quickly.

Very, very angry. Spoke to the debt company dealing with the debt that was rung up due to the sloppy processes and even they say the charges should have stopped and should never have continued, so it turns out I have not only paid quickly but overpaid AND had my account taken from me, all due to something that was not my fault.

Can you imagine how much I hate the Halifax right now?

I am in the process of sending a complaint to the FSA as my bank is totally uninterested in me and my problem.

newsgroup_monkey

• Have you had someone take money from your bank account without your knowledge?

Yes. Halifax

• When was this?

Last June

• What was your bank's response when you raised this with them?

They actually spotted it around the same time I noticed it. They froze my account and my cards. The money had been used to buy Credit for mobile phones.

• Did your bank refund the money taken?

Yes. They asked me to fill out a form

• If you did get your money back how long did it take?

About 5 days

• Was the bank helpful in its response?

Very

• What could, or should it have done better?

Nothing

PurplePatch_2

About 2 months ago I was contacted by my bank, Lloyds TSB, to be asked about unusual activity on my debit card. Someone had purchased high value goods using a cloned copy of my card and had also failed in a second attempt after the purchase was refused by the bank. The cost of the purchase, along with the cost of 2 small 'test' purchases that the criminals had made, were never taken from my account by the bank. I received a replacement debit card within a couple of days and I feel that I was treated exceptionally well by the bank. I'm only too happy that the bank staff at Lloyds TSB are so vigilant when checking the use of debit/credit cards and I also thank them wholeheartedly for their prompt action. :T

Toe-Jam

Why do all these people keep such huge amounts of money in a current account.? Put it in your savings account thats not linked to a card and it will be safe. Transfer it across as and when you need it.

VictimOfImpersonation

Interesting this ... I wonder if it will come to anything. Anyway, my two-pennorth:

• Have you had someone take money from your bank account without your knowledge?

Yes, a sophisticated attack on my various credit card accounts

• When was this?

Very recently

• What was your bank's response when you raised this with them?

A rainbow of responses from the various card providers

• Did your bank refund the money taken?

Yes, but they should never have fallen for the scam in the first place

• If you did get your money back how long did it take?

Because I was on to it within a day or two, the fraudulent entries were contra'd before they hit any monthly statement.

• Was the bank helpful in its response?

Again, a huge variety of response - very little standardisation of practice across the spectrum of providers except one thing - a total reluctance to investigate and prosecute the fraudsters, and in all cases blatant obstruction when I asked for transcripts of fraudulent calls.

• What could, or should it have done better?

The whole industry needs grabbing by the proverbials and must be made to dump their cosy "protocol" agreed with the police that the banks are the "victim" and therefore there will be no police investigation whatsoever unless the banks specifically request one via their 'single point of contact in London'.

Let there be no doubt about this, organized criminals are using banking fraud to fund bad things, and the banks aren't paying for it, WE ARE! Why do you think we have double digit loan rates when the base rate is 0.5%? Credit risk?? My !!!! Just like the oil companies, the banks thrive on turnover - they just love it when turnover is inflated by any means. It detracts from attention to other trends on their books.

And in my case I most recently discovered that it appears that the fraudsters began by fraudulently obtaining an online credit report for me probably paying using a Prepaid Mastercard that may have been obtained in my name without any proof of ID needed to open the account.

All this unregulated pseudo-banking has got to stop, and banks must be forced to start taking their duty to prevent and prosecute fraud seriously.

scottishlass

• Have you had someone take money from your bank account without your knowledge?
• Yes
• When was this?
• 2007
  
• What was your bank's response when you raised this with them?
• They stopped my card and sent me a new one but informed me that I would have to go to my nearest branch and sign a fraud form for they to investigate
  
• Did your bank refund the money taken?
• Yes
• If you did get your money back how long did it take?
• Within 2 weeks
  
• Was the bank helpful in its response?
• Yes but would have preferred not to travel 28 miles round trip to sign a form
• What could, or should it have done better?
• Allowing the form to be signed online etc
  

iggie_2

I've had two experiences of this; the first was after using my debit card at a petrol station I had never used before (or since.....) and then around £350 was spent with an on-line retailer for goods to be delivered. I was routinely checking my account and noticed a difference between available funds and the balance which didn't seem right. I phoned my bank (A&L) and they advised me who the payee was, and I was able to convince them this was not me. The amount was immediately refunded, and my card stopped & replaced. However, despite repeated requests for further information from their fraud team I heard nothing. I did get £50 compensation when I complained about being kept in the dark though.
Just recently I have had another experience, which although not as it turned out fraudulent, gave me cause for concern. I filled up at a Tesco filling station, and used the pay at pump (Debit card) facility as normal. A couple of days later I noticed exactly £1.00 difference between available funds and current balance on my account; this £1 transaction had also occurred in the case outlined above, and as my bank could not at that time tell who the payee was, it was agreed best to cancel my card.....
It transpires that Tesco (and others by all account) randomly pick a selection of "remote" transactions, and before you take the fuel they put a £1 charge on your card to ensure it works.....this is supposed to be cancelled instantaneously and never show, being replaced by the full amount of the fuel cost. I spoke to Tesco Customer Services, and pointed out the inconvenience I had been put to, and was given 250 points to make up for it...
The £1.00 is still showing as a deduction from my account.....

Sunny1947

yes,,with Barclaycard

late 2009 and early 2010

intially helpful but it dragged on and the banks response was pathetic

yes they eventually refunded the money The bank marked down this situation as a failure to pay my bill when it was an account in dispute. This effected my credit rating and my ability to buy a house. I called 25 times and was pushed from pillar to post and was told a mutitude of different things many of which contradicted the previous person

it took 5 months to get the full refund

the bank did not perform well and I felt very frustrated. I bank with Barclays with my business (no borrowings) and I have another card with Barclaycard which was blocked ( during this situation)
to prevent me using it even though I have a near perfect credit history ( 3 late payments out of 200, the last being 2007 )
When my money was eventually refunded I asked that my account be closed. I am now thinging of moving banks as well