Fraudulent Bank Transfer removed from my account

bpm_2

Dear Anyone Who Can Help!

I recently sold some goods and with all the issues involving credit cards and other payment methods I said I would only accept a direct bank transfer.

The [STRIKE]gentle[/STRIKE]man concerned went online transferred nearly £5000 and I duly posted the items. 2 days later the bank then withdrew the money from my account saying it was sent fraudulently.

HELP! The man concerned is now (of course) un contactable and the bank say they will not refund me as it was my fault someone hacked into their online system.

What do I do, I need this money urgently and have even reported it to the police, they say phone the bank and the bank (politely) say sod off.

Help with HSBC, do I have a legal leg to stand on, can they really withdraw money from my account without notifying me?

Yours hopefully and broke
Barny

Plxply

What exactly were the items that were posted that costed £5000? Surely you would use a recorded delivery service and therefore have a signature.

d123

For £5000 surely you would have contacted the bank prior to posting the goods to confirm the transfer was cleared and in order?

How did you post the item? You should have details of where you posted it to.

ChiefGrasscutter

bpm wrote: »

........and the bank say they will not refund me as it was my fault someone hacked into their online system.

Sorry, but I don't understand this part as extracted/quoted above.
From the allegation made the £5K was deemed by the bank fraudalent in some manner so they (the bank) "removed it". Where does the allegation they someone hacked into "their online system" fit in to all this
yours Confused

bpm_2

Of course I sent it Royal Mail Insured Signed For Delivery, and yes I have a signature of "someone" who signed for it. Rather un intelligible but a signature all the same.
Yes I have an address but that person now (in 1 day) appears not to live there.
Yes the money WAS cleared into my account prior to me posting the items. I verified this with my online service to check the funds had already cleared.
The money was apparently sent from the mans account I posted the item to but without his knowledge, ie, a hacker went into his online account, transferred the money and then through "a friend" or "a friendly postman" took delivery of this item at this address where no one now seems to know him.

JuicyJesus

bpm wrote: »

the bank say they will not refund me as it was my fault someone hacked into their online system.

That makes no sense at all. It's not your fault, and to be fair not theirs either (chances are the bank's system wasn't hacked as such, but the customer was the victim of a trojan attack or responded to a phishing email). They may have said they won't refund you as it's not their fault the sending bank's system got hacked, but that's a different matter - and there's nothing saying they should refund you, as they've done nothing wrong.

To be honest I'm not sure your story entirely stacks up. I've never heard of someone having a Faster Payment in recalled before, even if fraudulent. And I doubt any bank employee, of any bank, would claim what you have quoted in good faith.

bpm_2

[QUOTE=To_be_honest_I'm_not_sure_your_story_entirely_stacks_up._I've_never_heard_of_someone_having_a_Faster_Payment_in_recalled_before,_even_if_fraudulent._And_I_doubt_any_bank_employee,_of_any_bank,_would_claim_what_you_have_quoted_in_good_faith.[/QUOTE]

Ive never heard of a bank recalling it either, that's why I was shocked. Ive no issue with paying the guy back whos money it was, its just that I dont think they should make ME pay for it.

Dont think they were naive enough to put it in those words at the bank, I actually transcribed the conversation at the bank and asked them to sign to verify that I had understood them correctly, but they refused.

It still doesnt negate the fact that after being paid for something, I sent it, only to have my money taken away from me by the bank.

Now the only way it is possible for someone to claim to be somebody else and then send me money from this other persons account is if someone hacked into their account.

So can anyone actually help me get my money back from the bank by quoting a law, statute or otherwise that shows that withdrawal of funds from my account without my permission is illegal? When I have done nothing fraudulent and sent goods in lieu of payment in good faith.

noh

So can anyone actually help me get my money back from the bank by quoting a law, statute or otherwise that shows that withdrawal of funds from my account without my permission is illegal? When I have done nothing fraudulent and sent goods in lieu of payment in good faith.

No I don't think anyone can simply because there is no such rule.

You have been the victim of a scam. You have been defrauded of goods to the value of £5k.

If the credit to your account was a frauldulent credit then your bank is correct in reversing it.

All you can do is report it to the police and hope.

ChiefGrasscutter

Regretably it's a bit like when you buy something all in good faith....but which later turns out to be stolen goods - despite all your checks etc.
In this example the police/insurance company whatever will "recover" the goods from you to return them to the rightful owner (the goods might be a valuable antique for instance) and you the innocent buyer who bought it in "good faith" are left out of pocket from the experience.

Ususally in these cases even if the conman/thief/fence can be traced you are unable to get your money back as the money as "gone".

As poster 'noh' says you have been the victim of a scam and you should report it to the police and hope.

bpm_2

Yes but the scam was perpetrated on the bank and they have made me pay for it.

The credit to my account was not fraudulent, the credit came from the bank account of the person I thought it would and for the correct amount, it was the person who sent it who was the fraudulent party in the transaction.

To state that its a scam is to say that the bank has the right to withdraw ANY amount from your bank at ANY time, no matter what the payment method or who from, if they suspect it was fraud. If you are owed this money or not you would then not get it back? If you believe this how can you possibly use a bank account for anything?

zppp

bpm wrote: »

Yes but the scam was perpetrated on the bank and they have made me pay for it.

The credit to my account was not fraudulent, the credit came from the bank account of the person I thought it would and for the correct amount, it was the person who sent it who was the fraudulent party in the transaction.

To state that its a scam is to say that the bank has the right to withdraw ANY amount from your bank at ANY time, no matter what the payment method or who from, if they suspect it was fraud. If you are owed this money or not you would then not get it back? If you believe this how can you possibly use a bank account for anything?

What if the person simply sent the payment by BACS, and then recalled the BACS payment saying it was made in error?