natwest fraud calls but daughter in Asia solo without phone

kit77

I understand that you are upset that your daughter does not have acces to her account while abroad and as a parent i would too.

Sadly Debit Card, Telephony and Internet Banking fraud is on the increase. The bank are not being difficult they are keeping your daughters account secure.

The bank has a process to follow and your daughter needs to follow this process. I am sure that if they didn't follow this process and the situation was different and the bank allowed a fraudster to access your daughters account you would be far more upset.

I hope your daughter is able to get in contact with them soon and she enjoys the rest of her time abroad.

jonnyd281

jalexa wrote: »

You have made Natwest aware that their conduct puts at risk a lone female travelling abroad. When the dust has settled suggest your daughter raises a formal complaint with Natwest with a view to finding out if the Financial Ombudsman Service has a precedent for the *exact* circumstances. A central circumstance is that the held (and normal) telephone number is valid and (apparently) there was no need to advise travel (or to register a mobile number).

And this is why complaints to the FOS should cost the complainant, there are zero grounds for complaint, it is really simple the OPs daughter PHONES THE BANK and answers the security questions, or before she goes she sets her mother up as a having a general power of attorney.

I bet they would be jumping up and down if the card had been stolen and the bank had not put a stop on it, or if an email to the bank compromised the account.

stclair

mabinogion wrote: »

Thanks for all the great suggestions folks. She knows whats going on but the time zone differences and issues of travelling around have complicated getting it sorted. Will update you when its sorted. I really think that there has to be another way than by phone for such circumstances (through internet bank account) but thats for another day.

thanks again

Just in case you may have missed it the first time, The fraud team accept reversed charges on calls made from abroad by calling 0044 131 339 7609.

Any suggestions you may have to improve the bank services have can be recorded here:

http://www.natwest.com/global/customer-charter/g1/ideas-bank.ashx

jalexa

jonnyd281 wrote: »

And this is why complaints to the FOS should cost the complainant...

Since you quote my sig and part of my post let me deal with points you raise. I note you (literally) state "this is why complaints to the FOS should cost the complainant" but wonder if you intended to include "unsuccessful" in your criterion.

Regardless of that I think you completely misunderstand the role of the case fee in the FOS scheme. It is not (and at £500 is not for a large bank) a penalty payment. It is designed to encourage the financial organisation to consider the complaint to satisfaction in accordance with the agreed procedure and timeframe.

You say "there are zero grounds for complaint" but that is exactly why there is an Ombudsman scheme and it is the Ombudsman's role to determine after investigation. It may be the complaint can be quickly dismissed but equally the complaint may be upheld in whole or in part.

I would say the issue is whether or not fraud is suspected and the grounds. I do not know the circucumstances of the transaction but I do not accept that a bone fide transaction is "suspicious" only because it is transacted overseas. If there is a pattern, that *might* be grounds for suspicion and in that case would be a response to the complaint.

Regarding your "suggestion" that the customer pays a "complaint fee", actually I may see some common ground there but my quid pro quo would that the financial organisation would be liable for a profit or turnover related fee not a piffling £500 flat rate.

In my post I suggested asking for a transfer charge number and I am pleased to see the posting of such a number. The OP has given no indication that Natwest volunteered that option, though (I assume) had been made aware that the account holder was a young female travelling alone, therefore vulnerable. It is the "conduct" of the fraud adviser against Natwest policy and procedure in the *exact* circumstances described that needs to be tested, in the first instance using the Natwest complaints procedure.

silvercar

This happened to my son last year while travelling. He phoned the fraud team on reverse charge calling and sorted it. In the mean time I Western Union-ed some funds to him.

Once he got back we added myself as third party on his accounts, so this year I had the authority to tell them that he was travelling.

NatWest don't take any notice if you tell them in advance you are travelling - they still block the card until you have confirmed the card use in the location.

meer53

jalexa wrote: »

Since you quote my sig and part of my post let me deal with points you raise. I note you (literally) state "this is why complaints to the FOS should cost the complainant" but wonder if you intended to include "unsuccessful" in your criterion.

Regardless of that I think you completely misunderstand the role of the case fee in the FOS scheme. It is not (and at £500 is not for a large bank) a penalty payment. It is designed to encourage the financial organisation to consider the complaint to satisfaction in accordance with the agreed procedure and timeframe.

You say "there are zero grounds for complaint" but that is exactly why there is an Ombudsman scheme and it is the Ombudsman's role to determine after investigation. It may be the complaint can be quickly dismissed but equally the complaint may be upheld in whole or in part.

I would say the issue is whether or not fraud is suspected and the grounds. I do not know the circucumstances of the transaction but I do not accept that a bone fide transaction is "suspicious" only because it is transacted overseas. If there is a pattern, that *might* be grounds for suspicion and in that case would be a response to the complaint.

Regarding your "suggestion" that the customer pays a "complaint fee", actually I may see some common ground there but my quid pro quo would that the financial organisation would be liable for a profit or turnover related fee not a piffling £500 flat rate.

In my post I suggested asking for a transfer charge number and I am pleased to see the posting of such a number. The OP has given no indication that Natwest volunteered that option, though (I assume) had been made aware that the account holder was a young female travelling alone, therfore vulnerable. It is the "conduct" of the fraud adviser against Natwest policy and procedure in the *exact* circumstances described that needs to be tested, in the first instance using the Natwest complaints procedure.

99 times out of 100,first cash withdrawals in foreign countries (especially Asia) will immediately trigger a fraud detection check. Once the OP's daughter has called Natwest and confirmed it was her, the block on the card can be removed and she will be able to use the card again. The OP's daughter doesn't really have any other option available to her if Natwest won't accept confirmation by secure message through their internet banking service. Email isn't really secure enough for account details to be sent for cases like this so she will either have to call them or be unable to use the card.

I too find it hard to understand why someone would go travelling without a mobile, even if just for emergency use.

DCFC79

mabinogion wrote: »

Thanks st clair. Her phone is not set up to use abroad. Besides which, as a student she can't afford phone charges involved to have the likes of natwest phoning her on the other side of the world. Most people these days are happy to make use of the internet as a means of communication. She does internet banking which is supposed to be secure, so why can't she let them know that way? Its not rocket science!

reason why email isnt allowed is because it can be any female calling them up pretending to be your daughter.

agrinnall

How ever did we manage in the days before mobile phones? :rotfl:

Two solutions:
1) Use a land line
2) Get the mobile unlocked, either before going or when you get there, buy a cheap SIM card locally (you can usually find ones that will allow relatively cheap international calls) and use that.