fraud ! do I stand ANY chance ?

sibrowney

hi, I lost my debit card mid July and reported it to my bank (lloyds) when I realised it was missing. The bank wouldn't give me a new one claiming fraudulent activity had occured they wouldn't tell me much about this ad closed my account ! I finally got my statements which show transactions had been made from different cash points and a deposit had been put in and withdrawn using my card which I did not reognise. now this is where I am in trouble due to my pin being with the card which I know is against policies and was silly off me. Now the bank have put a fraud mark on my file and I can't get an account anywhere !! they have sent me a letter saying to pay my overdraft back which the thiefs spent and went over the amount ! I've reported to police but they won't do anything really, has anyone got advice were to go to or if I can get an account anywhere ? I'm a student and won't be able to have my loan paid in without one, any help would be grateful.

poorgirl-54

it will be very difficult for you to get an account, as this is recent. you can try a basic account with no benefits, at hsbc or santander.

cant you nominate your parent/sibling/partner/close friend/cousin to have the loan paid into their account and they can pay you, whom you trust until you get a an account or sort this issue?

CLAPTON

the fact that your pin was with the card does not constitute fraud.
it may well mean they would refund you but that's another matter.


you need to pursue them to prove there was fraud i.e. video evidence of you withdrawing etc.

sibrowney

I've tried basic accounts with sone banks, all of them said no ! and student finance can't pay into someone else account they said as it's classed as Fraud (again!!). I'm trying to fight the bank against it but they are so rude and I'm being treated like a thug ! would the bank have looked at CCTV where someone take the money ? or would I need to investigate this myself ? thank you

CLAPTON

you need to insist they provide the video evidence of the withdrawals

RoxRoxBling

Firstly, I'd write a letter of complaint to your bank. http://www.lloydstsb.com/contact_us/complaints_procedure.asp This should say what happened, and what the bank needs to do to put things right. If you are not happy with the banks response or you do not hear anything from them after 8 weeks, then complain to the Financial Ombudsman, who will look at the bank's side and your side.

jamesd

"Under Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules introduced in November 2009, all banks must reimburse fraudulent transactions even if the genuine card and PIN was used. ... A FSA spokeswoman adds: 'A bank can only deny an immediate refund if it has actual proof the customer behaved fraudulently."

It seems that Lloyds are not acting properly here and may have wrongly assumed that use of card with PIN means that the transactions were carried out by you. If they do not change their conduct take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

meer53

A bank can hold a customer liable for fraud if they feel the customer has been negligent as per their terms and conditions. If the OP didn't report the card missing straight away and then admitted that the PIN was with their card, then can't see them getting a refund any time soon.

jamesd

For the overdraft use portion it makes no difference whether there was negligence or not, the maximum permitted liability is £50 because the card was used as a credit token: "Some firms think that if cardholders were grossly negligent in their care of a card and/or PIN, then they can always be held liable for the full amount of any transactions made with that card by a fraudster. But that is not the case ... These provisions cannot be excluded by the account terms". Also see case 46/2 "The card had been used as a credit-token, so it did not matter that the card terms said that Mrs A would be liable if she failed to take reasonable care of her card and PIN. This was because the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act take precedence. We agreed with the firm that Mrs A had been grossly negligent in the care of her card and PIN. So she was made liable for the first £50 of the losses. We required the firm to refund the rest."

sibrowney should complain, citing the FOS description, and make it clear that the matter will be taken to the FOS if the bank continues to breach the Consumer Credit Act. For the non-credit fraud the This is Money reference to the FSA should be used or the original source for that rule used.

A complaint about what appears to be false reporting of the matter as fraud by the account holder should also be made to the bank and to any agencies that the bank reported it to. Perhaps best to wait for the complaint and possible FOS referral if that proceeds quickly.

bengal-stripe

sibrowney wrote: »

I lost my debit card mid July and reported it to my bank (lloyds) when I realised it was missing.

How much later was that?
Did all these transactions go through, while the card had not been reported missing?

meer53

Not only did the OP leave the PIN number with the card, they didn't report it straight away ! Double whammy !