Unjustly accused of fraud by Lloyds TSB

rubenstine

rwgd wrote: »

Firstly, I would like to thank Yorkie1, bigmatt1174, innovate and the members of this forum that have given their support and dispensed some very useful advice - you guys rock

With regard to innovate's queries, I suppose the explanation was that it was late in the day by that point (we were there for 2 hours!) and the bank was beginning to empty out. Also, the customer service desk was situated away from the main clerk desks and had multiple members of staff there. Add to that the picture of a clearly distressed woman...I suppose it naturally attracts attention and a sympathetic word or two.

If the branch can be described as being like Fawlty Towers, perhaps the fraud department can equally be described as being like Porridge or Only Fools and Horses!

Sympathy for your g/f Rg disgraceful behaviour on Lloyds part.

Then you come on here ,tbh I do not understand how some of
these people are allowed access to the forum yet alone allowed to reply ,they appear to be people who are seething with rage probably
unemployable and just wait to reply to people on here to fill their empty days ....

MABLE

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

I too found the original post well written, properely punctuated, and correctly deliminated into paragraphs.


Its not an exercise dear! Also you have spelt properly and delimitated in correctly.

CleanShirt

PhenoM wrote: »

Thought it was more like it. Didn't want him hanging up on me

In the end, it wasn't that particular advisor's fault. He was just doing what he has been told to do to not lose his job. But a little bit of common sense sprinkled here and there goes a long way in retaining customers.

But hey, if it wasn't for the trend of Shoot first and Ask questions later, none of us would've been in this mess today :beer:

I sympathise with your situation. I couldn't imagine how distressing it would be to be in your gf's shoes.

I think this thread provides an appropriate analogy.. these people who sit on MSE with responses akin to people with mild aspergers are people who sit on here all day and notice a trend in similar threads and consequently are not sympathetic... As with Fraud Departments who exclusively deal with fraud on a daily basis. I am sure they trust no one!!! They merely work from facts... two dodgy transactions that the account holder is not aware of. If I were you I would be worried if they were fraudulent- would the fraudsters have access to the account to move the money on?

Ultimately banks are so tightly regulated due to Anti Money Laundering and Anti Terrorism etc. They have to be on the ball otherwise they end up being slapped with heavy fines like with HSBC or Standard Chartered recently. They are obliged to shoot first and act later- otherwise they may be tipping off which is a serious criminal offence. The best way to offer a sustainable business and retain customers as a whole is to be risk averse. Not really a good experience for the individual.

With that in mind, although the branch staff were sympathetic, im sure are not adverse to the ins and outs of fraud. Moreover im sure they shouldn't have divulged you with the info the fraud dept gave them about the transactions, as again thats tipping off details of the 'fraud'.

Its cold but the way banks have to operate, which isnt really conducive to a good personal experience.

Just explaining it from the other side of the coin. Like I say I think its terrible for anyone who it happens to.

Gromitt

MABLE wrote: »

Its not an exercise dear! Also you have spelt properly and delimitated in correctly.

There's also no space in 'incorrectly'

and you screwed up the quote

realaledrinker

CleanShirt wrote: »

. Moreover im sure they shouldn't have divulged you with the info the fraud dept gave them about the transactions, as again thats tipping off details of the 'fraud'.

Up to 5 years in gaol and/or an unlimited fine is the penalty for "tipping off".

I work in a bank but not in a customer facing role, yet 100% of staff get the Proceeds of Crime Act sanctions shoved in our faces on a regular basis.

That's why I find this story hard to believe, to be honest.

rwgd

realaledrinker wrote: »

Up to 5 years in gaol and/or an unlimited fine is the penalty for "tipping off".

I work in a bank but not in a customer facing role, yet 100% of staff get the Proceeds of Crime Act sanctions shoved in our faces on a regular basis.

That's why I find this story hard to believe, to be honest.

You're fully entitled to your opinion on whether or not you believe my story, of course, and I shalln't waste time trying to convince you of the truth of it. I fully appreciate you don't know me from Adam, so why should you believe me? However, all that really matters is that the bank will (or should) have a full record of the telephone conversations, so the evidence is there to support us when we make a complaint.

I should have clarified that the member of the fraud department did confirm that the investigation was closed, so technically no information was given away regarding an ongoing investigation. Also, the member of staff at the bank did ask whether it was OK to divulge the information to the customer before doing so.

I don't want to really dwell on the point of whether or not information should have been divulged - the core issues here are the disgraceful treatment of a victim of fraud which led to that person being made to feel like they were a criminal, and the hopeless situation that the bank has left the customer in (i.e. the knowledge that if another such transaction is attempted, their account will be closed and their record will be permanently marred with a fraud marker). The first point is just bad practice and, as far as we are concerned, may be rectified with a sincere apology and fair compensation for the losses incurred. The second point, however, should surely raise some serious concerns over how Lloyds TSB are conducting their investigations. To draw on an analogy, if someone stole something and left it in my front garden without my knowledge, I'm fairly confident that the police wouldn't treat me in a similar despicable manner and threaten to give me a criminal record if someone left something there again!

meer53

rwgd wrote: »

You're fully entitled to your opinion on whether or not you believe my story, of course, and I shalln't waste time trying to convince you of the truth of it. I fully appreciate you don't know me from Adam, so why should you believe me? However, all that really matters is that the bank will (or should) have a full record of the telephone conversations, so the evidence is there to support us when we make a complaint.

I should have clarified that the member of the fraud department did confirm that the investigation was closed, so technically no information was given away regarding an ongoing investigation. Also, the member of staff at the bank did ask whether it was OK to divulge the information to the customer before doing so.

I don't want to really dwell on the point of whether or not information should have been divulged - the core issues here are the disgraceful treatment of a victim of fraud which led to that person being made to feel like they were a criminal, and the hopeless situation that the bank has left the customer in (i.e. the knowledge that if another such transaction is attempted, their account will be closed and their record will be permanently marred with a fraud marker). The first point is just bad practice and, as far as we are concerned, may be rectified with a sincere apology and fair compensation for the losses incurred. The second point, however, should surely raise some serious concerns over how Lloyds TSB are conducting their investigations. To draw on an analogy, if someone stole something and left it in my front garden without my knowledge, I'm fairly confident that the police wouldn't treat me in a similar despicable manner and threaten to give me a criminal record if someone left something there again!

What losses did your GF incur ?

You should put your complaint in writing and await a response from Lloyds. Try to keep the complaint to the point and just state the facts. To say you were treated in a "despicable" manner and other overly emotional phrases won't help your case.

I would also advise your GF to open another bank account just to be prepared.

dalesrider

meer53 wrote: »

I would also advise your GF to open another bank account just to be prepared.

It never ceases to amaze me that despite all the these parties have been put through. You rarely see a mention of I will be moving banks ASAP after this is sorted.

If this happened to me. I would be off faster than a rabbit up a hole

Wish I had £ for everytime I hear. Thats it I'm moving my accounts. Only to see that they never actually do.... Even after being passed to closures and them being aware we are happy for them to leave.

Yorkie1

dalesrider wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me that despite all the these parties have been put through. You rarely see a mention of I will be moving banks ASAP after this is sorted.

If this happened to me. I would be off faster than a rabbit up a hole

Wish I had £ for everytime I hear. Thats it I'm moving my accounts. Only to see that they never actually do.... Even after being passed to closures and them being aware we are happy for them to leave.

I can understand your point; but when you've been told that a marker will be put on the national fraud database to prevent you doing just that, you can see why people wouldn't want to risk further humiliation and embarrassment.

MABLE

Gromitt wrote: »

There's also no space in 'incorrectly'

and you screwed up the quote

We are as bad as each other then with our spelling.