Bank Fraud! Santander!!!

TurnUpForTheBooks_2 · 1 October 2013 at 8:49AM

You bankers like declaring you are bankers when it suits you in sundry other threads, but you don't like hearing about the seamier side and what really goes on, do you ERICS MUM? There's the shame.

TurnUpForTheBooks_2 · 1 October 2013 at 9:32AM

lizals wrote: »

I do hope I can be excused for using this thread. I am 65 and kept looking where I could post to no avail.

We have a holiday home in Spain and whilst there on the 10th July, the day before we were due to come home, we were robbed whilst sitting in the front garden and the robber/robbers scaling a 7ft wall. They took jewellery, money, passports,driving licences everything that was important to us. We bank with Lloydstsb in the UK and after a nightmare trauma of missing flights and having to borrow money off near strangers to get home we armed with our new 24 hr passports finally got home. Even though the Guardia Civil interpreter phoned Easyjet and he was told we could board the plane with our Denuncia (Crime Report) this wasnt true. When my husband was on the phone to Lloydstsb on the 13th July the same day we arrived home, he was accused of being involved and they wouldnt accept the claim. I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack with what he was being accused of. Well I then emailed Lloydstsb immediately and told them about their Fraud Team Member and a nice lady phoned me and after days of worry we finally got everything back. Our bank in Spain is a different story. They took out 600 euros of our Account within 1 hr of the Robbery we went into the bank the next day and was told it was no good claiming as we wouldnt get it back as we had used our pin nos. which were our birthdays. The card had been cancelled as soon as we were aware it had been stolen. We were both traumatised and it it only when I got home that I started to investigate. I requested claim forms from them as the Robbers had made 4 transactions from 4 Banks in Crevillente which is about 40 mins drive from where our house is. The bank sent me 4 claims form via email for me to print off and sign and scan and send back. This was done immediately I cannot get access to the account as my Internet Banking Card was stolen as well so wasnt aware whether the money had been credited to our Account or not. I have sent 7 emails with no response whatsoever. I was told at the time of reporting and cancelling the card that a new card would be sent out, but that hasnt been received here in the UK. So the emails were asking to let us know whether this money had been put back in as we have bills to pay and need to know whether to transfer money from here. Not one response. Last week a lady from the Bank phoned to tell me that the Police had contacted them and that our Passports/Licences/Cards etc., had been found and was we were aware these had been stolen!! This was a member of our own Bank staff, wasnt aware of that until I did 1471 and phoned back and was shocked to find she was a member of our bank staff..and why did she not look at the account and see that the card had been cancelled on the 10th July. I asked her where the 600 euros was and she said you wont get it back as your Pin Nos. were your birthday and it is like you have taken the money yourself. So I started to investigate and apparently Santander brought out new banking legislation which says that the only time they can refuse you is if you have the same pin nos for more than one card, we only have 1 card as they charge each year for each additional card!! I printed off this newspaper article as I felt that if Santander are doing that all the other Spanish Banks will follow and added this to yet another email, still no response to date. We are going to Spain on the 14th October. After the trauma and under doctor for high blood pressure I feel I dont want to argue anymore, but would like advice where to go from here and be ready for when we go into the Bank when we get to Spain and have some amunition as we feel this money should be credited to our Account as nowhere does it say you cannot use your pin nos. as you birthday, even though we have changed our UK ones to a different one now!!

The bank have a copy of the 5 page Denuncia which was raised on the 11th July..although both local Police and Guardia Civil did come out straight away on the evening on the 10th July, but we had to go into the Guardia on the 11th to obtain our Report. The really annoying thing is that we have now found out we could have actually claimed on our Insurance here had we known we wouldnt get our money back. That case has now been closed though and that isnt now possible.

Sorry this reads a bit like War and Peace but felt I needed to paint the full picture.

Help and advice needed by 2 Law Abiding Old Age Pensioners.

Liz & Alan (Cheshire)

Lizals, if you are still in UK, have you tried contacting Banco Sabadell's London branch:

Sabadell House
120, Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5EA

Phone: +44 207 321 00 20
Fax: +44 207 321 00 75

Maybe you can get them on the case if you haven't already?

Incidentally, that newsaper article you referred to about some banks slipping it into their small print that no two cards should have the same PIN (else losing your cash via card fraud is your fault) was news to me, and no doubt to many other readers so thanks for reminding us.

I have found a Daily Mail online report from last November which suggests it is not just a Spanish Bank thing.

And furthermore they concluded that November 2012 article with the comment:

The independent Financial Ombudsman’s Service says complaints from desperate customers who are being blamed by banks after losing cash through chip-and-pin fraud jumped 30 per cent last year.