Natwest Bloodsuckers - Helpful Banking my A..e

melb01

The total incompetence of a travel insurance company, Staysure, has dropped us in the Natwest Credit Card mire.

Staysure were negligent when they didn't secure many customers' debit/credit card details - see attached letter with their admission. Credit card details including the CVV number were hacked. The last and, of course, final time we used Staysure was in 2011 and the transaction was for a grand total of £44.

Three weeks after the data loss, my wife's credit card details were used in a £355 fraudulent transaction. We, of course, still have the card, which has not been used for at least eight months, because my wife has been in hospital recovering from a stroke.

Natwest will not do anything about this, because I do not have power of attorney over my wife's affairs - she is recovering from the stroke, and because of aphasia cannot talk to them. The Natwest Credit Card people will not discuss the matter also with our local Natwest Branch, who were willing to help, but the Natwest Credit Card organisation is a law unto itself. So, interest and defaults are building up and, I assume, my wife is developing a poor credit record.

Staysure will not do anything about this. They are not interested in consequential loss because of their negligence - they have informed the Financial Conduct Authority and can now wash their hands of the matter! Obviously, I cannot prove what the thief did, all I can say is that that card never left our possession for the duration of its four year validity, and certainly not for the last eight months.

So, now, to unravel this mess, I have to seek Power of Attorney. This will cost us, at least, a £1000, because of Court and Solicitor's fees - all because of Staysure's negligence over a £44 transaction in 2011. Alternatively, I can wait until she is better, and run the risk of having credit issues - there is no way I'm paying of the debt when we had absolutely nothing to do with it.

The moral is don't deal with Natwest if you're disabled, or about to become disabled. Obviously, avoid Staysure - an Orwellian name for an incompetent outfit if there ever was one.

Mel

grumbler

Can your wife sign a letter?
Edit your post a little, get it signed and send to to the "Credit Card people", cc to complaints.

meer53

Why will it cost you £1000 ?

RobertoMoir

melb01 wrote: »

Natwest will not do anything about this, because I do not have power of attorney over my wife's affairs - she is recovering from the stroke, and because of aphasia cannot talk to them. The Natwest Credit Card people will not discuss the matter also with our local Natwest Branch, who were willing to help, but the Natwest Credit Card organisation is a law unto itself. So, interest and defaults are building up and, I assume, my wife is developing a poor credit record.

While I understand your frustration and would share it in your position, natwest are somewhat between the devil and the deep blue sea. There are plenty of posts on here from people about banks that have been conned into letting someone have access to someone else's accounts.

Phrases like "bloodsuckers" and "helpful my a$$e" are frequently bandied about on those posts too. I think that if I was chief exec of a bank that was going to be crucified no matter what, I'd prefer to be crucified for being too careful with other people's money instead of not careful enough.

As others have said, is your wife able to sign a letter for you to send to them, or to simplify getting power of attorney?

Poppops

meer53 wrote: »

Why will it cost you £1000 ?

There is a standard cost for obtaining a power of attorney. It is a much more complicated process if the relative is unable to give power of attorney themselves. The court needs to satisfy itself that firstly the person involved is incapacitated, and secondly that all other family members agree to the applying proposed attorney. And you do need a solicitor.

We went through this 4 years ago, and I'm surprised it is only £1000 now when you add solicitor's fees. Our family member had also had a stroke.

I would suggest though that even if this issue hadn't come up, OP would be wise to get one anyway for both health and financial issues. We were advised by the hospital to get one within days of the stroke

AlexMac

Sympathies; A Staysure rep spoke on the Moneybox programme on Radio4 today and he was entirely unimpressive about the fact that they'd retained CVV numbers for transactions, together with client card data, which is very much against the regs.

Apart from any possible recourse to banking and insurance regulators or ombudsmen, might it be worth writing to/emailing consumer champions like the moneybox programme or those in the Sunday Times and Saturday telegraph? Whether or not it helps you get redress, its possibly cathartic .

Tiddlywinks

Any organisation cannot discuss personal data with another person without complying with the law - which is designed to protect the individual... Natwest are not doing anything wrong.

I am sorry to hear that you are facing such distress but it is not NatWest's fault that your wife is unable to communicate with them.

Is your wife able to communicate in writing?

BonkersBonkers

It could have been a total coincidence that OP's wife's card was used fraudulently after the Staysure incident.

melb01

Reply to Posters

1. Unfortunately, my wife cannot sign. Stroke was severe.
   
   
2. Why I am critical of Natwest, is because I can compare it easily with the Department for Work and Pensions.
   
   I was in the same situation when claiming Attendance Allowance on my wife's behalf. The DWP HQ in Blackpool asked a local DWP rep to visit us - we showed ID, Passports etc. It is clear from any visitor that currently my wife cannot handle this type of conversation and paperwork. The Attendance Allowance was then approved within two weeks. First rate service from the DWP.
   
   In contrast the Natwest Credit Card organisation would not even discuss the matter with their local people ie the Natwest High St Branch. I was present when the junior Branch Manager rang them; gave all the internal Natwest security codes, but still could not get any information that would help. Hence my comment about the Helpful Bank ( their slogan ).
   
   
3. I will contact Moneybox.
   
   
4. The £1000 comes from £400 Court fees plus Solicitor's fees. As one other poster said this may be an underestimation.
   
   
5. It could well be a coincidence that the fraud happened at the same time that Staysure lost their data. I would put the probability as the same as me winning the Lottery jackpot. But, as I said, this gives Staysure their get out, as well as, of course, they're not interested in consequential loss.
   

Mel

bouncydog1

is it worth getting a letter from your wife's doctor to Nat West as a first step to see if there is anything they can do to escalate matters?

DH has joint POA for a relative who is autistic. Everything that is done has to be agreed between the two POA's as every action must be in the POA subject's best interests. Further, two other family members form a family council and oversee the decisions of the guardians. In turn we are all responsible for our actions to the Court. Whist I have huge sympathies for the OP's position having a POA granted when the individual cannot provide consent is a big decision for the court to make as effectively that person's rights are being transferred to another person and they have no say in the matter.

We deal with Nat west in relation to this particular relative and they have been nothing but helpful - they clearly have set procedures and whilst the local branch manager has tried to be helpful there will be very little he can do. Whilst you do not want to pay the debt, in the circumstances it may be worth doing so until your wife is fully recovered and then dealing with the POA issue thereafter for the future.

if your wife's prognosis is not full recovery then you will have to go through the courts. As a warning our costs were in excess of £2000 to include Doctor's written opinion, meeting with lawyers to explain responsibilities involved, Court attendance, drafting of documents etc.

Good luck and I hope it gets sorted.

stclair

You will need either a letter from your wife giving authorisation or a POA otherwise this concern will not go very far! As you can imagine they have to adhere to the data protection act.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lasting-power-of-attorney-forms