I'm taking British Gas to court and I scared

Cardew

So let’s get this straight.

A bank account was set up(fraudulently as you put it) by someone in the name of P Smith(let’s assume that is your brother's name) at an address in a town where you don’t live. Obviously using an address where he doesn’t live.

However he would have been able to get hold of all the bank documentation delivered to that address.

All this must have taken place some weeks before your brother sold the shares. Presumably because the thief(P Smith) must have anticipated that sometime in the future he just might be able to steal a cheque made out to someone with the name P Smith.

Now the fictitious P Smith presumably knew your brother(the real P Smith) well enough to know that he was going to get a cheque for £6,000 in the post.

He then arranged to steal that letter somehow. Just that letter I assume?

How he paid one cheque into two accounts(as you state) is something of a mystery. Presumably he then waited for the cheque to clear and drew £6,000 in cash? And disappeared?

During this period your brother did nothing about the missing cheque?

What a lot of remarkable co-incidences.

It seems pretty clear to me that both banks are not paying because they believe your brother is part of a scam to defraud them of £6,000; and who can blame them? The Banking Ombudsman sides with the bank as well.

Now if it was me I would simply take the bank to court – the small claims court will do – as any judgement against a bank will establish they are at fault and they would settle in full.

If your case had any merit, most solicitors would take it on without a fee from you, as their costs would be awarded against the bank.

Any newspaper, TV programme would also take it up on your behalf, if they believed the case had merit.

So why not take them to court? What has he got to be worried about? I suspect the Bank would be delighted for your brother to stand up in court under oath and repeat his story. Then you might get some action!

Coupon-mad

Smallc, I don't understand at all why the police cannot catch the culprit? The Bank where the fraudulent account was opened surely have copies of the Driving Licence and the Gas Bill, so the address is traceable?

How about your brother writing to his MP, or Watchdog (you can email your story to them) or indeed to any financial newspaper or TV show? Can you pm MSEMartin for advice, not sure as I never have?!

Also....where is Lloyds Share Dealing Service based, it's not near Liverpool is it? Just wondering if it could have been an inside job by someone at Lloyds (and that the cheque was never actually posted out on the Friday). Any such insider would have Banking knowledge, prior inside information (assuming your brother submitted his application to sell his shares a week or more before the cheque was issued) and therefore enough time to open up an account to launder the cheque.

Seems more likely than a postman grabbing it, as they would not have an account in the right name.

P.S. BTW, when I worked in a Bank it was possible to pay a cheque into 2 accounts by filling in 2 paying in slips (say for half the amount each) but that was a few years ago.

Good luck to your brother, don't let it drop, get someone with some clout on your side and maybe the culprit is not so untraceable?

AlanG_3

smallc wrote: »

My brother has had a recent esperience with Lloyds. He used their share dealing service and they sent him a cheque, which he never received. On asking the bank where it was they replied that the cheque had been paid into a Bank in Liverpool and withdrawn. (My brother doesn't live in Liverpool). They say that once the cheque left them they are not responsible and refuse to pay up. The police are not interested as it would be impossible to catch the culprits. Where does that leave my brother who never received the cheque in the first place and is now £8000 out of pocket??? Surely the bank has some responsibility

Why is it impossible to catch the culprits. Have the police been asked or ask your MP to ask them if they have lifted fingerprints and DNA from the cheque. Have they checked ANPR cameras, street cameras , transport cameras, bank cameras and again when the money was withdrawn. The police have two bites of the cherry. The culprit may already be on a police database. If not everyone will be in some years so they can pick him up then.

Good luck , press the police. That is their job.

violetta

I would have thought the Fraud Department of the receiving bank (where the fraudulent account was set up to receive the cheque) should be investigating this matter.

smallc_2

Hi

I sent a message to Martin but got a message back saying that he get8s so many messages and that I need to post the message on the forum and PM Martin into the thread. Can anyone explain how I do this please?

Thanks.

Coupon-mad

Smallc, you just need to copy and paste the thread link into the pm.

You just right click on the http website page link at the very top of the page, select 'copy'. You pc will hold this link until you then right click when you are typing your pm and referring to the thread, then choose 'paste'.

HTH

djohn2002uk

This thread has been hi-jacked by smallc and everyone replies to him/her and have totally forgotten the OP. It's so unfair to the original poster. People should start their own threads!!

Cardew

djohn2002uk wrote: »

This thread has been hi-jacked by smallc and everyone replies to him/her and have totally forgotten the OP. It's so unfair to the original poster. People should start their own threads!!

I agree that people should start their own threads. That said it does seem to cover the same subject about cheques.

However the OP posted on the 18th July and hasn't even visited MSE since that post.

smallc_2

I agree too about people starting their own threads. I am new to this and it's the first time I'd ever posted. I don't know how to start a new thread. I was just desperate for some advice. I apologise for offending anyone.

Martin can't give me advice as he says this isn't his field. I am going to go down the road of a long round of writing letters and asking questions as to why nothing has been done especially by the police.

I will let you know the outcome, but until that time I shall stop posting.

Thank you to all of you who gave me positive advice especially Cardew - you have given me some really good advice.

Thanks again.


smallc

smallc_2

I said I wouldn't post again, although this isn't my brothers case it is identical.

http://money.guardian.co.uk/scamsandfraud/story/0,13802,1242137,00.html