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Debit card stolen, massive headache
tasty_snacks
Posts: 229 Forumite
Hey guys - hoping for some pointers and advice on this one.
On Friday night/ Sat morning my debit card was stolen. I strongly suspect this was after I used the card to withdraw funds in order to pay the taxi driver.
On Monday morning I attempted to check my online account, only to find that it had been locked. Slightly concerned, I made to contact the bank with my debit card to hand - which is when I realised it was missing. At this point I went straight to my nearest branch and had all the cards cancelled. They informed me that £250 had been withdrawn in two separate transactions.
Today on checking the account again, a further £2600 has been spent. 5 x £200 at a betting shop, and a further 2 x £800 at what looks to be an off licence. But worse, despite the ledger balance showing as strongly in credit, the available balance is pennies, which I assume means there are further authorised transactions that have yet to show on the ledger. If my suspicions are correct, the total of all of these that went through before the card was cancelled will be over £6000.
I'm naturally panicing over paying the bills short term, and whether I will be held liable for these frauds medium term. I've been researching websites which state that the bank must prove 'gross negligence' on my part, but I'm struggling to find any examples of what that may consist of. Does shoulder surfing constitute gross negligence? I'm always very careful with my PIN (a similar thing, albeit for a much lesser amount, happened to my now wife 8 years ago), and never write it down anywhere. But I'm also concerned that not reporting it immediately may count against me, even though I did report it as soon as I noticed it was missing.
I'm calling the bank at lunchtime but I've no idea what happens next - I guess I'll need to file a police report. The betting shop would I suspect have decent CCTV. Will the police/ bank even be bothered to take this up?
On Friday night/ Sat morning my debit card was stolen. I strongly suspect this was after I used the card to withdraw funds in order to pay the taxi driver.
On Monday morning I attempted to check my online account, only to find that it had been locked. Slightly concerned, I made to contact the bank with my debit card to hand - which is when I realised it was missing. At this point I went straight to my nearest branch and had all the cards cancelled. They informed me that £250 had been withdrawn in two separate transactions.
Today on checking the account again, a further £2600 has been spent. 5 x £200 at a betting shop, and a further 2 x £800 at what looks to be an off licence. But worse, despite the ledger balance showing as strongly in credit, the available balance is pennies, which I assume means there are further authorised transactions that have yet to show on the ledger. If my suspicions are correct, the total of all of these that went through before the card was cancelled will be over £6000.
I'm naturally panicing over paying the bills short term, and whether I will be held liable for these frauds medium term. I've been researching websites which state that the bank must prove 'gross negligence' on my part, but I'm struggling to find any examples of what that may consist of. Does shoulder surfing constitute gross negligence? I'm always very careful with my PIN (a similar thing, albeit for a much lesser amount, happened to my now wife 8 years ago), and never write it down anywhere. But I'm also concerned that not reporting it immediately may count against me, even though I did report it as soon as I noticed it was missing.
I'm calling the bank at lunchtime but I've no idea what happens next - I guess I'll need to file a police report. The betting shop would I suspect have decent CCTV. Will the police/ bank even be bothered to take this up?
0
Comments
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It does sound like the card is being used with the PIN, so the bank may well try to claim negligence on your part. You may have to be prepared for a long fight to win this, so get organised and make sure you keep a record of all conversations with the bank and the police as the FOS are likely to ask for this if it gets that far.
Oh, the police may not be too interested and may direct you to Action Fraud, it might be worth reporting to them first anyway.
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/0 -
It does sound like the card is being used with the PIN, so the bank may well try to claim negligence on your part. You may have to be prepared for a long fight to win this, so get organised and make sure you keep a record of all conversations with the bank and the police as the FOS are likely to ask for this if it gets that far.
Oh, the police may not be too interested and may direct you to Action Fraud, it might be worth reporting to them first anyway.
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Thanks agrinall.
Just called the bank - many of the transactions showing on the ledger didn't actually go through anyway as the risk systems in place declined them. There was still a substantial loss however for the ones that did. The bank was very understanding and has agreed to refund the monies as soon as they debit the account. I couldn't believe it, as I was expecting a long fight as you say.
What a massive, massive relief. And to think I was going to switch accounts in the New Year. Not anymore!!0 -
Wow that got resolved quickly!
Which bank was this? We get a lot of posts here slagging off various banks, it'd be nice to know which is being praised for a change!0 -
It was Natwest0
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That's good news, and hopefully that'll be the end of it, although there is a very small chance that they could decide the transactions were legitimate (or done with your knowledge) and take the money back - I think it's pretty unlikely given the speed with which they've resolved things, but just in case my previous advice to keep a record of conversations still stands.0
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yes, good news, but remain vigilant. always be Very Clear that these transactions were nothing at all to do with you.0
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