Fraudulent card use - HSBC refusing refund

mrsjh_2

My husband lost his HSBC visa debit card on a recent business trip to Las Vegas. He did not use this HSBC card whilst there as he has a work American Express card that he tries to use for all expenses when travelling with work. The following day when he discovered it missing he reported it to HSBC. He returned to the UK the next day & discovered approx £1500 of fraudulent transactions had taken place before he reported it missing (all in the space of about 3 hours), mainly signed for transactions in various supermarkets, but there were 2 cash withdrawals that apparently used the correct pin. His card was not copied, & no-one saw him use the pin as he did not use it, he definitely did not write down or give his pin to anyone. He also has witnesses who were with him at a conference during the time these transactions took place. HSBC have stated that they do not believe him to be a victim of fraud and will not refund any of the money. We have appealed giving all the detail in writing to them but they will not change their decision, they have said we must now go to the financial ombudsman. Help! We are at a loss what we can do, my husband did not carry out any of these transactions including the cash withdrawals with a pin so how could it happen & how is it possible to prove he is telling the truth? Has anybody had a similar experience? Any advice before we approach the financial ombudsman?

[Deleted User]

mrsjh wrote: »

Any advice before we approach the financial ombudsman?

Make sure you stick to the same story.

cooltt

Oh for goodness sake Mrs your husband is lying. I'm with the bank bank on this one.

Shakin_Steve

cooltt wrote: »

Oh for goodness sake Mrs your husband is lying. I'm with the bank bank on this one.

How do you know? I mean, what could he possibly find to spend it on in Las Vegas?

mrsjh_2

I can assure you he is not lying. This is a very stressful situation for both of us & has put us under considerable financial pressure so if you can't offer some useful advice please don't comment.

starM

From my experience with financial ombudsman. They refused our fraudulent transaction because we couldn't proof where the fraudster has obtained our pin from.

Our bank was HSBC too.

But nothing to loose go to financial ombudsman and see what they will say. It can take 6 months for caseworker to pick the case up and work it,

Good luck

dj1471

So... How did they get the PIN? They didn't guess it, so either he used the card, the PIN was written down and stored with the card or the PIN is the same as a card he did use.

Unless you can explain how the PIN was obtained without your husband being negligent in some way you are going to struggle to get anything back.

maninthestreet

How did he manage to lose the card??

Shakin_Steve

mrsjh wrote: »

I can assure you he is not lying. This is a very stressful situation for both of us & has put us under considerable financial pressure so if you can't offer some useful advice please don't comment.

I’m playing devils advocate, mrsjh, because that’s exactly how the bank will see it and, possibly, the ombudsman.

mrsjh_2

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

I’m playing devils advocate, mrsjh, because that’s exactly how the bank will see it and, possibly, the ombudsman.

I know that is how the bank sees it, that is why they've refused the refund and why I posted on this forum in the hope of receiving some useful advice rather than comments implying my husband is a liar. And for those suggesting he may have spent the money enjoying Las Vegas, it was spent in various Walmart & other food stores on the opposite side of the city to where he was attending a series of meetings as part of a conference, all these transactions were signed for not chip & pin. In addition to the store transactions there were 2 cash machine transactions that the bank are saying were chip & pin. If he did go on a whirlwind Walmart spending spree, I didn't notice the spoils in his one carry on bag when he returned the following day!
I really would appreciate useful comments from anyone who has experienced card fraud with cash machine withdrawals, thanks.

DCFC79

mrsjh wrote: »

I know that is how the bank sees it, that is why they've refused the refund and why I posted on this forum in the hope of receiving some useful advice rather than comments implying my husband is a liar. And for those suggesting he may have spent the money enjoying Las Vegas, it was spent in various Walmart & other food stores on the opposite side of the city to where he was attending a series of meetings as part of a conference, all these transactions were signed for not chip & pin. In addition to the store transactions there were 2 cash machine transactions that the bank are saying were chip & pin. If he did go on a whirlwind Walmart spending spree, I didn't notice the spoils in his one carry on bag when he returned the following day!
I really would appreciate useful comments from anyone who has experienced card fraud with cash machine withdrawals, thanks.

So how was the PIN used if your husband didnt use the card ?
If it had benn used I would have said he had been shoulder surfed but thats ruled out as it wasnt used.