bank closed sons account and accused him of fraud

optomystic

hi all,
my son has had his bank close his account and has now accused him of fraud..
this has been investigated by the banks fraud team and is still being investigated by the police, so
im a little stuck as to what to do next and how much to type on here?

basically my son, who is 1st year at uni, has been out, had his drink spiked, been put in a car and driven an hour into the middle of nowhere and dumped out of the car.
they have stolen his wallet and phone.
we only know about the distance and time of where he was taken, as when we tracked his phone it shows everything.
he has no memories of what happened. he was really distraught when seeing the map, as were we.
it has transpired that the app on his phone was accessed using fingerprint id, and money transferred out of his account.
we have spoken to the bank numerous times and they have now finished their investigation. we complained, and they wont change their mind they say that his account is closed, and we (obviously) have to repay the money, he has been added to CIFAs
This is where im struggling, what do we do next?
do we tell all this to the financial ombudsman?
can we appeal to the bank?
can the police talk to the bank?
if we pay are we admitting fraud?
will he never be able to get a bank account again?

sorry for the long post, i do have a lot more info in regards to the case that im not adding, ive just tried to sum it up .

molerat

If the bank have given you a final decision then take it to the financial ombudsman, the reason being your son was the victim of serious criminal activity. If the police are treating this as a serious crime the bank should do the same. Whilst he has a CIFAS marker for first party fraud he will not be able to open another bank account anywhere, this needs to go to the ombudsman.

agrinnall

If you want to pursue it the next step (without needing to spend any money) is to submit a claim to the FOS.



Your complaint was an appeal to the bank, they have rejected it, nowhere else to go with them.


If the police are still investigating it's unlikely they will say anything to you, and they won't have any impact on the bank's decision anyway.


I'm unsure what you think you need to pay back, unless as part of the initial complaint the bank refunded the money that was taken and are now asking for it back. I doubt if paying that would constitute agreement that your son acted fraudulently.


He may well struggle to get an account while the CIFAS marker is in place, which I believe could stay for as long as 6 years. A prepaid card might be an option.

masonic

Which online banking app allows someone two set up a new payee and transfer money using only a fingerprint?

noh

masonic wrote: »

Which online banking app allows someone two set up a new payee and transfer money using only a fingerprint?

Santander does.

It sends a OTP via SMS as part of the process. The alleged criminals were in possession of the phone and the fingerprint.

Butch_Dingle

masonic wrote: »

Which online banking app allows someone two set up a new payee and transfer money using only a fingerprint?

FirstDirect app allows you to setup new payments on their iOS app using touchID or FaceID.

optomystic

thanks for the replies, you are all correct!

@agrinnall the bank have told us we need to pay the money back by the end of the month, they did not manage to retrieve it from the account it was paid into and refused to reimburse it.
we have the leaflet from the FOS so will get him to submit his complaint with them.

masonic

noh wrote: »

Santander does.

It sends a OTP via SMS as part of the process. The alleged criminals were in possession of the phone and the fingerprint.

Butch_Dingle wrote: »

FirstDirect app allows you to setup new payments on their iOS app using touchID or FaceID.

Those are both very concerning lapses in security. Fortunately, I don't bank with Santander and First Direct has better security on Android.

The OP's son should have a strong complaint if either of those apps were used for the fraud.

EachPenny

Based on what you say he has been the victim of very serious criminal offences including possibly kidnapping and theft.

How on earth did he manage to get home if he had no phone and wallet and had been dumped in the middle of nowhere an hour's drive away? Presumably at night and whilst still affected by the drugs?

If the police are still investigating this on the basis he is a victim of crime(s) then the bank shouldn't be adopting the approach they are. Does he have a police/CPS victim support officer? If so then the first thing to do would be to speak to them and ask whether they can assist in reversing the bank's decision.

If he doesn't have a victim support officer then you need to ask some further questions.... unfortunately some of them may need to be directed to your son.

PasturesNew

In my opinion... a serious and very unusual crime has occurred here. This is probably a newly emerging trend the banks aren't up to speed on yet.

Maybe they're just not taking in what you're saying and are twisting your words to fit their existing "boxes on their tick list of what happened". All too often these days people will blot out what you're actually saying and pin what they think you're saying into one of their known boxes.

"You are not listening to what I am saying" .... it's hard to get that through if you're the type that "nobody listens to". You should think hard about discovering/using a very specific phrase that perks them up.... so they start listening.

You need to keep the pressure up and pursue every avenue here.

This isn't a drunk bloke that got drunk with his mates and his mates had a bit of fun with his bank account while he was lying unconscious in a nightclub with them.... this is a sinister criminal activity that has gone on.

elsien

optomystic wrote: »

thanks for the replies, you are all correct!

@agrinnall the bank have told us we need to pay the money back by the end of the month, they did not manage to retrieve it from the account it was paid into and refused to reimburse it.
we have the leaflet from the FOS so will get him to submit his complaint with them.

I'm confused. Why does your son have to pay the money back to himself if it was his money in the first place?
(I presume when you say "we" have to pay it back you mean your son as clearly if it's not your account it's not your responsibility.)