Santander ruthless attitude. Help!

Legacy_user

I have been scammed and lost £3.5k to a bogus double glazing firm. Until the police visited me many weeks after the pressure salesman demanded a cheque (and I stupidly wrote it) I didn't know I had been robbed. I asked my bank, Santander, to help me. They said I had signed the cheque willingly: not their problem. The police have written to Santander too but have been stonewalled. I wrote to Nathan Bostock, the CEO, explaining I was old, poor (on pension credit) and an invalid with MS: please show me some compassion. His team ruthlessly defended their view it was my fault: go away. I asked them if their duty of care required them to examine expenditure completely outside my normal pattern. They said it was my problem, not theirs: go away. I'm broke. What can I do? The ombudsman has been engaged but the months go by (8 now) without them assigning my case. I'd really appreciate some help. Should I go to the press?

Thrugelmir

I fail to see what Santander has done that is in anyway wrong.

eskbanker

GrahamJB wrote: »

What can I do? The ombudsman has been engaged but the months go by (8 now) without them assigning my case. I'd really appreciate some help. Should I go to the press?

Based on what you've posted, the ombudsman won't be able to help you I'm afraid, as the bank has done nothing wrong and is under no obligation to refund you, since they have no legal, contractual, ethical or moral responsibility to supervise what you choose to spend your money on.

You might find someone in the more emotionally manipulative end of the press who's able and willing to play the sympathy card to try to guilt trip Santander into compensating you for your mistake.

Zanderman

Agree with Thrugelmir - the bank haven't done anything wrong. You, by means of a cheque, authorised the payment of £3.5k.

Making payments is what cheques are for. Why would Santander query it? Would you expect them to if the double glazing man had been genuine? I'd guess not, so why is it their fault that he isn't genuine?

Don't think you have any chance of getting anything from the bank. Basically you handed £3.5 to someone (which could just have easily have been cash - would you blame the bank for that too) and responsibility for that is yours.

Sorry not to be more positive, but I think you have to accept that money is gone.

Not sure why this makes you broke though - surely you're in exactly the same financial situation you were expecting to be in if the salesman was genuine.

The difference is that you don't have double glazing.

masonic

GrahamJB wrote: »

I'm broke. What can I do? The ombudsman has been engaged but the months go by (8 now) without them assigning my case. I'd really appreciate some help. Should I go to the press?

It depends what you are trying to achieve. The press probably won't pay you for your story. The Ombudsman will very likely find in Santander's favour as your complaint is against the company who didn't provide the services you paid for. You could try to take them to court, but you'll have to pay the costs of doing so, and if it really was a scam you'll be unlikely to get your money back.

The only thing you can do that's likely to be of any help is never again pay for something like this up front.

Missus_Hyde

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I fail to see what Santander has done that is in anyway wrong.

Quite.

The banks (although by no means saints in many ways ) are also not social workers and can't be expected to pick up the pieces for every customer who fails to take the necessary precautions to guard against scammers or con artists (of which sadly there are many these days.)

There's another thread running about someone being scammed and then expecting the bank to put their hands in their other customers' pockets and recompense people who have been foolish enough to allow themselves to be conned out of substantial sums of money.

colsten

OP, your complaint should be with the salesman/the double glazing firm. It's not Santander's responsibility to check that you really wanted to write a cheque. If you don't trust yourself, cut up your cheque book, and perhaps give a trusted person Power Of Attorney.

Your only remote chance for getting your money back is to take the salesman or his firm to the Small Claims Court https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

murp

I know its hard to hear and you wont like what people are saying on here but there is nothing that the ombudsman or bank can do for you.

Small claims court would be your only option I think....

pmduk

GrahamJB wrote: »

I asked them if their duty of care required them to examine expenditure completely outside my normal pattern.

If banks started scrutinising every transaction customers made, the media would soon be up in arms about an unwarranted intrusion into our privacy.

Terry_Towelling

Zanderman wrote: »

Not sure why this makes you broke though - surely you're in exactly the same financial situation you were expecting to be in if the salesman was genuine.

The difference is that you don't have double glazing.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Additionally, how would you have reacted if it had been a genuine salesman and Santander had decided not to honour your cheque?

Just to cap things off, how did the police know to come and visit you and why did they? Do the police really write letters to banks on behalf of victims?

jonesMUFCforever

Has there been a teacher training day somewhere today?