Contactless Fraud - Bank Won't Refund

mattwilkinson

Last night I was the victim of two fraudulent transactions on my account. These were in Euros and the merchant is in Chania (Greece). I was in the UK at the time and have my card with me. I contacted Starling, who have told me that the transactions were contactless and there is no way to clone my card to do this, so are refusing to refund the money. How can this be the case when I have the card? I have raised a claim with Action Fraud and have cancelled my card, but this is very concerning. How can I protect myself against this?

jonesMUFCforever

Well Action fraud will not help you.
You need to start a formal complaint with Starling.

tacpot12

Change to a bank that allows you to have a non-Contactless card. In the meantime, keep your new card in a wallet capable of blocking RFID signals. 

This is very concerning. I would ask Starling whether they have reported your experience to Mastercard or Visa? They should be believing you as you can prove your card was in UK.   A complaint to the bank and FCA would seem to be appropriate. The complaint to the FCA is not to get you your money back, you would need to complain to the Financial Ombudsman if this is your aim. The complaint to the FCA is about Starling's fraud processes as they appear to be failing if they are not reporting vital intelligence to the payment system providers.  

Hasbeen

mattwilkinson said:

Last night I was the victim of two fraudulent transactions on my account. These were in Euros and the merchant is in Chania (Greece). I was in the UK at the time and have my card with me. I contacted Starling, who have told me that the transactions were contactless and there is no way to clone my card to do this, so are refusing to refund the money. How can this be the case when I have the card? I have raised a claim with Action Fraud and have cancelled my card, but this is very concerning. How can I protect myself against this?

You have not raised a claim with action fraud, you have just reported the fraudulent transaction. They will do nothing that will benefit you.

Formal complaint to Starling preferably by post with a stamp. Marked complaint.

[Deleted User]

tacpot12 said:

Change to a bank that allows you to have a non-Contactless card. In the meantime, keep your new card in a wallet capable of blocking RFID signals.

Defo. Also OP go shopping for a nice tinfoil hat

born_again

mattwilkinson said:

Last night I was the victim of two fraudulent transactions on my account. These were in Euros and the merchant is in Chania (Greece). I was in the UK at the time and have my card with me. I contacted Starling, who have told me that the transactions were contactless and there is no way to clone my card to do this, so are refusing to refund the money. How can this be the case when I have the card? I have raised a claim with Action Fraud and have cancelled my card, but this is very concerning. How can I protect myself against this?

Odds on miss reporting of the transaction by retailer.

Raise it as a complaint with Starling.
No fraudster would go to the expense of cloning a card to make 2 contactless payments out of the UK or in the Uk come to that.

brianposter

If something has happened that the bank say cannot happen, it is important that the matter be investigated. A written complaint to the FCA accompanied by evidence would seem to be the way to go

Gerry1

Could the card have been borrowed and returned without your knowledge, e.g. if left unattended in a jacket on the back of a chair in an office?

The location shown on the statement doesn't always match that of the transaction, e.g. if it's the company HQ.  I don't know whether this extends to overseas locations, but perhaps it's not impossible for multinational companies.

Just another good reason to avoid contactless cards.  With an uncooperative bank it's usually possible to disable the contactless facility using a paper punch to make a hole on the centre line immediately above the last digit of the long number.

jsmith9

First Direct and Nationwide will supply none contactless debit cards on request

Chino

Gerry1 said:

Just another good reason to avoid contactless cards.

Hardly. A merchant who is able to submit a fake contactless transaction could just as easily submit a fake PIN-verified contact transaction.

Terry_Towelling

Chino said:

Gerry1 said:

Just another good reason to avoid contactless cards.

Hardly. A merchant who is able to submit a fake contactless transaction could just as easily submit a fake PIN-verified contact transaction.

You know this for a fact, do you? Maybe you are just guessing.