Signature changed by mother at bank

eskbanker

born_again said:

Op has been told this is really a police matter that need pushing hard.

She did confirm above that it has been reported to the police:

GloriaShaw85 said:

I have informed the police and ActionFraud. Been told they’re investigating and will be in touch when they need to be. But I’m not optimistic because it’s been over a month. 

but it's still appropriate to pursue the bank in parallel regarding their procedural weaknesses that allowed a third party to gain control of the account in branch, and to escalate to FOS if the bank is denying any responsibility.

GloriaShaw85

Hi everyone. Thank you for the confirmation 


police and ActionFraud have been informed. I’ve not been updated about anything or had any correspondence from them, hence asking for alternative advice and to make sure I’ve exhausted all options. 

MEM62

eDicky said:

MEM62 said:

GloriaShaw85 said:

I reported this to them and they’ve written to say she passed verification so it was fine that she changed the signature 

I am not convinced.  When I had my ID verified Metro they took my photograph.  I cannot see her passing verification.  

Metro usually, I believe, verify your identity in branch by viewing the photo taken when the account was opened, matching it with the person before them. Perhaps mother and daughter have sufficiently similar facial appearance.

Precisely.  So how did the mother change details on the account? And any bank would question a signature change.  This whole thing makes no sense.  

GloriaShaw85

MEM62 said:

eDicky said:

MEM62 said:

GloriaShaw85 said:

I reported this to them and they’ve written to say she passed verification so it was fine that she changed the signature 

I am not convinced.  When I had my ID verified Metro they took my photograph.  I cannot see her passing verification.  

Metro usually, I believe, verify your identity in branch by viewing the photo taken when the account was opened, matching it with the person before them. Perhaps mother and daughter have sufficiently similar facial appearance.

Precisely.  So how did the mother change details on the account? And any bank would question a signature change.  This whole thing makes no sense.  

My mother bragged about changing my signature whilst I was away so she could deposit a cheque from HMRC. As I lived with her, she had access to my post and my room and my cards. She’s female so she was able to log into my online banking and change my log in information and if it was necessary to speak on the phone, she was able to, as she’s female. She would easily be able to surpass security over the phone and online, as she also had access to my driving licence and my passport. 

When I visited MB to regain control of my account, I enquired about the signature change and I was informed that indeed it was changed during the time I wasn’t in the country. 

As I am disabled, my mother could’ve informed them of this, shown my blue badge, shown her ID with the same surname, and perhaps staff (who are so intent on making things easy for customers) accepted her story and changed the signature? Or perhaps didn’t calculate the age when they saw the ID and just assumed the person in front of them was the account holder. I honestly don’t know and that’s why I asked MB to investigate. But of course they wouldn’t want to admit fault as this is quite an alarming problem. But I saw the false signature when I went in to secure the account and the CS rep also confirmed the change. 

eskbanker

GloriaShaw85 said:
As I am disabled, my mother could’ve informed them of this, shown my blue badge, shown her ID with the same surname, and perhaps staff (who are so intent on making things easy for customers) accepted her story and changed the signature? Or perhaps didn’t calculate the age when they saw the ID and just assumed the person in front of them was the account holder. I honestly don’t know and that’s why I asked MB to investigate. But of course they wouldn’t want to admit fault as this is quite an alarming problem. But I saw the false signature when I went in to secure the account and the CS rep also confirmed the change. 

If this is how it all happened then the bank are clearly negligent in failing to verify the ID of a person standing in front of them in branch and are therefore liable for any fraudulent activity thereafter, so how are they explaining the story from their perspective?

GloriaShaw85 said:
When I visited MB to regain control of my account, I enquired about the signature change and I was informed that indeed it was changed during the time I wasn’t in the country. 

Just to pick up on this, are you able to prove to the bank that you were abroad, e.g. with locations of card transactions, or travel bookings, etc?  If you can demonstrate that you couldn't have been in the branch, then this makes an even stronger case that they erred in acting on the instructions of an unauthorised third party.

CKhalvashi

MEM62 said:

eDicky said:

MEM62 said:

GloriaShaw85 said:

I reported this to them and they’ve written to say she passed verification so it was fine that she changed the signature 

I am not convinced.  When I had my ID verified Metro they took my photograph.  I cannot see her passing verification.  

Metro usually, I believe, verify your identity in branch by viewing the photo taken when the account was opened, matching it with the person before them. Perhaps mother and daughter have sufficiently similar facial appearance.

Precisely.  So how did the mother change details on the account? And any bank would question a signature change.  This whole thing makes no sense.  

I'm normally very sceptical on MSE, but I don't believe OP is lying.

This is potentially a woman who has committed 6, 7 figure fraud. If she is convincing and there is a similar look then I more than believe this fraud could be perpetrated.

This is still in no way a civil matter though, including the credit cards and the change of V5 document. All are criminal and falling within theft and fraud categories.

born_again

GloriaShaw85 said:

MEM62 said:

eDicky said:

MEM62 said:

GloriaShaw85 said:

I reported this to them and they’ve written to say she passed verification so it was fine that she changed the signature 

I am not convinced.  When I had my ID verified Metro they took my photograph.  I cannot see her passing verification.  

Metro usually, I believe, verify your identity in branch by viewing the photo taken when the account was opened, matching it with the person before them. Perhaps mother and daughter have sufficiently similar facial appearance.

Precisely.  So how did the mother change details on the account? And any bank would question a signature change.  This whole thing makes no sense.  

My mother bragged about changing my signature whilst I was away so she could deposit a cheque from HMRC. As I lived with her, she had access to my post and my room and my cards. She’s female so she was able to log into my online banking and change my log in information and if it was necessary to speak on the phone, she was able to, as she’s female. She would easily be able to surpass security over the phone and online, as she also had access to my driving licence and my passport. 

When I visited MB to regain control of my account, I enquired about the signature change and I was informed that indeed it was changed during the time I wasn’t in the country. 

As I am disabled, my mother could’ve informed them of this, shown my blue badge, shown her ID with the same surname, and perhaps staff (who are so intent on making things easy for customers) accepted her story and changed the signature? Or perhaps didn’t calculate the age when they saw the ID and just assumed the person in front of them was the account holder. I honestly don’t know and that’s why I asked MB to investigate. But of course they wouldn’t want to admit fault as this is quite an alarming problem. But I saw the false signature when I went in to secure the account and the CS rep also confirmed the change. 

Strange to require a signature to pay a cheque in, especially given access to acc card.

But give the length of time this has been going on to you & your sister previously.
Why are you leaving the likes of cards in your room?

HMRC tell you a refund is coming. Which gives you the option to get it payed direct to your bank account.

You need to be pestering your local police on this. If they are not doing anything then raise a complaint with them & get your MP involved to help your case.

General_Grant

GloriaShaw85 said:

Hiya,

whilst I was out of the country, my mother went into a Metro Bank store and successfully changed my signature, without my consent. She did this as HMRC refunded an overpayment of my taxes via cheque, and metro bank informed her that the account holder was the only person that could deposit cheques into their accounts. So she went in, changed the signature and shortly deposited a cheque and then withdrew the funds from my account once the funds reached my account. 

. . . . 

Secondly, I had a safety deposit box with them. When I asked to get the dates the box was accessed, they informed me it was last accessed in 2020, which was not true as the box was accessed by my mother in 2021 (she was authorised to access), and thus all items cleaned out, and then when I returned in 2022, I went to see and access the box. So, they don’t seem to take security seriously   Is there a way to report this?

Is that true?  Thought that as long as you hold a paying-in book or the debit card with the PIN, you can pay at the counter or use the machines (with the card and PIN).  Withdrawal in cash using the card (over a number of days if necessary) could also be achieved without need to change a signature.  If she had practised she could probably have produced a close enough version of the already registered signature and written a cheque.  If she had online access to the account, why not make transfer withdrawals that way?
I'm afraid I have my doubts about what happened.