Indemnity fraud scam

paulfcb

Hi! Last week, my partner was a victim of a direct debit scam. She gave a third party a screenshot of her direct debits and 10 direct debit payments were paid back to her bank from her water company. I believe this is an indemnity claim. I might be wrong.

The thing is Lloyds Bank suspended her account before any other activity could be done. She was meant to pay another third party over £200. This was part of the "scam". Thankfully, this didn't happen.

Currently, this money is sitting in her bank account which Lloyds have told her not to touch. As expected the monthly payments to the water company have gone up massively to cover the lost payments. Over £500.

We believe that the money needs to go back to the water company but she is reluctant to do so as the bank have instructed her otherwise.

Surely the money belongs to the water company and not the bank?

This is causing a lot of stress and needs sorting asap.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

MorningcoffeeIV

It doesn't need sorting ASAP - it just needs sorting.

Speak to the bank to understand timescales and next steps.

They're not saying that the money belongs to them. It belongs to your partner but they've asked her to stop making transactions while they figure out what is going on.

It sounds like she needs protecting from making erroneous payments, so it's a good thing.

paulfcb

MorningcoffeeIV said:

It doesn't need sorting ASAP - it just needs sorting.

Speak to the bank to understand timescales and next steps.

They're not saying that the money belongs to them. It belongs to your partner but they've asked her to stop making transactions while they figure out what is going on.

It sounds like she needs protecting from making erroneous payments, so it's a good thing.

Doesn't the money belong to the water company? She'd just like to pay it back to them to reduce the direct debit payments in the future.

eskbanker

paulfcb said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

It doesn't need sorting ASAP - it just needs sorting.

Speak to the bank to understand timescales and next steps.

They're not saying that the money belongs to them. It belongs to your partner but they've asked her to stop making transactions while they figure out what is going on.

It sounds like she needs protecting from making erroneous payments, so it's a good thing.

Doesn't the money belong to the water company? She'd just like to pay it back to them to reduce the direct debit payments in the future.

If this only happened last week, then it'll take time to sort out, so once the bank have completed their investigation then it should be viable to repay the water company and reinstate future direct debits to their normal level.

If she hasn't already notified the water company that her bank account was subject to fraudulent activity and that she didn't knowingly make the DD indemnity claim, then that might be worth doing?

MorningcoffeeIV

paulfcb said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

It doesn't need sorting ASAP - it just needs sorting.

Speak to the bank to understand timescales and next steps.

They're not saying that the money belongs to them. It belongs to your partner but they've asked her to stop making transactions while they figure out what is going on.

It sounds like she needs protecting from making erroneous payments, so it's a good thing.

Doesn't the money belong to the water company? 

The water company needs to be paid, but the money in her bank account is hers. It doesn't belong to the bank. 

Once she's told it ok to use the account, she can pay whoever she wants (but preferably not more scammers).

phillw

paulfcb said:
Doesn't the money belong to the water company? She'd just like to pay it back to them to reduce the direct debit payments in the future.

I'm not sure how that makes a difference, they will try to reclaim the money or you give it back to them immediately.

I would contact the water company to find out whether it will be reported as missed payments on her credit file and if so, how much she should pay to avoid it. If they accept credit card payments then I'd use one.

paulfcb

Thank you for the replies. The bank account has been reopened with a new debit card number. She's been told by the water company that these missing payments will give her a bad credit rating.

Would it be OK to pay the water company a lump sum now? I assume the bank won't notify her when any investigation is complete.

phillw

paulfcb said:

She's been told by the water company that these missing payments will give her a bad credit rating.

I'd complain about that under the direct debit guarantee. Tell them you are willing to pay whatever. It might not work though.

grumbler

phillw said:

paulfcb said:

She's been told by the water company that these missing payments will give her a bad credit rating.

I'd complain about that under the direct debit guarantee.

This has nothing to do with the DD guarantee. The guarantee is on the bank's side. The missed payments can appear on the other side - the utility company.

And, generally, the DD guarantee has its limitations (valid reasons). If abused, it can be close to fraud.

sheramber

 She gave a third party a screenshot of her direct debits

Why? and aho was this third party/

grumbler

And how was this 'third party' able to claim the money back from HER bank?