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Data breach

Hi
this is a bit of a long story but I’ll try keep it relevant if anyone could please offer any advice.
10 years ago I had a joint bank account with my mum, we took her name completely off the account about 7 years ago and since then I’ve continued to use the account just in my name and have now 2 savings account linked to it. 
On Saturday I spoke to my mum (who now banks with a different bank) she had accidentally transferred some money to an account at this point she didn’t know who’s account it was, she rang her bank and they said they could request the payment back but it would take 23 days so gave her the account number and sort code the money had gone to and suggested she try them.  She did and told the person on the phone her name her date of birth and explained what had happened.  They then told her she had 3 accounts all live and gave her the balances of the accounts but (luckily) as it was Saturday they couldn’t put her through to the switching team to find out why these accounts were still live and have the money in them sent to her bank.  My mum told me this story all excited thinking she was coming in to some money but when she said the amounts I instantly recognised it as my account balances.
I rang the bank and the person I spoke to seemed to take quite seriously, I told them that I wasn’t happy that they had basically told my mum my financial position and that as my mum was happy she thought she had found some money she’d forgotten about she told people other than me and then had now told them that it was actually my account not hers so now other people also know my financial position, my bank said they would raise a complaint to have it investigated but since then I’ve not heard anything. 
Where do I stand with this and what should I expect from them when I do eventually hear back from them please. 

Comments

  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,095 Forumite
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    edited 20 July 2023 pm31 3:26PM
    It's a bit confusing, but it was your bank you complained to because your mother phoned them?
    You do need to check their formal complaints procedure for your bank but mine says they would write to me  with an update within 10 days, so you've got a while to go yet. And the regulations allow 56 days for complaints to be resolved. However they should have given you a complaints reference so if they haven't, I would be checking that they have actually logged your complaint properly. 

    As to what you can expect from them, what outcome is it that you want? Are you talking monetary compensation (probably not a lot but look up ICO cases), an apology, something else?

    I'm not sure you can hold the bank entirely responsible for your mother telling people she was coming in to some money? Who specifically did she tell, plus she may not have told them it was you, she may just have said it was a bank mistake. "People other than me" may only mean one other person, in reality. 
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,095 Forumite
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    Data protection: Make a complaint - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) but note that the ICO do not offer compensation. 
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Brie
    Brie Posts: 13,504 Ambassador
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    I would expect a bank to give you a gesture of goodwill (possibly for each account) and an apology.  If you don't get something concrete I would mention taking it to the press about how lax their security is.    Once done I'd switch to a different bank so your mom can't find out anything more (on purpose or by accident.)
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe and Old Style Money Saving boards.  If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

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  • Hi thank you sorry I was trying my best to not make it war and peace … 
    I rang my bank in a panic because I was worried they were going to empty my account and pay it to my mum as part of the switching service which is what they’d advised her they would do on the Monday, they suggested they would raise it raise it as a complaint (I did get a reference) as I’d said I was annoyed they’d given out my account balances, but I understand it’s not their fault she’s told other people (she told my sister that I don’t speak to and 2 of her friends), maybe I was being unreasonable expecting to hear something this quickly I kind of expected to hear in a day or two… as to what I expect, I’m not sure to be honest I know they can’t take it back, I guess I want to know what they are going to do about it and yeah monetary compensation would be nice. 
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,095 Forumite
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    edited 20 July 2023 pm31 4:38PM
    Some examples here. Please take this with a pinch of salt because it is from a company that makes money from claims so they are in no way impartial. And there are an awful lot of "mays" in there which also means "may not."
    Data Breach Compensation Examples - Payouts For GDPR Claims (publicinterestlawyers.co.uk
    However reading through it, you have not suffered any financial loss. You'd be pushing it to claim you had suffered psychological harm. And you would need to show wrongful conduct. 
    It shouldn't have happened. The bank did make an error. Don't expect to get rich on it - maybe see what, if anything, they offer and take it from there. 

    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • General_Grant
    General_Grant Posts: 5,165 Forumite
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    edited 22 July 2023 pm31 5:12PM
    I wonder how your mother got past security to learn anything from your bank.  How many and what type of questions did they ask?  I would have expected a lot of hoops to be navigated in order to get any information.
  • wmb194
    wmb194 Posts: 4,291 Forumite
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    edited 22 July 2023 pm31 5:13PM
    I wonder how your mother got past security to learn anything from your bank.  How many and what type of questions did they ask?
    My guess is that the mother wasn't removed as a joint holder of the account(s) as the OP thinks or instructed and so could pass security without difficulty.
  • wmb194 said:
    I wonder how your mother got past security to learn anything from your bank.  How many and what type of questions did they ask?
    My guess is that the mother wasn't removed as a joint holder of the account(s) as the OP thinks or instructed and so could pass security without difficulty.
    Surely the OP would have noticed this after all this time - a  statement or letter from the bank?
  • wmb194 said:
    I wonder how your mother got past security to learn anything from your bank.  How many and what type of questions did they ask?
    My guess is that the mother wasn't removed as a joint holder of the account(s) as the OP thinks or instructed and so could pass security without difficulty.
    Surely the OP would have noticed this after all this time - a  statement or letter from the bank?
    She has definitely been removed, all bank statements, letters, cards etc have just my name on, she gave her own name and date of birth and the person I spoke to at the bank confirmed it was just my name on it and said himself they have procedures in place to make sure these things don’t happen, but they did 
  • ForumUser7
    ForumUser7 Posts: 2,345 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Hi
    this is a bit of a long story but I’ll try keep it relevant if anyone could please offer any advice.
    10 years ago I had a joint bank account with my mum, we took her name completely off the account about 7 years ago and since then I’ve continued to use the account just in my name and have now 2 savings account linked to it. 
    On Saturday I spoke to my mum (who now banks with a different bank) she had accidentally transferred some money to an account at this point she didn’t know who’s account it was, she rang her bank and they said they could request the payment back but it would take 23 days so gave her the account number and sort code the money had gone to and suggested she try them.  She did and told the person on the phone her name her date of birth and explained what had happened.  They then told her she had 3 accounts all live and gave her the balances of the accounts but (luckily) as it was Saturday they couldn’t put her through to the switching team to find out why these accounts were still live and have the money in them sent to her bank.  My mum told me this story all excited thinking she was coming in to some money but when she said the amounts I instantly recognised it as my account balances.
    I rang the bank and the person I spoke to seemed to take quite seriously, I told them that I wasn’t happy that they had basically told my mum my financial position and that as my mum was happy she thought she had found some money she’d forgotten about she told people other than me and then had now told them that it was actually my account not hers so now other people also know my financial position, my bank said they would raise a complaint to have it investigated but since then I’ve not heard anything. 
    Where do I stand with this and what should I expect from them when I do eventually hear back from them please. 


    @Curlysue11 Saw this in the news, wondered if it is a similar situation? 

    https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-12319379/My-ex-husband-raided-Barclays-savings-pot-tune-25k-despite-never-setting-joint-account.html

    “A Barclays spokesman said: 'This is a rare and isolated incident whereby a previous joint party named on the account did not have their access withdrawn.”
    If you want me to definitely see your reply, please tag me @forumuser7 Thank you.

    N.B. (Amended from Forum Rules): You must investigate, and check several times, before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my content, as nothing I post is advice, rather it is personal opinion and is solely for discussion purposes. I research before my posts, and I never intend to share anything that is misleading, misinforming, or out of date, but don't rely on everything you read. Some of the information changes quickly, is my own opinion or may be incorrect. Verify anything you read before acting on it to protect yourself because you are responsible for any action you consequently make... DYOR, YMMV etc.
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