Will ombudsman help me with scam repayment?

Shubunkinblue

First of all, please be kind. I was scammed two weeks ago and am still in a state of seething despair and self-loathing about it. No exaggeration. But reflecting on what happened, as I've done continuously, I can see very clearly that if the bank had asked me a few simple questions while the scam was ongoing (it was conducted via text message/impersonation with someone pretending to be my son, even while I was speaking to bank staff) the whole situation would have had a different outcome.

I've raised a formal complaint with the bank and am waiting for their final response so I can take it to the ombudsman. The bank say the new October rules don't apply because it was a card payment not a bank transfer, and I authorised it. But my feeling is that I gave the bank (two different staff/two separate transactions) information that should have acted as a red flag, eg that I was having to make the payment under time pressure/that it was a text message from an unknown number/that I was really stressed because of work meetings about to start within a few minutes, and yet they waved it all though. 

In the last two weeks I've had a series of conflicting conversations where bank staff have flatly contradicted each other. I could go into more detail, but basically it's been a hideous roller coaster of them offering hope the decision not to refund would be overturned and then snatching it away again, to the point where what was already acute distress has escalated so that I'm now seeking medical advice/medication so that I can simply function. 

Apparently 82% of this particular bank's decisions are overturned by the ombudsman, which gives me hope, but I'd be so grateful if anyone can advise me further about this whole horrible process. 

powerful_Rogue

Shubunkinblue said:

First of all, please be kind. I was scammed two weeks ago and am still in a state of seething despair and self-loathing about it. No exaggeration. But reflecting on what happened, as I've done continuously, I can see very clearly that if the bank had asked me a few simple questions while the scam was ongoing (it was conducted via text message/impersonation with someone pretending to be my son, even while I was speaking to bank staff) the whole situation would have had a different outcome.

I've raised a formal complaint with the bank and am waiting for their final response so I can take it to the ombudsman. The bank say the new October rules don't apply because it was a card payment not a bank transfer, and I authorised it. But my feeling is that I gave the bank (two different staff/two separate transactions) information that should have acted as a red flag, eg that I was having to make the payment under time pressure/that it was a text message from an unknown number/that I was really stressed because of work meetings about to start within a few minutes, and yet they waved it all though. 

In the last two weeks I've had a series of conflicting conversations where bank staff have flatly contradicted each other. I could go into more detail, but basically it's been a hideous roller coaster of them offering hope the decision not to refund would be overturned and then snatching it away again, to the point where what was already acute distress has escalated so that I'm now seeking medical advice/medication so that I can simply function. 

Apparently 82% of this particular bank's decisions are overturned by the ombudsman, which gives me hope, but I'd be so grateful if anyone can advise me further about this whole horrible process. 

How much are you talking about?

Shubunkinblue

£1348, done as two separate transactions (799 then 549).

powerful_Rogue

Sounds like one for @born_again

born_again

What exactly are the payments for?
Credit or Debit card.

 But my feeling is that I gave the bank (two different staff/two separate transactions) information that should have acted as a red flag, eg that I was having to make the payment under time pressure/that it was a text message from an unknown number/that I was really stressed because of work meetings about to start within a few minutes, and yet they waved it all though. 

Hard to say, as not privy to calls.
But complaints team will review them & may take a different view.

Rule of thumb, this is not fraud as you authorised the transaction, I know this seems odd. But fraud on a card  transaction has to be made by a 3rd party. You can not claim fraud on a transaction made by yourself.  Which only leaves a dispute on the transaction.
So on that basis need info on what exactly the payment was for. 
From the sound of it something like money transfer company?

Shubunkinblue

Thank you for this. I had a text message purporting to be from my son, saying he needed money for a new phone as he had dropped/broken his. As he has dyspraxia and has dropped/broken his phone in the past (and we have a history of me bailing him out financially) this didn't ring alarm bells.

The scammer's timing was also extremely fortunate, as I was a few minutes away from a telephone appointment I had to keep (which would make it impossible to do the transfer later) and was also stressed about a subsequent appointment, both facts I mentioned to the two bank staff who dealt with the call. The impersonation was convincing enough to work in that context. But I was stressed, under time-pressure, and my protective parental instincts knocked out the parts of my brain that would normally red flag such a situation. My frustration is that a few very simple questions would have protected me, but the bank staff didn't ask them. (Eg 'You say you're messaging him now - can you ask him to confirm x?' Or 'Could you try to ring him on his normal number just to see what happens?')

A member of the fraud team I spoke to subsequently said that there were details I had provided (like my son's dyspraxia) which had not been recorded on the original notes, and he was hopeful that if he got the case looked at again (which happened) there would be a different outcome (which didn't).

The fact that the bank staff all the way through gave me conflicting information, which exacerbated and prolonged the suspense unnecessarily; I'm not sure if this is a separate issue, though.

Shubunkinblue

It was to a Travel Money account.

born_again

Shubunkinblue said:

Thank you for this. I had a text message purporting to be from my son, saying he needed money for a new phone as he had dropped/broken his. As he has dyspraxia and has dropped/broken his phone in the past (and we have a history of me bailing him out financially) this didn't ring alarm bells.

The scammer's timing was also extremely fortunate, as I was a few minutes away from a telephone appointment I had to keep (which would make it impossible to do the transfer later) and was also stressed about a subsequent appointment, both facts I mentioned to the two bank staff who dealt with the call. The impersonation was convincing enough to work in that context. But I was stressed, under time-pressure, and my protective parental instincts knocked out the parts of my brain that would normally red flag such a situation. My frustration is that a few very simple questions would have protected me, but the bank staff didn't ask them. (Eg 'You say you're messaging him now - can you ask him to confirm x?' Or 'Could you try to ring him on his normal number just to see what happens?')

A member of the fraud team I spoke to subsequently said that there were details I had provided (like my son's dyspraxia) which had not been recorded on the original notes, and he was hopeful that if he got the case looked at again (which happened) there would be a different outcome (which didn't).

The fact that the bank staff all the way through gave me conflicting information, which exacerbated and prolonged the suspense unnecessarily; I'm not sure if this is a separate issue, though.

I'm at a bit of a loss here.

You said they were card payments.
So if short of time why ring the bank to make a card payment? as many banks have no facility to make a card payment.

So money will have long gone. If a travel money account.
Not sure there is even a dispute right here either.

Shubunkinblue

I rang them because I tried to make the payment but it was declined. 

HopeAndDriftWood

Okay so you made a card payment to a Travel Money account, believing that it was for your son to buy a new phone.

That declined, so you phoned up to make the payment in a different way? Or to get them to clear the decline?

Shubunkinblue

I rang them to clear the decline.