Bank and fraud

pistashiocookie56 · 13 February at 4:47PM

Hi,

We have a very frustrating bank fraud issue that we've had very little support from the bank with.

About a fortnight ago my partner got a text message to say he didn't have enough money in his current account for a direct debit. He looked at his account and to his surprise £2866 had been taken by a name we didn't recognise.

He immediately phoned the bank who initially said they werent sure who the money had been taken by, then after nearly a whole working day on the phone they said this was not fraud but a chargeback. The bank (lloyds) said that this was a group called campstar which we finally worked out was a company we'd hired a camper van for two and a half years ago during a trip to New Zealand.

We are still waiting to get our money back. We have an email from Campstar saying it was their fault and due to a technical error and we will be "automatically and fully refunded". They have since continued to ask for information but we seem no closer to getting the money back. Lloyds have been terrible and suggested we should "make a fuss on Campstars social media". I have put several messages on their social media but this does not seem like particularly helpful advice for what looks like criminal activity and fraud.

After the initial day on the phone, my partner made a complaint with Lloyds for how they deal with the situation, they offered him £15 compensation after a day on the phone, no proper support or guidance on when we will get the money back. They have since said we need to give them 10 days (we now have).

My partner is in a fortunate enough position that whilst this is a large amount of money to us, we were still able to afford our bills for this month. It concerns me that this could happen to other people who do not have any savings. It feels like the bank has left us to chase fraud which seems very poor.

Any advice greatly appreciated

MeteredOut · 13 February at 4:57PM

The bank are correct that this is a dispute and not a Fraud. Did your partner raise a chargeback against Campster. You should be able to provide the bank with the email as evidence.

Frustrating as it is, your partner will get your their money back, and if the erroneous debit causes your partner any additional charges, these should be refunded too. Unfortunately, banks have processes to follow and it does sometimes take some time.

Your partner might want to mention PSD to the bank to see if that helps them speed things up.

ccluedo · 13 February at 5:11PM

After 4 hours on the phone (not fraud related) sorting a problem out with the same banking group, I was offered £30 compensation which I declined and asked them to escalate my complaint.

A few days later it was increased to £125 by phone call without any further input from me so might be worth pushing for more.

Good luck with the main issue.

elsien · 13 February at 5:34PM

So just for the sake of clarity, your husband did a chargeback and got the money but the company has now reclaimed it?
It’s a bit confusing because you say that your husband is waiting to get the money back, but this reads like he’s made a chargeback and already had the cash which the company are trying to take back again.

pistashiocookie56 · 13 February at 6:29PM

No the company took money 2 and a half years after we used and fully paid for their service. The bank said it was a chargeback but the company admits it was a mistake. We have not got our money back.

eskbanker · 13 February at 6:35PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81883433#Comment_81883433

Chargeback is a process via which a consumer can reverse a payment made to a trader so it isn't clear how that can apply here - how exactly does the transaction show within your partner's account, i.e. debit card, direct debit, something else?

MeteredOut · 13 February at 7:08PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81883433#Comment_81883433

Are you sure the bank didn't say they'd have to raise a chargeback to reclaim the money, rather than saying the debit to your account was a chargeback?