Halifax default after account misuse – debt now with Wescot – next steps

JeromeX_Xi

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice regarding a Halifax account that has recently defaulted and been passed to Wescot for £410.

In late 2024 / early 2025 I was introduced to some individuals by a mutual friend. I was told they could help me make money through crypto-related transactions. I now understand this was a scam / account misuse situation.

I allowed them access to my bank account details under pressure and extremely poor judgement. As a result:

•Transactions were made that I did not properly understand

•My Halifax account went into an overdraft I did not personally spend

•The account was later closed

•A balance of £410 remains

•The debt has now been transferred to Wescot

•I have also suffered wider losses of £4,000+ linked to the same situation

I accept I should never have given anyone access to my account and I deeply regret that decision.

I have spoken to Halifax several times and was told (in September) that I would be able to re-apply for an account with them in future, which suggests I am not permanently barred. However, regarding the default and balance, I keep being passed between departments.

I am now preparing a formal written complaint asking them to:

•Mark the £410 as formally disputed

•Suspend collection activity

•Investigate both the default and the wider losses

My questions are:

1.Should I pay the £410 now, or wait until the complaint investigation finishes?

2.If I pay it, does that weaken my ability to challenge the default later?

3.What is the realistic chance of a default being removed in circumstances like this?

4.Is it better to raise all issues (default + £4k losses) in one complaint?

I understand I made serious mistakes and I’m trying to resolve this properly now.

Any advice appreciated.

Altior

It's not clear why you feel you have a valid complaint?

You wilfully gave up your bank account to a third party, and the third party used the bank account. That's what you wanted to happen. This was apparently on the proviso of easy money/profit/fast buck.

Why would that be the bank's responsibility?

Did you authorise any of the transactions and/or give the third party the means to do so?

Who do you feel is responsible for the losses?

JeromeX_Xi

Thank you for your response — I understand why you’re asking those questions.

Yes, I did give access to my account at the time, which I now recognise was a serious mistake. I wasn’t fully aware of the implications and was misled about what would happen, but I accept that allowing access was my responsibility.

I was also subjected to threats during this period, which contributed to my poor judgement and fear at the time. That doesn’t excuse my actions, but I wasn’t thinking clearly and was under pressure.

I’m not saying the bank is automatically responsible simply because things went wrong. The individuals involved are primarily responsible for the losses.

What I’m trying to understand is whether the overdraft and default have been applied correctly from a procedural point of view, and whether there is any scope to challenge how the account was handled once the activity became clearly unusual.

I’m not trying to avoid paying the £410 if it is correctly due. My concern is whether paying immediately affects my ability to challenge the default marker

I accept I exercised poor judgement. I’m now just trying to deal with this properly and minimise the long-term damage.

Any guidance on the correct approach would be appreciated.

Altior

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894403#Comment_81894403

Appreciate the response but it's still not clear.

Everything you have outlined so far makes you responsible. Thus the default is entirely valid.

If you were threatened, where/when in the chain of events did you report this to the bank? Are the activities under police investigation? When was it reported?

To be clear, I feel like the scenario that you've outlined needs more context ie the exact timeline of events, what happened when, what measures did you take to protect yourself and the bank.

To me, as it stands you should have settled the overdraft and not allowed the account to fall into default. But as I say, much more context is needed, when did the bank fall short of their responsibilities.

fatbelly

Don't worry about the default for now. Go through the complaint process.

Have you got a reference number from Action Fraud?

Do not pay while the complaint is live. If the debt is written off the default should be removed

https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/

RAS

As above, has this whole event been reported to Action Fraud? That's the minimum if you want to be taken seriously.

For the future, you could find yourself with a CIFAS fraud marker if you repeat it.

One possible action you might want to take is putting a CIFAS preventative marker on your credit record. That will not prevent you from repeating the same mistake but it will prevent shady people using the information already gained from you to create other accounts in your name. It will be a pain in the butt as well as every time you want a new account or credit, additional checks will be made. So research carefully first.

born_again

 I was introduced to some individuals by a mutual friend. I was told they could help me make money through crypto-related transactions. I now understand this was a scam / account misuse situation.

I would be going to police, as Action Fraud do not investigate anything. Given a known friend. That gives them a good starting point.

Altior

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894506#Comment_81894506

What's the basis for the complaint, based on the OP ?

sourcrates

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894942#Comment_81894942

The OP is just as much a victim here, and the bank was an unwilling party to it, they spend millions on fraud prevention which in this case did nothing to help the OP.

Scammers can be very clever, and persuasive, and are very good at using 3rd parties to achieve their aims.

By making a complaint and going in cap in hand, the OP is acknowledging being partly responsible for these actions, but is looking for a gesture of goodwill on the banks part, with the possibility of writing the debt off and removing the credit file entry.

And as a side note to the OP, there are many more banks than just the Halifax.

Altior

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894981#Comment_81894981

I don't see that from the OP though.

The OP is admitting to handing over full access to their bank account to a third party so they could nefariously profit from it.

What is the bank meant to do about that?

As per my questions, there may be possible mitigation/genuine cause for complaint here that has not yet been shared, which I'm trying to tease out. As yet, there are none.

So far we have the offer of free money to do something criminal. The OP has took them up on the offer. Regretted it afterwards. Retrospectively they now want the bank to somehow admit to falling short!

It reads to me like they are coating the story with the 'I made serious mistakes', but the reality is that they are not actually taking responsibility at all. I am willing to be convinced otherwise.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894981#Comment_81894981

GOGW here is that they have not said a total block & a CIFAS fraud marker.