I think I've been scammed!

NickX

Badger_Lady wrote: »

He asked for it!



Was only trying to be light-hearted

Oh OK, didn't see that he said that you could call him an idiot, thought you were being serious.

MattyC

Haha, Badger_Lady, its fine you made me smile!

I think I will goto my local branch this afternoon to try and get it sorted. Or is it best to ring Natwest's fraud department or whatever?

Really appreciate all your help!

dmg24

MattyC, as others have said, the first thing to do is call the company in question.

Unless Maestro provide fraud cover, or you have fraud cover by another means, all the bank can do is stop any further payments being taken.

If you get no joy with the company, then go to Trading Standards.

missile

In addition to going into branch, where I think they have limited discretion, I would suggest you write to Natwest head office. I have heard of people who have had fraudulent debit card transactions refunded.

NickX

Yes, even though there is no Section 75 cover on Debit Cards, the banks can still do a chargeback - the OP just needs to prove to them that the transaction was fraudulent.

Hope it works out for him.

MattyC

What ways can I prove that it's fraud and I've been scammed?

• I was told the caller was from my phone insurance company
• She said they were lowering my monthly charge for insurance
• I didn't authorise for two seperate £40 charges
• I wasn't told there would even be a charge, was just told they were lowering my monthly charge. She even asked what insurance plan I had and I replied "Premier" which is my £9.99 a month deal and she made it seem like she knew what it was.
• I have my bank statement with the charges on

I rang securephone2u about 20 minutes ago, spoke to some welsh lady again. She was quick to point out that all calls are recorded - something I was definately not told on the first call where I was scammed. She also said that all their staff tell you you're signing up for a one-off 18 month contract. Another lie, as I wasn't even aware I was signing up for a CONTRACT, I was lead to believe I was providing my bank details so they could change the direct debit.

She asked if I had my policy number, which I never recieved as I never recieved any paperwork, and I wasn't aware that I was supposed to recieve paperwork from my phone insurance company who I already have a policy with and already have their paperwork. Could this be used as proof? - Why would I sign up for another insurance contract when I already have taken one out.

Poppycat

There's a new scam going round its an old scam but been modified where scammers have put cameras in some shops/retailers with cameras in the ceiling to read the card numbers

If you use a pin and chip machine in might be wise to put you hand over the numbers just enough so you can see the numbers but not enough from the top

NickX

This is basically fraud, and you would be within your rights to go to the police about this company, although I don't think they would do much.

You have not agreed to this contract either verbally or in writing, you have not agreed to the funds being removed from your bank account. Tell the bank this, and insist that this organisation have behaved in a criminal fashion and that you dispute the charges.

The onus should be on the bank or the company to prove that you had actually agreed to this contract, which ofcourse they will not be able to do.

If the bank does not appear tobe helpful, I would threaten them that the service is not good enough and you feel strongly enough to close all accounts you have with them. Put pressure on them to sort it out.

Finally, this organisation needs to be named and shamed - you could send details to the BBC Watchdog program, they are often featuring scams like this.

Superheavy

To add to what Nick X said, probably best to complain to your bank as soon as possible, cause it can take quite a while for them to get to the bottom of it. I know, from my employer in Swansea (not securephones4scams) that we give timescales of up to 10 weeks, as we legally have to give the retailer 3 weeks to give us the paperwork to back up the transaction.

missile

You may be covered by 14 day cooling off period for distance selling?