Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the bank should refund us

89 replies

broccolibush · 06/11/2022 17:42

I noticed a transaction on my bank account that wasn’t authorised by either DH or me - for nearly £1,000 to a taxi company in South America - so called the bank to report it as a fraudulent transaction and ask for the money to be returned. It was a debit card payment.

We don’t spend using debit cards on the account (do day to day spending on credit cards and clear the balance every month) and we’re in the UK not in South America. The bank have said that the payment was made using chip and pin and have refused to accept it was fraudulent as the card is still in our possession, albeit many thousands of miles from where the transaction was made.

AIBU to think that there is no way a debit card in the UK could have been legitimately used for a chip and pin transaction in South America and that as a result refusing to accept this as fraud because the card is in our possession is insane? Has anyone else been in a similar situation and found a way to get their money back? I don’t fancy being £1k down to a criminal aided by the bank.

OP posts:
PriamFarrl · 25/11/2022 18:12

swimlyn · 25/11/2022 18:06

My most important point that I always make to people over matters like this is NEVER follow their instructions to cut the card through the chip and destroy it. That chip records actual transactions made with the card. The chip can be read by an independent fraud investigator to prove actual card usage. (I fully realise that this may not apply in this case: a remote transaction like OP’s problem)

However, whoever this bank is, they’re definitely pushing their luck with this blatant fraud. I guess in these difficult times it’s probably a new bank policy of ‘screw the customer wherever possible’.

Persist, persist, persist. Do not give up. You will win. The card being used in the UK close to the time of the fraud is perfect proof for you OP.

It’s ridiculous how the banks are behaving recently over matters like this. Threats to close your account if you don’t bend over and take their crap is disgusting behaviour.

My bank, Nationwide, used to be brilliant at fraud detection like this, phoning us, for example, to ask if we were in a Dubai casino buying £2,000 worth of gambling chips, BUT not anymore unfortunately.

A recent similar event, followed by absolutely appalling customer service, has persuaded us to chuck it in with them. (good customers, current+savings, with them for 37 years) They were extremely rude IN WRITING to us. (I’m an old fart who still uses email)

I was so astonished at the outright rudeness that I asked for confirmation from Swindon that the email was genuine, and not hacked. They said yes, genuine, and if I felt I had to take my business elsewhere, they would ‘fully understand’.

Absolutely gobsmacked…

Wasn’t there a thread on here recently where someone’s account had been frozen and their access denied but the bank wouldn’t tell them why or do anything about it?

MoirasSaggyBundles · 25/11/2022 18:23

GoldenCupidon · 25/11/2022 16:50

I think it's worth you getting in touch with finance journalist Paul Lewis twitter.com/paullewismoney?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor - you can message him on Twitter, who is usually shit hot at getting results out of finance organisations who do a bad job. He's the presenter of R4 Money Box.

Definitely this. Once the consumer interest media is involved, they usually capitulate (Money Box and You and Yours also on R4 are good for this).

Bluebellbike · 25/11/2022 20:29

UrsulaPandress · 25/11/2022 13:55

If I don’t inform my bank I’m going abroad then they refuse transactions.

I’m with RBS and First Direct.

Same. I am with First Direct and this is the case for me too. However I don't use my First Direct card abroad due to charges.

Bouledeneige · 25/11/2022 20:57

Yes they should refund it. Escalate it.

I had something similar when Santander rang me to ask me if I'd used my card in Guatemala 2 days before. I said no and they refunded it. Also when I spotted a large fraudulent payment in a Tesco on the other side of London - they refunded it too.

Original poster
broccolibush · 25/11/2022 22:58

I’ve already made a complaint to the bank and have a final resolution letter, which needs to be after 15 days for fraud cases.

OP posts:
BornBlonde · 25/11/2022 23:13

broccolibush · 25/11/2022 22:58

I’ve already made a complaint to the bank and have a final resolution letter, which needs to be after 15 days for fraud cases.

Sounds so stressful Flowers

Malbecfan · 26/11/2022 10:51

Actually, Santander have been brilliant with DD2 when she had money taken from her account fraudulently. With her permission, they actually rang me as they were so worried about her - she was just 18 and hysterical on the phone. It was a bit weird having Santander on the landline at the same time as DD sobbing on the mobile to me, but it did calm her down. They stopped everything and her money was refunded. It happened again a couple of months later and again, they were great - probably helped that she was calmer. They sent her a new card and new PIN and it's been fine ever since.

VoiceOfCommonSense · 27/11/2022 11:03

SisterGeorgeMichael · 06/11/2022 17:55

This happened to my brother, well the same sort of thing. He was with HSBC.

Someone bought flights and the there were loads of transactions abroad. HSBC said that even though he could prove it wasn't actually him, he could have given his card to someone else. It was all,very frustrating as the fraudulent activity was flights which obviously you need ID for.

He didn't get the money back and the whole thing took up weeks of his time.

Did he go to the ombudsman. I travel a lot and have had my card cloned before or travel agents have gone bust and I’ve had to make claims. It’s usually been straightforward but for the travel agent they tried to say they couldn’t cover it because it was due to Covid. I explained it wasn’t but they wouldn’t listen. I complained to the ombudsman and it ended up getting refunded plus a $300 credit from the bank.

Original poster
broccolibush · 13/04/2023 14:57

I just thought I'd bump this thread to say we have, finally, got our money back. We complained to the Financial Ombudsman and after a bit of back and forth with the bank they offered us our money back as a "goodwill gesture" (given that they'd avoiding our calls, made false representations to the Ombudsman and been generally dickish it seemed like goodwill was a laughable description). Given that it gave us our money back we took it, but it won't show as a finding against the bank in the official statistics.

It also means that the bank weren't inclined to find out exactly what happened, or how it happened, or that they know and they don't want to admit that chip & PIN is no longer secure like they want to claim it is.

So all in all an acceptable outcome, at least to us, and I now have nice new bank accounts with institutions who don't let people steal from me and then call me a liar after 30 years of entrusting them with my money. I don't think I'll do any business with the Royal Bank of Scotland again after this.

OP posts:
Augend23 · 13/04/2023 14:59

I'm glad you got your money back OP, but wowsers what a saga - it's a long time to be without £1k for as well :o

IMustDoMoreExercise · 13/04/2023 15:04

Thanks for updating.

Unbelievable.

flumposie · 13/04/2023 15:21

Glad you finally got your money back.

BornBlonde · 14/04/2023 21:17

Glad you got your money back!

Sirius3030 · 17/04/2023 17:28

Royal Bank of Scotland.
Noted.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page