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GoHenry fraud warning

19 replies

Toptipper · 07/12/2024 09:26

Just a word of caution to anyone who has a GoHenry account for their child/ children. Fraud is so prevalent particularly at this time of year and I did not realise when we signed up for GoHenry that as it is only an e money platform and therefore is not covered (or more to the point your money is not covered) by the FSCA. Banks obviously are. What this means in practical terms is that if, like my 13 year old, your card was cloned (and although she was playing in a school hockey match in Dorset so very clearly did not make the purchase) and someone used the cloned card make a purchase for the entirety of the £160 she had in her account at the Apple store in Manchester, that's just bad luck. We have spent 3 months battling with GoHenry as we have proof (via geotagging on her phone) that she was in a geographically different part of the world at the time the purchase was made, that doesn't count. To add insult in injury the Customer Service representative who confirmed that after 3 months of providing compelling evidence etc there would be no reimbursement, signed off the email 'Have a wonderful day'. My daughter is heartbroken as she had saved so hard - neither she or I are going to have a 'wonderful day' having had £160 stolen. We have obviously switched all our kids to children's bank accounts which offer almost all the benefits (if not more) of the GoHenry card, do not carry the same fees for topping up etc and most important of all, my daughter would have got her money back within days if she had been with Natwest (or any other FSCA backed institution). So only use GoHenry if you are 100% certain that no fraud could be committed, otherwise it's a massive risk.

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colesr · 07/12/2024 09:41

I have never been a fan of these go Henry type things tbh. Kids can have debit cards from 11 with a bank and prior to that they don't really need them. I thought they were more about little pocket money holding rather then large amounts though, so the risk of loss to most should be very minimal.

Hurdlin · 07/12/2024 09:44

That's terrible, your poor daughter.

I've never seen the point of a GoHenry card. Why pay a monthly fee when they can get a debit card for free from a normal bank? It seems such a gimmick.

westcountrywoman · 07/12/2024 09:46

There are plenty of free alternatives now with proper banks. Monzo is offering kids cards for 6-15 year olds and I believe NatWest offers a service if parents bank with them too.

joanofaardvark · 07/12/2024 09:50

The go Henry features are really handy, esp when starting out kids on having a card but it is a dreadful product.

We had issues where money was supposedly transferred from a friend and had left an account but didn't credit - even though it was received. It was easy to see the software was at fault as my daughter's historical balances went negative by the amount of 'lost' money. GoHenry were an absolute nightmare to deal with, I'm unsure if they were being deliberately thick to avoid responsibility or just dangerously ignorant.

Awful awful company. The government urgently needs to close the loophole that they are exploiting to avoid behaving like a proper regulated bank.

NobleWashedLinen · 07/12/2024 09:50

We use Rooster rather than GoHenry but I expect the principle is similar. Last time I looked at kids bank accounts none of them had the full functionality i wanted though. Which bank are you using for your kids accounts and what functionality does it have?

My child doesn't keep more than £5 in the card spending pot at any time. The money being saved for a large purchase is in a ringfenced pot that can't be accessed without either the child or the parent moving the money into the Spend pot using the phone app, which they won't do until the moment they are ready to make the purchase. Is that not something GoHenry has? With this principle being practiced, anyone who cloned a Rooster card wouldn't be able to steal much.

WatchOutForBabyHaggis · 07/12/2024 13:19

Ds2 (14) and ds3 (7) have Monzo accounts. Ds1 (16) does too but he has his own adult account now.

Took me 5 minutes to set up the kids accounts. I have their accounts on my app, they have their own Debit Cards. Ds2 has his own app on his phone too and he's added his Debit Card to Google Pay so just pays with his phone.

Excellent service (and totally free).

Fourmagpies · 07/12/2024 16:49

I keep the limits low for spending so this can't happen. If DS2 wants to spend more then he asks me, I change the settings so he can purchase, then change it back. He also keeps most of the money in Savings. It saved him from a fraudulent payment which didn't go through as it was more than his limit. I like GoHenry as I can have control but DS also can make small purchases as he likes. The gift links are also useful for Xmas sand birthdays.
DS1 is over 16 and has a part time job so has a proper bank account but I have no access, he's fairly sensible so hopefully all okay! Though it's his money to spend so can't really complain if he has spent it all. He has other savings which he doesn't have access to.

Invisimamma · 07/12/2024 16:58

I've never used Go Henry for this reason and also because of the fees - extortionate for accounts that usually only have small amounts of money. Always found the kids bank accounts (Halifax) excellent and free!

Invisimamma · 07/12/2024 17:01

NobleWashedLinen · 07/12/2024 09:50

We use Rooster rather than GoHenry but I expect the principle is similar. Last time I looked at kids bank accounts none of them had the full functionality i wanted though. Which bank are you using for your kids accounts and what functionality does it have?

My child doesn't keep more than £5 in the card spending pot at any time. The money being saved for a large purchase is in a ringfenced pot that can't be accessed without either the child or the parent moving the money into the Spend pot using the phone app, which they won't do until the moment they are ready to make the purchase. Is that not something GoHenry has? With this principle being practiced, anyone who cloned a Rooster card wouldn't be able to steal much.

My son's Halifax account has a current account and a linked everyday saver account, I guess that's a similar principle?
He keeps his general everyday money in the current account and transfers across from the savings when it's needed via the app. I also have access to both via my own online banking.

DreamW3aver · 07/12/2024 17:04

I have never been able to understand the concept of go henry, why would anyone pay to spend their own money?

Do you know how the fraud was done?

XelaM · 07/12/2024 17:07

Oh no, so sorry for your daughter 😔 No point in GoHenry or RoosterMoney when HyperJar is free. I don't get the point of having to pay to have a kid's account when you can have one for free.

CoffeeCup14 · 07/12/2024 21:13

Monzo is brilliant as the child's account is part of your account - the money is legally yours - so you can see where they are spending the money, you can put some restrictions on it (eg online spending) and you can take money out of the account if necessary. If your child needs a bit more supervision over money, it's a really good option.

Amaranthasweetandfair · 07/12/2024 21:40

Electronic money institutions do need to be regulated by the FCA now. I'm not sure what you mean by the FSCA.

Amaranthasweetandfair · 07/12/2024 21:43

Checking the FCA register and it seems to be regulated (provided by IDT financial services which is regulated in the UK.) Have you complained to them?

Heatherbell1978 · 07/12/2024 22:47

The FSCS is only there to compensate customers if the financial institution fails. So if this is the avenue you were pursuing then I'm not surprised you were not compensated.

Viviennemary · 07/12/2024 22:50

I never thought go Henry was a good idea when saw adverts promoting it. How is it a good idea to give a child a card. I don't think it would teach them good habits dealing with money. In fact the very opposite.

Toptipper · 08/12/2024 10:05

Must have been a cloned card as my daughter had her card with her in Dorset when the transaction was made with a card in store in Manchester. Sadly GoHenry and Apple (where the purchase was made) won’t accept that geographical fact!

OP posts:
IdrisElbow · 08/12/2024 10:14

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Toptipper · 08/12/2024 13:24

Yes cross with myself I fell for the sell as Monzo etc all have free, safer and more secure versions!!!

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