I need help...

[keighley_jo08]

advice would be great.....
Ok Money was stolen from our account AFTER I registered it as stolen.....

on the 10th sep my partners car was broken into and they stole his wallet containing a card to our joint account. he informed me and i cancelled his card. So i didnt think anything of it because I had cancelled it. on Sunday I called our bank to find out how much money we had in there because bills were due to come out the followng week, I was then informed that £590 had been withdrawn in 2days, I asked them when the withdrawals had been made and they told me on weds 10th & thurs 11th, over the counter.

The withdrawals on Thurs should have never have happened, it stated on their screen in the bank that the card was registered as stolen. Is there any chance that we could turn this into a criminal case? or get some sort of compensation from our bank?

Due to this money being withdrawn payments for several bills, including our mortgage have been late therefore we have incurred charges.

They guy that had stolen our card made a withdrawal from 1 bank went to another, and withdrew more money, he then went back to the second bank later in the day to try and get more money and then they finally realised, only because his signiture didnt match - they contacted the fraud team on thurs 11th.... and I am still waiting for them to sort it out (i was told it would be sorted within 14days)

Please help. Thank you

[Charlie_Bubble]

Contact your bank and explain this to them. Only your bank can sort this out for you, posting on an internet forum isn't going to get your money back. If they have taken money out using a stolen card the bank should realise and refund it to you, especially if they have actually withdrawn it from the counter service. Most banks are reasonable when it comes to this kind of thing as it happens more often now.

[keighley_jo08]

I have complained to the bank.... My whole issue is the fact they allowed them to withdraw £300 AFTER I registered it stolen. Surely that is negligance on their part?

I done everything I needed to do, yet in 2 seperate branchs money was still allowed to be withdrawn even tho they had een notified!

Mywole point of asking for advie onthe internet is because I am unsure if I can make this a criminal case against the bank...

[cimt]

Whatever bank you're with, they have a crap secruity system. I know with my bank, Abbey, you have to have a statement with you to money handed over the counter.

I'm not sure about a criminal case, but I'm 99.9% sure that the bank refund you with any money that was taken.

[Charlie_Bubble]

Originally Posted by keighley_jo08

I have complained to the bank.... My whole issue is the fact they allowed them to withdraw £300 AFTER I registered it stolen. Surely that is negligance on their part?

I done everything I needed to do, yet in 2 seperate branchs money was still allowed to be withdrawn even tho they had een notified!

Mywole point of asking for advie onthe internet is because I am unsure if I can make this a criminal case against the bank...

I think 'criminal case' is a bit steep. I would suggest you write a letter to them outlining the extra charges that you incurred due to their negligence and state that as this was down to their own staff being negligent in giving money against a card already reported as stolen, you would like to be re-imbursed all the money taken + the charges.

[keighley_jo08]

Originally Posted by cimt

Whatever bank you're with, they have a crap secruity system. I know with my bank, Abbey, you have to have a statement with you to money handed over the counter.

I'm not sure about a criminal case, but I'm 99.9% sure that the bank refund you with any money that was taken.

lol i am with Abbey. The didnt ask the guy for any ID, they didnt ask him any security questions, just askd him to sign the withdrawal slip. Their sticking to their guns, they have told me that they do not ask for any id if you withdraw less then £250. but I have previously been asked fo ID, or asked my DOB when withdrawing £50

[injuneer]

A similar thing happened to me a few years ago, someone stole my wallet at my place of work & I wasn't aware it was missing until lunch time. I immediately reported the theft to my bank (Alliance & Leicester) & also reported it to the Police. (mainly to get a crime number). In the space of 2 hours (before i had reported it) the thief had made cash withdrawals over the counter, using my debit card, from 2 branches (quite a distance apart but both on the Northern Tube line!) & made some purchases on my credit card. The bank covered all the losses with no quibble.

[ikthius]

I think that if you contact the bank explain that money was taken out after your registered it stolen, also say when the wallet was stolen to try and get that money back also...

then ask them for compensation due to their lack of security after you had registered the card stolen.
and ask for them to cover the charges you incur as a result of their negligence.

and if you do it in a polite manner without loosing your head, you can calmly suggest that your accounts be moved to a more secure bank, and let them know that you may leave their bank if this is not resolved.

Banks at the mo need everyone they can keep.

ik

[joglynne]

If your Bank remains adamant that they are not responsible for your additional incurred charges you can always make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can even call the Ombudsman to get advise on 0845 080 1800 prior to making any complaint.

[handyman]

At my bank (Yorkshire) I have to enter my pin number even when making over the counter transactions, and also when paying money in..

[Watching You]

Sorry to hear about your loss, but from a starting point Sept 10 is a Wednesday. I take it you reported this crime to the police? Just following on from all the good advice above.

My initial response is someone at the bank has not been doing their job, however because they have failed to implemented their own basic checks it is not down to you to cover their losses – from your account.

When you reported this to the bank you should have received a reference number with this. Because the thief or thieves withdrew the money over the counter you have a strong case, in that had it been an ATM there could be some dispute as who took this money.

On the information you have provided I would say bank is at fault for this loss, if you have proof that this crime was committed, a crime number, and reference number, when you reported this theft to your bank.

The second point is check what your banks policy on withdrawing cash over the counter, because just producing a card and signature is not adequate proof unless you have failed to mention that your boyfriend also had his drivers license and the card’s pin number in his wallet that was stolen.

Typically (or so we are told) banks have a system that monitors your spending habits that should have flagged this up, independently, unless you regularly take out large sums of cash over the counter. Once you have received this information I suggest you then write setting out your complaint, stating that this was reported to the police and the bank in sufficient time before the withdrawals were made. Add that because off this loss that your account was short and you have had to pay charges for your late payments that you intend to pursue from the bank.

Stand your ground with the bank, it is a long process, they may assume that you will give up and cannot be bothered with seeing this through.

Note: if you have done everything that is required when your cards are stolen, gone to the police reported it to the bank, and then the bank fails to do their job, you should not be the one held accountable for the loses.

On compensation, its difficult to say because the bank may offer you a ‘goodwill payment’, once proven they are liable, however this could take up to twelve months. I doubt it will make a criminal case because it was a thief and not that bank (in theory) that stole the cards to make the withdrawals. On your side the bank are unlikely to want the bad publicity that they have been incompetent.

A final point, because the wallet was stolen from your car, check with your insurance policy on whether its covers legal fees in such matters, in case you need to play hard ball with the bank.

PS Don’t leave wallets in your car anymore unless you own an armour plated vehicle with a proper lock box.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Watching You

Typically (or so we are told) banks have a system that monitors your spending habits that should have flagged this up, independently, unless you regularly take out large sums of cash over the counter. Once you have received this information I suggest you then write setting out your complaint, stating that this was reported to the police and the bank in sufficient time before the withdrawals were made. Add that because off this loss that your account was short and you have had to pay charges for your late payments that you intend to pursue from the bank.

Not sure of the exact criteria they use, but the Abbey do have a system to do this for debit card transactions (I have tripped it before when I bought a fridge and the transaction was declined because it was too far outside my normal purchasing pattern).

As for over the counter transactions, well, they should require ID (they certainly have whenever I have used the counter services).

To the OP: I suggest you contact Abbey's head office (you'll need to look it up on http://www.abbey.com ). When I lost money as a result of incorrect advice at HSBC, contacting their Head Office got the money refunded.

Although my case wasn't exactly the same. My mother died, and a local funeral director offered a £200 discount if we paid up front. This just about cleaned out her bank account at HSBC, and our local manager agreed to pay on a quote.

Come the day of the funeral, HSBC refused to issue a cheque for the quoted stating we needed an invoice. I complained to HSBC head office, and was told that the manager should not have agreed to pay on a quote, but they did contact the branch and ask them to issue a cheque for the full amount (including the extra £200).