Barclays are 'unable to help' me get my money back from an unauthorised transaction

[MissSigh]

This is quite a long story and I will try my best to shorten it.

 

a couple of months ago I decided to go through my Barclays current account bank statements thoroughly to make sure all was ok.

 

I noticed 4 unknown transactions made to iTunes.

 

I made an appointment at my local branch to discuss these unknown transactions.

 

Unfortunately the lady who served me was of no help and said that because the transactions were more than 120 days ago that I wouldn't receive any help.

 

I understand this is their policy but felt very annoyed because I had only just found the transactions.

She was also useless because when I said I would like a new card sent out to me (seeing as my card details had clearly been stolen) her reply was:

"Have anymore unknown transactions happened recently?" I replied saying "no" and her reply to that was

"Well if it hasn't happened again recently then I doubt it will happen again and I wouldn't worry about it". Seriously?

 

This is the advice Barclays employees are trained to give to a customer who has had their card details stolen and money taken from their account? In my opinion it's disgusting.

 

I left the appointment and decided to write a letter about how unhappy I was with the lack of help I received at my appointment

and also to point out I was unhappy that my bank who has my money refuses to help me get money back that has been stolen!

 

I wrote it to this address:

Customer Relations

Barclays Bank Plc

Leicester

LE87 2BB

 

I also had another dispute about an unknown 'Debit to Account' on my Barclay Loan and also wrote about that in with the letter.

The lady at my appointment also didn't help me with this, apparently their computer didn't go back that far and that was it, no offer to phone a certain number instead.

 

I received a reply today, 4 weeks after sending the letter to them.

 

Their reply was this:

 

Thank you for your recent enquiry.

 

Unfortunately after initial reviews of your case, we are unable to pursue this matter on your behalf.

 

VISA have strict time limits which means that transactions which date back as far as your

disputed debit, are too old for us to investigate.

 

Our best advice for recovering your funds, would be to contact the merchant direct, or to seek assitance from your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

We apologise we could not be of any further assitance.

 

when I sent the original letter to Barclays I also provided a copy of the email I received from Apple

(before contacting Barlcays about the unknown iTunes transactions I emailed Apple about them and Apple replied

and told me there was nothing they could do until my Bank requests a charge back and that's exactly why I decided to then contact my bank, Barclays).

 

Here is a small quote from the email I received from Apple:

 

I urge you to contact your card issuer as soon as possible to inquire about canceling the card or account and removing the unauthorized transactions.

You should also ask them to launch an investigation into the security of your account.

Under the circumstances the iTunes Store cannot reverse the charges for those purchases without chargeback orders from your card issuer.

 

even though I told Barclays that I already contacted Apple and that Apple explained they could not help

until my card issuer reverse the charges Barclays have still told me to go back Apple!

 

I don't know where I stand here. I have never had to do anything like this before and I haven't a clue where to go from here.

 

I am not going to contact Apple again as requested by Barclays because I have done so already and I provided proof of that to Barlcays in my original letter.

 

Oh and I love how Apple advise me that my bank need to launch an investigation into the security of my account but Barlcays didn't .

 

It seems as if they don't even care that my details have been stolen.

[MissSigh]

Either way, I will still be writing back to Barclays because they have totally ignored the other two issues (my Barclayloan and a new debit card/security of my account) that I wrote to them about in my original letter. I had 3 problems that I wanted help with or at least an explanation. In the letter I received today from Barclays all they addressed was 1 of my problems, the other 2 seem to have been completely ignored.

[Conniff]

The easiest way to get a new card is to report it lost or stolen, then it will be cancelled and a new one issued.

 

As you have described it, there is no proof that the debits were from anyone but you so they can't just be reversed as that would leave the flood gates open to everyone to make a purchase of something and then get the payment reversed.

 

You need to contact the Barclays Fraud Dept and ask for their assistance.

 

To dispute a transaction on your Barclaycard, call 0844 811 9111

 

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/Contactusaboutfraud/P1242560037908

 

4 months is an awful long time to leave checking your statements.

[MissSigh]

As you have described it, there is no proof that the debits were from anyone but you so they can't just be reversed as that would leave the flood gates open to everyone to make a purchase of something and then get the payment reversed.

 

The proof is in the email that Apple sent me. Apple checked my itunes account and confirmed they were not able to locate the (unauthorised) purchases on my account. So therefore that proves it was not me that made the transactions because otherwise if I did make the transactions myself they would be logged on my itunes account and I would also have the email receipts for the purchases. I don't know maybe that isn't enough proof. So would you like to tell me what sort of proof I would need exactly? If someone has their card details stolen online without even knowing about it (until checking their bank statement) how on earth do they prove that the transaction wasn't actually made by them? I can't see how that would be possible other than how Apple confirmed to me in my email. Or maybe the proof I would need is to find the fraudster who stole my card details and then have them admit to my bank that it was them and not me.

 

4 months is an awful long time to leave checking your statements.

 

I agree it is a long time, but I did not say in my original post that I didn't check my statements, I said that I didn't check through them thoroughly. I guess I never thought that it would happen to me, what a fool I was.

[Conniff]

Apple will have logged the IP address of the downloader, ask them for that.

[MissSigh]

Firstly I would like to apologise if my previous reply came across rude and/or sarcastic.

 

I'm now wondering if there is any point trying to dispute these transactions further seeing as Barclays have stated that once it passes 120 days they cannot do anything. So even if I did have proof etc the '120 days' have passed and I would assume this is what Barclays would remind me of. After reading the letter I was very angry earlier when I first made this thread and I was just hoping I had some rights to take this further. Because the 120 days have passed I guess I would probably just be banging my head against a wall.

 

I may contact Apple again as Barclays have suggested in todays letter, just to see if they say something different this time about the chargeback. I'm curious to see what they will say.

 

Luckily the transactions didn't add up to a massive amount, but still I am angry that my money was stolen. I will just make sure to go through my bank statements thorougly as soon as I get them and if anything happens again I will be able to notify Barclays well within 120 days.

 

Thank you for your replies

[Bang!]

Given what you have said it will sound quite bad that I cannot remember the last time I checked my bank statements. The last time I did often with reasonably current statements was perhaps 2007.

 

I know approximately what there is in each - and if there was a large difference I would check. Its kept quite simple as I have no SOs now or DDs other than Paypal, and have not written a cheque in ten years.

 

To save wasting paper - the account I use most is set to send out a statement once a year.

 

So if a bank is happy to send out a statement each year - then it seems a little suspicious to have a four month deadline for policing theft.

[slick132]

Hi MissSigh,

 

If you know for sure that no one who you know (family or friend) could have made the purchases, you must get the card replaced as your security has been compromised.

 

Even if Barclays Fraud Dep't won't investigate with a view to a refund, they must recognise that the card security may have been compromised.

 

[MissSigh]

Given what you have said it will sound quite bad that I cannot remember the last time I checked my bank statements. The last time I did often with reasonably current statements was perhaps 2007.

I know approximately what there is in each - and if there was a large difference I would check. Its kept quite simple as I have no SOs now or DDs other than Paypal, and have not written a cheque in ten years.

To save wasting paper - the account I use most is set to send out a statement once a year.

I've never been one to check every single transaction on my statements, I would skim through them. Most of the time like yourself I would just check the in, out and end balance and knew roughly what should be there and probably the only time I would have got suspicious if it was different by a large amount.

At first I did see the itunes transactions but because I have an itune account myself I just assumed it was from one of my purchases. Then when I looked through my statements thorougly I saw 2 itunes transactions in a specific month that I knew I hadn't bought anything from itunes. I then looked through my other statements and found the other 2 and when I saw one for £20.97 I knew for sure it wasn't a transaction of my own, I would never spend that on itunes, the most I have ever spent on one thing from itunes was £1.49. I have had my itunes account for about a year now and up until today I have spent £5.74 on apps for my iPhone and a couple of songs. I still have all of the receipts for my itunes purchases. Since finding the unauthorised itunes transactions I panicked and removed my debit card from my itunes account and haven't bought a thing since (initially I thought someone hacked my itunes account but that wasn't the case).

 

if a bank is happy to send out a statement each year - then it seems a little suspicious to have a four month deadline for policing theft.

 

You make a good point, but I am thinking Barclays are saying that Visa have the 120 day policy so then I would think they wouldn't it as a problem for the bank itself I am really not sure how it all works

 

Hi MissSigh,

 

If you know for sure that no one who you know (family or friend) could have made the purchases, you must get the card replaced as your security has been compromised.

 

Even if Barclays Fraud Dep't won't investigate with a view to a refund, they must recognise that the card security may have been compromised.

 

 

Hi slick132, I would have to say that it wasn't a family or friend. I will definitely get the card replaced. I should have done so already but needing it most days I couldn't be without it for a few days but realise the security of my account is much more important

[slick132]

Hi MissSigh,

 

I was thinking about this again and I don't think the bank's 120 day rule is right.

 

See here on the FSA,'s site - http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/consumerinformation/product_news/banking/know_your_rights/solving/index.shtml

 

Have a read. From what I see, the bank should refund and investigate as the matter is less than 13 months old.

 

[MissSigh]

Hi MissSigh,

 

I was thinking about this again and I don't think the bank's 120 day rule is right.

 

See here on the FSA,'s site - http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/consumerinformation/product_news/banking/know_your_rights/solving/index.shtml

 

Have a read. From what I see, the bank should refund and investigate as the matter is less than 13 months old.

 

 

Oh wow thanks so much for finding this slick132! So if I were to write back to Barclays about their decision not to help me (because of the 120 days) then I would state what's written on the FSA site? sorry but I really don't know about writing these sorts of letters when questioning a places decision.

[slick132]

Hi MissSigh,

 

You could write to Barclays using the address from which they wrote to you saying you had contacted them too late :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

Unauthorised debits to my a/c no. xxxxxxxx

 

I refer to your letter of xxdate which says you cannot investigate fraudulent transactions on my account because they were more than 120 days old when i noticed them.

 

I enclose a list of the dates and amounts of the disputed transactions. I appreciate the transactions are relatively small but I am obviously concerned that the security of my account has been compromised.

 

I am aware of the FSA Guidance which states that disputed fraudulent transactions should be refunded to the customer without waiting for the results of an investigation.

 

The Guidance also says banks cannot investigate disputed amounts over 13 months old.

 

I therefore assume that you should investigate my complaint about fraud on my account that is less than 13 months ago.

 

I look forward to your positive response.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

[MissSigh]

Hi MissSigh,

 

You could write to Barclays using the address from which they wrote to you saying you had contacted them too late :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

Unauthorised debits to my a/c no. xxxxxxxx

 

I refer to your letter of xxdate which says you cannot investigate fraudulent transactions on my account because they were more than 120 days old when i noticed them.

 

I enclose a list of the dates and amounts of the disputed transactions. I appreciate the transactions are relatively small but I am obviously concerned that the security of my account has been compromised.

 

I am aware of the FSA Guidance which states that disputed fraudulent transactions should be refunded to the customer without waiting for the results of an investigation.

 

The Guidance also says banks cannot investigate disputed amounts over 13 months old.

 

I therefore assume that you should investigate my complaint about fraud on my account that is less than 13 months ago.

 

I look forward to your positive response.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

 

Brilliant! thanks so much for your help slick132

[MissSigh]

I just wanted to update this thread. I received another letter from Barclays about my complaints before I sent off the final letter about the FSA Guidance. They reminded me I wasn't able to get the money back because of being over 120 days but went on to say as a gesture of goodwill they will refund me the money for the unauthorised transactions. So that's a result and I'm really glad.

[slick132]

Hi MissSigh and thanks for the update.

 

Whether it's a Goodwill Gesture or not, it's the refund you wanted so that's a RESULT

 

I'm pleased this is now resolved !