Fraud on my account

[gf83]

Hello everyone, thanks in advance if anyone can help with my queries..

 

Around 2 years ago now, I opened a lloyds bank account.

I used this account mainly for savings however I did dip into it every now and again if I was a little skint but this really wasn't often at all.

 

 

However the balance of the account never dropped below about 1,500.

My partner also added bits and bobs to my account whenever we had anything spare.

 

 

A few months after opening this account, I decided to check my online statement to see how much we had managed to save

as we were wanting to go on holiday.

 

 

When I logged in, there was only around £800 in my account.

While I was logged in I noticed that money was actually disappearing WHILE I was looking at my account.

I quickly transferred everything left into my partners bank, and rang lloyds.

 

The person I spoke to informed me that there was nothing they could do about it,

I had obviously been negligent if someone had my card details,

however they did tell me that there had been a large number of transactions to a poker company.

I have never gambled online, and I don't even know how to play poker!

 

 

to cut a long story short, after a very long and irritating phonecall, I admitted defeat.

..ranted at my partner a little about how much we had lost due to this,

and opened an account with another bank as I thought lloyds customer service was disgraceful.

 

A month or so after this, I get a letter from lloyds stating that my account had gone into an unarranged overdraft and I had fees to pay.

I called them again and told them I had not touched my account since I discovered the fraud on it

(in hindsight I should have closed the account too)..

but they said that wasn't their problem and that I was liable for the charges

aswell as the amount they had allowed to be spent when I didnt even have an overdraft limit.

They also informed me that it was poker deposits that had taken me overdrawn.

 

 

The strange thing about that is, my mate at the time had a lloyds account

and he had recently been talking about how the bank bounced a direct debit of his

because he was a fiver short on it...so quite how they decided to let me go overdrawn is beyond me.

 

I was sick to the back teeth of all of this now, and there was no way I was paying debt that wasn't mine

and charges that were unfair, especially after losing money in the first place to fraudulent transactions.

 

 

They kept sending letters adding more charges on, I pretty much burried my head in the sand,

wrote off the money I had lost, and ignored lloyds.

They must have given up adding charges on at somepoint because as of today,

my credit report shows £499 debt to them and this hasn't changed for a while.

They stopped sending letters after around 6 months.

 

So, my partner banks with RBS.

A few days before xmas (lovely time for this to happen...) there was a fraudulent transaction on her account for quite a large sum of money.

She called RBS, they gave her all details of the transaction,

she confirmed she did not make it.

.they passed her to the fraud team who assured her she would not lose out,

she would be refunded by 6pm the SAME DAY and they would open an investigation into the matter.

They were so helpful and quick, and reassuring to my partner who had been in tears.

They cancelled her cards and reset her online banking details and such also.

 

I was amazed. I had been sure she would get the brush off the same as I had.

Obviously I was over the moon for her, but it made me think about how lloyds had handled fraud on my account.

I had never thought much of it at the time, I just assumed their staff would know what they were talking about

so never challenged anything.

 

 

But from researching over the past few days, it appears they should have done the same to me.

..at the very least opened an investigation into the matter which I am 100% certain would show I was not behind the transactions.

 

My question is this.

I no longer know my account details so cannot log into my online banking to check exactly how much I lost,

I know it was around £1000. I do not even know if the account is still open or not.

 

 

Is there anything I could do about it now?

Tbh I am quite peed off that whoever was using my card got away with it

and that I lost money and also have a black mark on my credit file.

AND that the contact centre staff I spoke to appear to have been untrained,

or did not know anything about how to handle my case.

 

 

But I'm thinking that it has been so long since the fraud occurred that its unlikely I could open a case now?

 

If nothing else came from this, I learnt to check my online banking statement daily.

I also encourage my partner and friends to do the same, this is partly why my partner discovered her problem so quick.

Otherwise she may have not realised until in a shop at the till when her card got declined,

which would have been extremely embarrassing

[dx100uk]

yes they should have investigated sooner and better.

 

 

I'd start a BCOBS complaint, that they didn't treat you fairly.

 

 

its within 6yrs so the door is still open.

 

 

dx

[gf83]

What is a BCOBS complaint please? And thanks for your reply

 

Edit. I just realised I can hover over the bcobs bit and get info on it

 

Who do I send this to? Also, how can I prove what the customer service rep said to me..as I (stupidly) did not record the call

[dx100uk]

click bcobs have a read

 

 

dx

[gf83]

Oh wow, I don't think I am up for suing the bank I have anxiety issues and being in court...I don't think it would go too well for me

 

I was hoping there might be a way of contacting lloyds and trying again to get them to look into the case. Without my bank details though, and not even knowing if the account is open, and not even knowing details of the transactions in question I'm not too sure how to proceed.

[dx100uk]

get an sar off to them

 

 

get all the statements

dx

[gf83]

OK, what would I put in the account/ref number part?

 

Sorry to be a pain, I just have no idea about all of this

[dx100uk]

nothing you can leave it blank

 

 

doesn't matter.

 

 

dx

[Conniff]

Oh wow, I don't think I am up for suing the bank I have anxiety issues and being in court...I don't think it would go too well for me.

 

 

Don't worry about court if it should get that far, it's not as you see in the movies etc, it's a little room with a table you all sit around, very informal.

[Klandestine]

While I was logged in I noticed that money was actually disappearing WHILE I was looking at my account.

 

What type of transactions were these? ATM withdrawals? Card payments? Branch withdrawals? Internet banking transfers?

 

Do/did you actively use the card for the account?

 

I quickly transferred everything left into my partners bank, and rang lloyds.

 

The person I spoke to informed me that there was nothing they could do about it,

I had obviously been negligent if someone had my card details,

 

What number did you ring and who did you speak to? General customer services? Fraud department?

 

I have never gambled online, and I don't even know how to play poker!

 

Does your wife though? Or anybody else in your family?

It's not something you've probably thought of but you honestly never know and this type of situation isn't that uncommon.

 

The strange thing about that is, my mate at the time had a lloyds account

and he had recently been talking about how the bank bounced a direct debit of his

because he was a fiver short on it...so quite how they decided to let me go overdrawn is beyond me.

 

Card transactions are different to direct debits.

The bank doesn't always get the chance to intervene with card transactions.

And in any case your friends eligibility for an unplanned overdraft would have been different to yours.

 

which I am 100% certain would show I was not behind the transactions.

 

If Lloyds thought you were negligent with your card or card details you would still be liable for the transactions.

 

I no longer know my account details so cannot log into my online banking to check exactly how much I lost

 

...

 

 

Is there anything I could do about it now?

 

Did you get sent statements in the post?

 

Note all the transactions that were not your own and submit a formal complaint (in writing) to Lloyds, explaining the situation including the details of when you first called to report the transactions in question.

[gf83]

What type of transactions were these? ATM withdrawals? Card payments? Branch withdrawals? Internet banking transfers?

 

Do/did you actively use the card for the account?

 

I expect card transactions, as they werent actually appearing ON the statement but just debiting, if that makes sense? It takes a few days for card transactions to actually show on statements but the money goes right away, whereas with atm withdrawals they show on statement straight away. I used the card on occasion, but not like one would use a current account (eg for regular bill payments etc)

 

What number did you ring and who did you speak to? General customer services? Fraud department?

Customer services who put me through to fraud

 

 

Does your wife though? Or anybody else in your family?

It's not something you've probably thought of but you honestly never know and this type of situation isn't that uncommon.

Nope. My partner barely knows how to use the internet nevermind gamble online lol

 

My brother plays poker in casinos but I rarely ever see him so cant see him having anything to do with it

 

 

Card transactions are different to direct debits.

The bank doesn't always get the chance to intervene with card transactions.

And in any case your friends eligibility for an unplanned overdraft would have been different to yours.

Fair enough

 

 

If Lloyds thought you were negligent with your card or card details you would still be liable for the transactions.

I don't think I have been negligent at all..my card was always in my wallet, in my coat pocket along with my current account card(which hasn't had any problems). Noone knows my details. I haven't been daft enough to write them down or anything...depends what they class as negligent I guess. I did once use the card to make one bill payment online, but it was a rent payment and through the allpay card site which I am sure is extremely safe.

 

Did you get sent statements in the post?

 

Note all the transactions that were not your own and submit a formal complaint (in writing) to Lloyds, explaining the situation including the details of when you first called to report the transactions in question.

No statements in post, was all online, which at the time suited me fine. In hindsight if I got papers statements I would have noticed this sooner and lost less :/

 

I am planning on doing that. Lloyds have asked me to go into a branch with my ID so they can reopen my online banking so that I can get all details needed. I have to say they seem much more helpful now than they were at the time.

[dx100uk]

I'd get an sar off and get everything .

 

 

dx

[gf83]

I'd get an sar off and get everything .

 

 

dx

I sent this this morning. Just in the meantime I would like access to my online banking to see exactly how much I lost etc.