accused of fraud by my bank

[portfoliopaul]

My bank accused me of fraud when I deposited a perfectly legal cheque.

 

 

The police were called & I have been cleared of all charges.

 

 

I am really angry as the cheque had already been approved by another branch of the same bank 2 days earlier

 

 

( i waited for a better currency rate)

 

 

The ombudsman & the FCA dont want to know & i am financially out of pocket.

 

 

Can i take my bank to court? if so how!!!!

[AndyOrch]

Which Bank and what currency paul?

[portfoliopaul]

the bank is nat west & it was the euro. The accusation was I altered the name on the cheque

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Why did they accuse? Was the name altered? Was there smudging? Weird indentations? What? There must have been something for them to suggest fraud.

[portfoliopaul]

The person who raised the cheque started to put the wrong name in. She corrected it & put her signiture along side! It took the police 2 months to sort it out. T he bank told lies about the incident to the police which they could be in trouble for. Sorry i cannot say anymore it might reveal my identity.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

So there was an issue with the cq so the bank were right to question it.

Unless you give us mote info like why it took so long and in what way the bank lied, then I see little else we can advise you on regarding taking them to court.

[portfoliopaul]

The cheque was not issued in the uk hence the delay! The police will not deal with civil cases so the bank told them i threatened a member of staff. When the police arrived to sort the threats out they found mothing. The bank then gave the police the cheque!!!!

[unclebulgaria67]

The cheque was not issued in the uk hence the delay! The police will not deal with civil cases so the bank told them i threatened a member of staff. When the police arrived to sort the threats out they found mothing. The bank then gave the police the cheque!!!!

 

There is nothing stopping you issuing a small court claim for the value of the loss you suffered. You would have to provide a detailed calculation of the loss and to send the Bank a letter before action advising them of your intention to issue a court claim for the loss, unless you can come to a resolution beforehand. The letter should be sent to the Banks head office and you give them at least 21 days to respond to the letter.

 

The Bank were right to challenge the cheque, but not to accuse you of fraud without having carried out some investigation. Normally Banks have specialist fraud departments and these are the only ones that deal with such cases. Mistakes can be made and I presume that the Bank/FOS have not accepted that compensation is necessary, when fraud detection is a standard practice of Banks which they must by law carry out. To penalise a Bank for an action they have to do by law, might not be something the FOS would do. But there is nothing stopping you asking a court.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

What did you say to the bank teller? Remembering they have very good video and audio recording in banks so I cant see them lying like that.. Was something said that you thought was fine but they thought was aggressive? What did you say when they told you they were you g to investigate the cq. I assume there was a confrontation in the bank or why else would police be called?

[JoeyJoeC]

Could you not contact the person that issued the cheque, and ask them to issue a new one?

[portfoliopaul]

A big thanks to every one who gave me advise. My final question is what sort of figure should i ask for in terms of compensation?

I dont have a clue what the going rate is for being accused of fraud & threatning behaviour.

[unclebulgaria67]

That is difficult to answer. Work out the direct losses related to the financial transaction delay and the costs in dealing with it. i am not sure courts look at emotional distress caused by such accusations and hopefully someone will reply saying whether this is the case or not.

[Ganymede]

A big thanks to every one who gave me advise. My final question is what sort of figure should i ask for in terms of compensation?

I dont have a clue what the going rate is for being accused of fraud & threatning behaviour.

 

You need to answer Grumpy's post above.

 

Personally, I think that you're on a hiding to nothing.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

A big thanks to every one who gave me advise. My final question is what sort of figure should i ask for in terms of compensation?

I dont have a clue what the going rate is for being accused of fraud & threatning behaviour.

 

Can you answer may last question and we can maybe advise further?

[portfoliopaul]

So sorry for not getting back I have been away sorting out family problems. Having been accused of fraud understandably I was not happy & voices were raised. The bank mentioned words like violence & physical threats which the police dismissed within minutes. There is a glimmer of hope though. After arriving home I have been contacted by the Financial Conduct Authority requesting copies of all the paperwork!!! I still intend to seek damages so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

[unclebulgaria67]

Follow through the complaints process first and see where it goes. If the FCA want to investigate, help with this.

[Ganymede]

So sorry for not getting back I have been away sorting out family problems. Having been accused of fraud understandably I was not happy & voices were raised. The bank mentioned words like violence & physical threats which the police dismissed within minutes. There is a glimmer of hope though. After arriving home I have been contacted by the Financial Conduct Authority requesting copies of all the paperwork!!! I still intend to seek damages so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

 

Damages for what?

[unclebulgaria67]

Damages for what?

 

I think they mean the hurt the accusation of fraud caused them. Have there been any successful court claims for hurt/distress caused by an accusation of committing a crime ?

[Ganymede]

Sue for hurt feelings?

[Consumer dude]

Sue for hurt feelings?

 

Is that even legally possible..

[Ganymede]

Is that even legally possible..

 

I wouldn't want to take that claim on...

[unclebulgaria67]

It was a guess because they mentioned damages. Perhaps they are talking about an action for slander ?

[portfoliopaul]

how about not being able to access money for 3 months to start with!

[Ganymede]

Possibly, but that was due to the Police wasn't it?

 

What sum of money are we talking here? Can you prove not having access to this money caused you to suffer some financial loss?