I'd mentioned in someone else's thread about the massive problems I'm having with Shabbey's Card Fraud department and claiming that money back, and getting a new card. I got so hacked off with it yesterday, that I decided to start keeping a blog about what's been going on. I've written (post dated) posts of what has happened so far. The plan is to forward it to anyone and everyone I can think of, such as Watchdog and the major newspapers. Abbey are messing people about - and because it's card fraud they're messing about with people's finances at a time when sensitivity and efficiency is of the essence. oh how Shabbey... Any comments support or even similar stories would be welcomed - I figure if they get some bad publicity, they may get their finger out and give me my money...

UPDATE: This morning I tried again, thought I'd give them another try and tell them that I intended to contact the FO. I said that i couldn't believe that it was taking so long. The woman I spoke to said that Shabbey's card services are in the middle of being relocated to Madrid, and that's why so many problems are happening. Obviously this isn't the customer's fault, and it seems to be horribly mis-managed if this is the case. She said to me that there was no point in trying to call Card Fraud on my behalf, as the staff used the same number as customers and she'd just be on hold forever. Pathetic...

ah, thank you!

Hi, LS123, do you by any chance have a link or address? I've had a quick google, and everything seems to be about card fraud prevention (bit late for that!) cheers

oh. my. god... This sounds *exactly* like something that's happened to me (and why I'm having a look round the forums!) I noticed some fraudulent activity on my debit card to the tune of £200 at the end of April this year, had my card cancelled and went through all sorts of hoops just to get a new one (resulting in my writing a four page complaint letter - so much went wrong) Today it has been 41 days since they got my claim for getting this money back. I was told to go to the branch to fill out a fraud form "because it's quicker" in fact, the complaints department aren't even sure that it was done. I have spent literally *hours* on the phone, either listening to the engaged tone or on hold (one time for an hour, followed by a recorded message saying "this office is now closed"). I now don't bother with the fraud number, and go straight to the complaints dept, and have phoned them several times, all they do is apologise, tell me the department is busy, and they'll chase it up for me. Nothing has come of that, and they tell me there's nothing else they can do. Thanks to the most incompetent and disgusting customer "service" I have ever experienced, I now refuse to use phonebank. I have been lied to, patronised, insulted, and literally been told it's my fault. I am sick of speaking to people whose grasp of English is so poor, they can only repeat what is on a script, rather than answer the question. I feel really sorry for anyone who banks with Abbey and has fraud on their debit card. I am supposed to be going away at the end of the month - a trip I've had planned for months - and it may not happen now because of this. If I can help in any way with your fight against Abbey, please PM me. They've been an absolute nightmare to deal with.

Thanks. I think if Three are refunding people's charges it means there is something wrong with it all. I found something on Twitter's FAQ about it: Twitter Support Ironically, I left Orange to start with Three..

Hi all, I thought I'd post this, because I have been stung for text message charges that I thought were included. I recently took out a contract with Three; snazzy new phone, 75 xnetwork mins, and 600 texts for £15 a month, on an 18 month contract. I've started using Twitter a lot, and thought that it would be cool to be able to update it from my mobile - which is partly why I chose the tariff and mobile provider. I've been texting away merrily to a mobile number that starts 07624 - then this morning I got my first bill. I have been charged 25p for each text. The "Destination" on the bill says "Manx Mobile", and a bit of searching on the internet reveals that this is the Isle of Man's telecoms company. It seems that Three (along with T-Mobile, from what I understand) class this as an international number, and don't include it in your text allowance. 07624 xxxxxx looks like a perfectly ordinary mobile number. I had no idea when I set it up with Twitter that this was going to be classed as "international". I knew that certain numbers aren't included in the allowance, such as those five digit short sms numbers, but this one has thrown me. I thought it worth mentioning here - not because I want advice or anything (looking on the comments on that post, one guy complained and had the charges refunded, which is what I intend to do) but because this seems to be the logical place to warn people. Hope it helps.

Hi everyone, I've put this here rather than the banks forums because it's not to do with claiming back charges - hope that's okay, please move it if not. Basically, I'm writing a complaint letter to Abbey (and am now really seeing why they're nicknamed "Shabby"). This is a quick outline of what has happened: April 30th - I realised NCO were debiting money from my debit card that I hadn't authorised. Given their rubbish communication skills, I rang the bank to cancel my debit card and order a new one. May 4th - went into branch to sort out a fraud claim form, and asked about my card. It hadn't been ordered, and after a while of phoning people up and prattling on the computer, the advisor said both mine and my husband's cards needed to be cancelled because it was a joint account. They would cancel both cards, and re-order them the following day (a Saturday). I was irritated, but could live with it. May 10th - rang Phonebank again, spoke to the most appalling chap, explained the situation and he said that the card had been issued on Saturday like I'd said. Meanwhile, we have hardly any access to our bank account, and hubby has to take time off work to go to the bank to get money out with statement and passport. May 15th - went into local branch to make a withdrawal - again queried whereabouts of new cards. The girl went off for a minute, and came back and said" "I'm sorry, but they haven't been ordered yet" She ordered them there and then, and spoke to the "administrator" whoever that is. Obviously, I'm writing a complaint letter, not least because the man on the 10th lied to me when he said the cards had been issued! My question is, should I outright ask for some kind of compensation? Or wait and see what they say? I've been told that the new cards will take up to seven working days, so nearly four weeks with ridiculously limited access to my account is beyond a joke. Any thoughts much appreciated

Just to confirm, Zimmie, do I send the CCA to NCO or Capital One?

exactly! The payment I made of £5 was to stop people coming to my house. I remember saying things like "I want to sort this out" not "I want to pay off the debt and the shedload of interest and charges that have been added"

This is brilliant - thank you I know now they can't access my property, but at the time I would have believed anything they said There is definitely NO CCJ against this debt, either. My bank say that once I fill out the complaint form with their fraud people I should get the money back in 48 hours (I have no idea how it works, but they've been really helpful) 12 payments of £20 will be very handy about now! I shall definitely look into reporting them to the OFT, too.

Thanks, I have all the statements relating to the time when the dispute started - they charged me for a late payment then an over limit fee, both of which they said they'd reverse. They didn't, and kept telling me (get this) to "ignore any letters I got because they're computer generated" Naiively I did this, and it's cascaded into a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, all this was done over the telephone (this is going back a couple of years now) so frustratingly I have nothing in writing. Should I still send the SAR even though I have the statements? I know a lot of this sort of thing seems to be about correct process, and I'd hate to get it wrong on a technicality.

This is an old debt I have with Capitalist One, which is in dispute - yet they still passed me on to a DCA. About a year ago, I got a card through the door from NCO (I didn't know who they were or what they represented at the time) saying that they would gain access to my house to recover goods to the value of the debt if I didn't pay up within seven days (I can't remember exactly what it said, but that was the gist). I panicked and got really upset. When I phoned them up, they said they represented Capital One, and that if I wanted to stop them coming to the house, I *had* to make a payment there and then. I had no idea what my rights were, and out of desparation I payed them £5 with my debit card. I remember saying that I wanted to pay off the debt, but would have to speak with my husband to see what we could afford. They asked if I knew roughly how much, and I said, "I don't know probably only about £20". Later, when I'd discovered this forum, I realised that I shouldn't be paying them anything if the account is in dispute! The thing is, NCO have taken it upon themselves to simply debit my card by £20 each month anyway. I honestly don't know why I haven't noticed it. Maybe because it's a debit card payment, rather than a proper direct debit. Whatever, they have been doing this since last April. I phoned my bank, and they have cancelled my card. They have also explained that I can fill in a form and claim this money back if I didn't authorise it - which I know I didn't. The question is, what do I do now? NCO have been sods in the past to talk to; hanging up on me, threatening me with bailiffs etc, but my worry is that because I've been making payments, it looks like I'm acknowledging the debt as it stands - I'm not. Any help or ideas would be lovely.

Right - I'm going to do this! I've kept about 95% of my statements from Abbey, there's just a couple of months missing from 2002, and looking at the months around them, it doesn't look like we would have had many charges. This being the case, I've decided to skip the SAR stage, so now I send the Preliminary Approach for Repayment letter? Abbey have taken £1900 in charges since mid 2001, it makes me so angry when I think of the times I phoned them in tears because if they took the charges off we'd not have enough money for other bills - including the mortgage. Hopefully, revenge will be sweet...

Thanks, Elizabeth. I found a letter template that I can work on - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/586-credit-store-card-letter.html I'm wondering whether I should put more information about what happened, ie them telling me they were looking into it (and another conversation where I was told not to worry about letters they were sending as they were 'computer generated') or just stick to the basics that are on the template?