Posting on behalf of my partner who has experienced an issue with unauthorised transactions on her HSBC current account. Between the 10th November and the 13th several transactions were made at a local coop supermarket to buy goods and get cashback as well as one ATM withdrawal of £130. Upon discovering the transactions had been made my partner immediately contacted HSBC and reported the card as stolen and went through their fraud process aswell as reporting the theft to both Action Fraud and our local police. Now, I was under the impression that the FCA guidelines stated that HSBC should refund the transactions my partner has raised yet they refused to do so "pending an investigation" Also as these transactions pushed her into an unauthorised overdraft she is STILL being charged a daily fee which HSBC refuse to freeze. Yesterday my partner received a phone call from the HSBC fraud department stating the case was closed and they were finding her liable as the card was present at the time of these transactions and her correct pin had been used. I fail to see how this can be the case as at the time of these transactions we were hundreds of miles away from where they were carried out and my partner can prove this as she made a payment using apple pay in a store 300 miles away around the same time that there was an ATM withdrawal! I have spoken to the bank on her behalf this morning as she is a vulnerable adult with learning difficulties to be told that all HSBC can do now is lodge an appeal against the fraud teams decision which can take anything between 6 & 8 weeks. What is my best course of action to at least get the overdraft fees waived or frozen as I have now given up the hope the bank would have a soul and realise this is a genuine case of fraud against a woman who is suffering serious mental anguish aswell as financial hardship due to their frankly callous and uncaring attitude. Any help appreciated, thanks in advance!

Is it illegal to pay people using the GetCash service? Say they can't do bank transfers, or just for transactions in general? I recently got a call from the fraud department after carrying out a transaction with GetCash, but they just wanted me to confirm some recent transactions, specifically asking about the GetCash ATM transaction twice where i lied and said it was me. I think flags were raised because it was in a location far from me though. All was fine after and they unlocked my account, didn't specify why they called though. Anyone have any information on this subject? Can't seem to find much online. Thanks.

Initially i was excited about having a new bank on the high street. They market themselves as different to the others and I fell for it. Now i'm stuck in a situation that's really running me down mentally. On Tuesday, I noticed that there were a number of transactions leaving my account for a gambling site I hold an account with that I didn't authorise. I spoke to their live chat who locked my account and asked me to report the transactions to the police and my bank as it was believed to have been hacked. I report the transactions to Metro Bank as soon as i could and spoke to the local police who gave me an action fraud reference number. The employee at Metro Bank was very polite and said he would investigate as soon as he could. Because the amount of money was quite substantial, I also emailed a customer service head I have had previous contact with. A few hours later i get a call from a man at Metro Bank who says "Well, I can see you gamble often". I then tried to steer the conversation back to the fraud and he says "I can contact them, but if i find out these transactions are yours then i'll be closing your account". I agree (I mean, i didn't make these transactions and i was very clear that I had used this site in the past). I shoot an email to the customer service manager again who emails back saying he has listened to the call and he was merely informing me of the process (He didn't really inform me, it felt more like a thinly veiled accusation but ho hum). Next morning i get a call from the same guy at Metro Bank saying he had heard back from the online casino and they have my name and address (Remember, I did tell them i had opened account with them in the past). They then say they have a record of my IP address that i use for Online Banking on their system. Again, I don't dispute this. He then asks me to explain why that might be. I indicated to him again that I had opened the account in the past. He then says that it sounded like an excuse, he believed i was trying to defraud the bank so he would be closing my account. I asked him why he wasn't listening to me and to speak to a manager, His response was that he had already spoken to his manager so there was no one for me to speak to. Again, I email the customer service manager asking for an explanation, He then sends over a final response saying he agrees with the commercial decision made to close my account based on the IP match and that I had gambling transactions in the past and he couldn't think of why someone would hack a gambling site account... Now, I understand how on the surface it would seem like a quite clear cut response. Usually you would expect someone to play against the house and get the winnings back into their account. But the gambling site in question specialises in Poker. Now, There are well known cases where poker players have had their accounts hacked and funds drained from their linked cards. How they do this is by playing on a table with another player and losing bad hands on purpose to transfer the funds into another account. To safeguard against this, The sites tell you to speak to the bank and to the police so they can open a fraud investigation and also lock the funds from the poker network. I've now had to open a case with the ombudsman and i'm in a panic as i don't have any money for my rent, nor do i have a banking facility anymore. I've gone and applied for an account with another bank as an urgent action but i'm still down a lot of funds and i do not have the facility to dispute the transaction if the account has been closed. The ombudsman reckon it will take weeks/months to have any kind of response. Does anyone have any suggestion as to where i can go from here? The gambling site in question has said they would co-operate with the bank should a fraud or dispute be opened. Unfortunately i've been feeling really low and anxious as a result of the disgusting treatment i've had from their staff. They were not professional in the way they were talking to me in any way. I've tried emailing the CEO about this and they've referred me back to the final response. Not to try an make this case over emotional but the depression experienced from this experience nearly got the better of me a few nights ago so naturally i'm very reluctant to deal with it any more but i know if i don't do anything then things will get worse for me. I would strongly advise that everybody avoid using Metro Bank for these reasons but i would welcome any suggestions on what i can do to speed the process up or anything i might be missing.

Hello, I am after some advise please to help with my defence as to whether I can seek and obtain copies of any transactions relating to my load account with Lloyds prior to the sale to Cabot and if whether the sell price can be admissible in the balance I should be paying to Cabot as opposed to what they've put claim in for. Recently been served with a CCJ for defaulting on installment repayment for an unsecured loan I obtained from Lloyds TSB in 1994. The agreement of sale points to this taking place in Oct of 2012. I need advise also on how and if I qualify for PPI , as this can perhaps be what I can repay the outstanding amount owed. The loan was unsecured.

Hi Everyone. I am a relatively new customer with Halifax and noticed some transactions on my account that i didn't recognize from WHO internet (William Hill) these transactions totaled to 457 pounds there was also a credit on my account from WHO internet for 400 pounds around the same day these transactions took place. I contacted the disputes team and they refunded the 457 pounds straight away, however at the same time they also deducted 400 from my account in order to reverse the initial 400 credit. So i ended up getting a total credit of 57 pounds. Fast forward a few weeks and after investigating Halifax cannot prove these transactions are not genuine and as a result will be re-debiting my account for 457 pounds, I contacted Halifax and they have said that I will need to take the matter further with William Hill, however I believe whilst also re-debiting my account for 457 they should also credit my account for the 400 they took as surely that's my money? I have been on the phone to these people all week who have confirmed that when they re-debit my account for 457 pounds they will also credit it for 400 putting me in the same position as before I disputed the transactions (minus 57 pounds) however this morning I get a text asking me to check my account and I am now overdrawn due to them deducting 457 and not crediting the 400 as promised. Om contacting Halifax they have said that in no circumstances can they refund the 400 as that credit should not of been in my account in the first place, which i understand as I don't recognise the transactions however due to raising a dispute I have now ended up with 400 less money than what i started with which I cannot afford, surely the 400 originally credited by WHO internet was my money to begin with as 457 came out of my account and a day later 400 came back in. They have said that this is the procedure with online gambling and I will need to contact William Hill to get this matter resolved, however I don't think this is fair that I am going to loose 400 pounds this month due to a matter that isn't my fault and I can't really wait another few weeks to get my money back due to direct debits coming out of my account from tomorrow. Can anybody help with this please:-( thanks

Hi guys. I am a beginner writer, just about starting my second book and obviously, these days you need to work everything out to the smallest detail, else people will say it's all a BS. The main character is a contract killer and is only taking contracts from the internet. Main character cares a lot about his identity to remain completely confidential, and so his customers do as well. Customers can obviously use internet cafes to place an 'order' for his services. That covers them, to a certain degree. Now the money part, how can one send money directly to someone's bank account without money or transaction being traceable? I was thinking about bank account on Cayman Islands, would it be possible for my contract killer to set up nameless bank account? And perhaps customer can transfer money like few times via Western Union in cash? I really need help guys Thanks in advance!

Good Evening Wise Ones, I just wanted to tell someone about my issues that I am having with PayPal and Unauthorised Transactions on my account over the last few months. It all started when I woke up one morning to find funds had been taken from my bank account and PayPal account from a Gambling Company. To cut a long story short with lots of emails back and forth with PayPal they agreed to refund the charges. I was a bit in shock after all the stories that I have heard about the PayPal. But when checking my bank and PayPal account, only some of the transactions were refunded and now PayPal are saying that no third party has had access to my account. So my question is why have PayPal said first of all that the transactions will be reversed and credited back and now saying that the transactions are fine. Should I pursue this or give up and think myself lucky I got some of the money back??? Really need some ones help please? Kind Regards Mr Wits

HSBC is to abolish what it said was its "most complained about" banking fee – the £25 charge it makes for bouncing a direct debit or cheque. The change, which will also apply to customers of its First Direct subsidiary, comes into force on 24 November and will affect nine million account holders. A £25 fee will still be applied if HSBC agrees to pay a bill, such as a direct debit to the gas or electricity company, that takes the customer beyond their agreed overdraft limit; the fee that is being axed is the £25 for returning an item such as a direct debit or cheque unpaid. More ...

Hello. I am new here and didnt know where else to ask to be quite honest. I have made a right mess of managing my bank account and need some advice. Back in August, I began saving money every week for my electric/gas bill which was due on the 1st September. I get charged quarterly and it is usually around £250. The £253.17 that the bill actually was was in my bank on time (to my knowledge). Now here is where it gets a bit tricky. I checked my bank a few days after the bill was due and sure enough, the balance was about £20, which meant the bill had been taken. I thought nothing more of it, until this month. I received a letter from EDF informing me that my account is in arrears. It appears they never took the payment (mind I don't know why its taken them 2 months to contact me about it ) I don't understand much about banks, I asked my son to check my online banking. He went back to my august/september statement and it appears an online gambling company have taken 25 payments of £10 over the course of 3 weeks. The funny thing is, I used to actually use this company, but I self excluded in November of last year. I have NOT used their sites since then, partly because I don't think I could (self-exclusion means your accounts are closed and you cant open more) and partly because I self excluded as I thought the site was dodgy. .so why would I put any more money into it. this other company took my gas bill money. I don't know if it was actually the company, or someone accessing my account (that should have been closed according to the companies policy) but something strange has gone on here, and I definitely did not authorize any payments to that site. I have tried speaking to the site in question but have pretty much been palmed off with 'it was an error on our side not closing your account, and the money was spent by someone.. so you aren't getting refunded' I told them as they are unwilling to investigate, I will raise the issue with my bank I am aware of something called chargebacks as I did one a few years back when I was double billed for something (the company who doublebilled me actually advised I chargeback as it would have taken 7 days to get a refund from them, whereas chargeback is in a few hours) My question is can I actually charge back 25 transactions in one go?! They are all to the same company, all for the same amount too. I have checked and I am still within the 120day limit. Just..its going to be fun explaining to my bank why it has taken this long to actually realize there were fraudulent transactions. I seriously need to keep an eye on my fiances from now on, I realise its partly my fault for not checking statements and such

I don't know what to make of this or if I'm being a bit paranoid but this has been happening to me quite often. I have a overdraft of £600 and most months I get near to it. About 3 times this year I have looged into my bank account and checked my balance e.g £10, I have then spent £7 on a Maestro transaction. Then a couple of days later, when I check my account I am overdrawn due to another transaction that I made a week earlier has come off. Some may say it's my fault for not checking that my transactions are off the balance but I just find it strange that the transactions only get delayed when I'm near to my overdraft limit. When contacting YB they said Tesco (which the transaction was with) had 3 or 6 months (cannot remember) to take the transaction. Funny how the £7 came out instantly leaving £3 but a purchase a week earlier was not off yet, it was from the same Tesco store. Just seems that it would be all too easy for banks to hold a transaction back until I near my overdraft limit and BAM! £25 please. Has anyone else had issues with delayed Maestro transactions or a similar experience?

Hi, I wonder if any of you may be able to give me any constructive advice. Last week I discovered 7 transactions from my debit card over £1000 worth, that I knew nothing about or authorised. These were all chip and pin. The bank are now saying that it was my card and the correct pin used so they are not responsible. The situation is I did not make the transactions, my card and myself were 80 miles away at the time, but cannot get the bank to do anything. They emptied my account and am now in serious financial trouble They have referred me to Financial Ombudsman and having spoken to them, can take several months. I need some help please Can someone tell me if I have posted this on the wrong forum?

hello, quick bit of advice. Some old creditor has somehow managed to access my bank account over the weekend and emptied it, whilst I was away. any debit card debit details they held were only on the understanding of being for "ID verification" not repayment, and I have had several new cards since then. However, Natwest are telling me that it is their "policy" that loan companies pretty much have open access to your account if you have ever dealt with them, ie, Natwest will refuse to honour the reverse unauthorised payments Visa debit card scheme if the person emptying your account is a loans company. Point blank refusal and increasing nastyness from their call centre in fact. The fact that one may no longer have a business relationship with said creditor, say you have actually paid all you owe, does not matter - because its a Loan Company, then it is not Natwest's policy to extend any protection to your account. It is up to you to chase the company, and if they refuse to repay, then "tough" natwest will not assist you - the guy on the phone even told me, that if someone has fraudulently taken an account with a loan company in your name, Natwest will still refuse to honour and perform a reversal! You must then chase the loan company to try and get your money back thats been taken by a fraudster. Is any of this right, is it even a lawful policy? I was under the stupid idea, that my money was my money, and if I don't authorise a transaction then under the new guarantees, that transaction should be reversed? Otherwise, let this stand as a warning to caggers. They actually took 3 payments of varying amounts at the exact same time on friday night, so its pretty clearly not a normal authorised transaction too. I would love some advice if Natwest are acting wrongly here, because I am diabetic with serious neuropathy problems and my entire ESA payment for the next 2 months has been taken by the old creditor.

Hi, hope you can help. On the 18th Dec last year I disputed around 13 CC transactions. The card issuer said they would look into the matter. On Jan 4th, 15th and 20th I chased the card issuer via Email to find out what was happening and they said they had been unable to talk or communicate with to the merchant. Then on the 23rd I received a letter saying due to the fact the transactions were PIN verified we do not believe these were fraudulent. They then said "if you can tell us how you believe these transactions were made please reply. If you do not reply within 10 days we will consider this matter closed and you accept these transactions". I sent a letter recorded on the 24th Jan saying I did dispute the transactions and explained the situation and how they couldn't possibly be made by me (e.g. 5 transactions within 1min!!). I also mentioned the fact that they hadn't even spoken to the merchant and couldn't communicate with them. I also said in the letter that if they do not reply in 10 days I will consider this matter resolved in my favour. I waited until 14th Feb with no reply and sent another letter saying since they hadn't replied I consider this matter resolved and to please remove the transactions from my account. I still haven't has any phone calls or any letters, but the account is overdue. I haven't paid the disputed transactions in over two months. Any recommendations on what should I do?? Advice appreciated! Thanks D

I recently took out a payday loan with WDA but unfortunately due to me becoming unemployed, I was unable to repay the full balance on the due date which was 25/07. I emailed them on 23/07 explaining I was having financial difficulties, I would not be able to pay them anything on the due date but did want to come to an arrangement to pay. I specifically asked them not to take the funds from my card, as there would be insufficient funds in my account I recieved a response asking for the circumstances of my unemployment, which I replied to, they've asked for some proof, like a P45, which I said shouldn't be a problem and it was all quite civililsed... Until I noticed 2 transactions on my account for £10 on separate days. I thought this was odd but perhaps they were just late payment charges. Today however I've found my account has basically been cleaned out by them and they have taken £300. Yes, I should have cancelled my card and as I understand it there is little or nothing that can be done about it as debit card transactions aren't protected in the same way that DD's and SO's are. However, I've just read their terms and conditions, which are interesting to say the least: "If this repayment transaction fails, we will make up to a further 3 attempts on the Due Date to recover the following sums, in order, by Debit Card payment: £10 (step 1); if this is successful, 50% of the outstanding balance (step 2); if step 2 is successful, 50% of the outstanding balance; if step 2 is unsuccessful, 25% of the outstanding balance. Where we cannot obtain the amount outstanding on any Due Date, we will make immediate attempts to contact you and find out why, and agree alternative repayment arrangements. It is in your interest to discuss your situation with us. If you are suffering financial hardship, we will show forbearance in considering alternative repayment arrangements. If you agree a repayment plan with us, or arrange an alternative date for repayment, we will suspend collections attempts for the period until the revised payment falls due as agreed." So, they took the first £10 - that worked. Step 2 - 50% of remaning balcance, no that didn't work - ok lets try and other £10 the day after then... yes that's worked. Then I'm guessing they've probably tried to take a few more out and failed. Until today that is when a few hundred pounds was transferred into my account by a family member, they've tried again and YES, we've got him. Now that doesn't look much like the process in their terms and conditions to me? I've since sent an email asking for a breakdown of the transactions they have attepted to make, failed or successful and said I will be cancelling my card, and all they have succeeded in doing is delaying the payment of the full balance further. Can anyone say I am within my rights to complain here? Many thanks James