#3 Don't let your bank bully you!

by Jane Baker on 03 June 2009  |  9 comments
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I want to tell you why I think standing up for yourself is something we should all get good at.

I want to tell you why I think standing up for yourself is something we should all get good at.

#3 Don't let your bank bully you!

Here's my story...

Earlier this week I was checking my bank statement online when I saw a transaction I didn't recognise. It's not like this hasn't happened before, but this particular one was strange because it was a £30 payment to 02 prepay, even though I don't have - and never have had - an 02 mobile phone.

While searching for 02’s customer services number, I happened to spot something rather unsettling – a lot of forum debate on 02 mobile phone scams. I started to worry when I read a post from an unlucky soul who had lost £120 in four separate 02 transactions within a fortnight. Apparently, once the fraudsters have got your card details, they can dip into your account again and again and again....

In a panic, I got straight on the phone to my bank - LLoyds TSB.

So, did Lloyds do everything they could to put my mind at rest? Not a chance. Instead, they took it as an opportunity to sell me an insurance policy against fraud.

I was told that without a policy, I would be held responsible if my identity was stolen and if, for example, someone took out an £11,000 loan in my name, the bank would pursue me for the money.

Well, thanks Lloyds, that's really comforting.  

Now, I've written about ID theft insurance, and I know it isn't worth having. After all, any money you lose as a result of fraudulent activity should be reimbursed by your bank anyway. But when I told the guy at Lloyds this, he tried to bamboozle me with different definitions of fraud, while telling me I would have to claim the money back from O2.

I’m not sure why I let him put me through to the department which sells fraud protection, but while I was on hold I pulled myself together. I told the person I spoke to next that I was a financial journalist, I knew full well I didn’t need to spend £6.99 a month to protect myself, and Lloyds is legally obliged to sort this mess out.

Having realised there’s was absolutely no hope of selling me the policy she put me through to Debit Card Disputes. Surely, this should have been the first port of call???

Three minutes later the unusually helpful lady at Debit Card Disputes had resolved everything. The money should appear back in my account in a matter of days. Luckily, there’s no need to cancel my card as it has since expired, and I already have a replacement.

Hopefully that’ll be an end of it. But I’m seriously disappointed with Lloyds. I hear more and more stories of banks taking advantage of worried customers, and I don’t like it one bit.