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#3 Don't let your bank bully you!

Jane Baker
by Lovemoney Staff Jane Baker on 03 June 2009  |  Comments 9 comments

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.

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Comments (9)

  • GrandJury
    Love rating 14
    GrandJury said

    The words 'trying', 'it' and 'on' spring to mind, which is how you expect a naughty schoolkid to behave but not how you expect a 'trusted institution' to behave.

    Report on 04 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • oldhenry
    Love rating 265
    oldhenry said

    The punter always did pay, and always will. Someone has to pay for the lavish events Llyods throws for the buiness people, and journalists.

    So you will be off the list now!

    Report on 06 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • nekomata
    Love rating 0
    nekomata said

    This reminds me of a similar argument I was having with the personal banker during one of those financial review meetings that they like to set up to try and sell you stuff. As part of the meeting they showed me how much they were willing to lend me through the overdraft and unsecured loans, etc*, and then said how easy it would be for someone else to borrow these amounts of money in my name. After all they said, when you apply online for loans, you often only get asked for the sort of information you can often pick up just by befriending someone, nevermind reading their mail.

    My argument to this was that surely if they give away all that money to a random person without checking that the person is me, surely that's their own problem. They kept arguing that no, I would be guilty until proven innocent. Well, unless I forked out however much per month to protect myself.

    Oh, and guess who I'm with... it's Lloyds TSB again -.-

    Report on 06 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • LastChip
    Love rating 92
    LastChip said

    "Three minutes later the unusually helpful lady at Debit Card Disputes had resolved everything."

    But I wonder if you hadn't told them you were a financail journalist, you would have had the same unusually helpful lady?

    Report on 06 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • eleenia
    Love rating 1
    eleenia said

    So glad you raised this issue. I have noticed the same thing from Lloyds TSB on several occasions. Whenever you phone them up with a query they try to flog you 'protection' you don't need, give you a credit card, upgrade your account to one which you have to pay for or push a loan onto you. I was recently defrauded via Paypal and phoned Lloyds TSB to warn them that I may go overdrawn and basically to get some advice on whether there was anything I could do to avoid overdraft charges etc. But as with your experience, they took the opportunity to attempt to frighten me into buying the insurance policy against fraud. It really came across as a low tactic and preying on people when they are panicked and vulnerable.

    Report on 06 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • sodit
    Love rating 127
    sodit said

    Thanks for this article. I have been using a LloydsTSB credit card for all my customer not present purchases. I shall now stop using it.

    Report on 06 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • porky
    Love rating 0
    porky said

    I have the same problem with lloyds, always trying to sell me insurance for this or for that, when if they look at my overdrawn account they can see I can't afford it,

    it is unbelievable the banks nearly brought the country to it's knees, so we bailed them out twice and they still treat us like idiots, haven't they learnt anything:

    Report on 07 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • nekomata
    Love rating 0
    nekomata said

    Correction: The banks nearly brought the country to its knees, so we bailed them out twice and they then knew that we're idiots.

    Report on 08 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • elisha
    Love rating 1
    elisha said

    Well it looks like quite a few have been disappointed by Lloyds in recent times, myself included. Trying to take disproportionate charges when I was in the process of switching my account. Hopefully, they have let it drop, but I guess I need to get written confirmation.

    Report on 16 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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