Recovering Your Money After A Fraud 

First Step: Raise a Complaint with the bank you sent the funds from

There is no need to be concerned about raising a case with your bank. You pay them to look after you money and they make all sorts of money from holding your money, and so they are under more than just a little obligation to fight your corner. The bank will already know what the appropriate laws, regulations and standards of practice are, and should be ready to comply with them, as they will make more money than they have to repay you in the first second of your call anyway. You just need to explain what has happened and what money you need to recover. 

How to complain to your bank

It is best to start with the telephone and follow up in writing. You need to get used to recording everything, everyone you spoke to and when you spoke to them, what was discussed, what was promised, and when it was promised to be completed by.

• What number did you call?
• When did you call?
• Who did you speak to? Name, department and job title is important.
• What was discussed?
• Is there a reference or complaints number?
• What did they undertake to do?
• When did they say they would come back to you?
• How would they reply?

Once you have registered you complaint and have recorded all of the details, enquire where to log your complaint in writing. It is best to do this even if they tell you it is not necessary. Get the following information from them:

• What is the address of their complaints department? Check this online and see that the details match.
• What do you need to include in your letter?
• What is the expected response time?
• What is the likely resolution?

What are the next steps?

Depending on the type of complaint, your bank will either have to respond within 15 days regarding  a payment related complaint, or otherwise up to 8 weeks and issue you with what is referred to as a final response. This response should resolve the matter, at least in the eyes of the bank and you have the right to escalate your complaint to therelevant financial complaints authority should the banks response not meet your expectation.

Their final response is typically one of two:

1. The bank refunds the amount lost to your account.

2. Your bank rejects your complaint. In this case it is time to move on to the relevant financial complaints authority as stated above.

You should raise your complaint with the relevant financial complaints authority immediately following the banks final response, so as to be sure that you have not exceeded your window of opportunity.

 

Step 2: Complain to the relevant financial complaints authority

The relevant financial complaints authority is a customer focussed service that will assign you a case office and a case reference. Their job is investigating cases such as this and so they will understand your concerns immediately. When dealing with the relevant financial complaints authority you must make sure that you get all of the details from the case office as you did with your bank. When you call then back it will always speed up your claim if you have the necessary details concerning case officers, case references, departments that you have communicated with and promises that have been made and adhered to or neglected etc.   

The relevant financial complaints authority website will explain to you how to raise a complaint. 

If you follow the same routine as you employed with the bank, all should go well.

• What number did you call?
• When did you call?
• Who did you speak to? Name, department and job title is important.
• What was discussed?
• Is there a reference or complaints number?
• What did they undertake to do?
• When did they say they would come back to you?
• How would they reply?

The complains authority will then make a response to your complaint and should hopefully resolve the matter to your satisfaction. Their whole purpose is to keep the banks in line, so it really shouldn't come to this. The banks know that it is cheaper to pay sooner rather than later and waste a lot of staff time.

What if I’m not happy with the relevant financial complaints authority decision? 

Firstly an investigator looks into the case and tries to bring a resolution, they will explain the merits or pitfalls of your case to you and what  they intend to try to resolve it. Hopefully this first stage will see the bank realise that they must pay and refund you the transaction concerning the fraud.

The second (and final) stage of the process is when you or the bank are unhappy with the outcome. At this point either party can request a final ombudsman decision which will be the final intervention of the complaints authority.

What if I am not satisfied with the complaints authority judgement? 

Their decision is not a legal one, it is based upon what the complaints authority deemed to be fair. At this point though, any further civil action will most likely have to be made through the courts.