Thieving Dundonians
NB: This is a story of fraud rather than debt but it still conjured the gut-wrenching feeling of helplessness that having no money creates.

So while at uni I'm in my branch of Lloyds TSB when I'm accosted by a manager-looking man who insists I upgrade my standard bank card to a debit card.

"It will only take a few minutes."

Fair enough. I've always been sensible with money and didn't think there was much risk. I'd recently turned 18 and was keen to do more grown up things. After more than "a few minutes" I'd answered all his questions and was told the card would be in the post.

A few days pass.

I try to withdraw some money from a hole in the wall to find that my funds are severely limited and I'm nearly up to my overdraft limit. Considering my hall fees were just about to be removed in the next few days I was really bricking it. I didn't know exactly how much was gone but it was over £900.

Straight to the bank the next day to ask essentially, WTF!? I'm given a printout of my account activity. Apparently I'd been a busy person buying a new PC, golf clubs, £250 of groceries from Safeway etc. Jesus, what the hell? I explained that I hadn't received anything from the bank and how the hell did this happen.

Then I noticed an address written down on one of these documents the teller produced. An address familiar to me as I saw it on a computer screen when I originally applied for the card. An address I specifically remember telling the bank manager monkey where I used to, but *no longer* live. That cretin had managed to somehow reinstate my previous address and mail everything there.

Now this old address was still in the same town where my family moved to. Both myself and my mum had worked at the nearest local convenience store to it. My mum had been personally thanked by the woman who moved in for leaving all the carpets. I chatted to the husband about football (where I learnt he was a Dundee FC fan). Twunts the both of them. These bastards spent my money in two days (which was to pay for months of accomodation) when I was literally living on a few part-time shifts a week.

Lloyds TSB "graciously" let me use their phone to call the police and some other call centre that had to be notified before the bank would admit that it wasn't my fault. I then had to go to a police station and reconfirm all this again and make a statement. Meanwhile I was left for about two weeks without enough to live on and I was lucky to get my money back before the university came for their hall fees.

Two things that really pissed me off about the whole thing though: 1.) No apology from Lloyds TSB about their collasal f*ck-up at any point (especially not from the manager who was totally to blame). 2.) The police. Utter jobsworths. Yes I realise that you don't like paperwork and by being a victim of fraud I've created some more for you but Inspector Clouseau could solve this one. YOU'VE GOT THE GUY WHO DID THIS BANGED TO RIGHTS! But no apparently, "If we went round to his house sir we'd just say, 'We have reason to believe you've improperly used a debit card.' and it would be his word against yours."

I know it's not a particularly exciting crime and more people have suffered a lot worse but it annoys me to think that people will screw over their fellow humans without consideration just because they can get away with it.
( djtrialprice, Fri 24 Nov 2006, 14:45, Reply)