A Halifax customer was distressed to lose money to scammers and then face a delay in getting a response from the bank.
The worried customer got in touch with the bank at around 9pm on November 1 to ask: « Why is nobody responding on the app chat sent a message for help 2 hours ago not had a reply back?
« Had some scamming company take money out me account I need help in getting it back ASAP it’s for my gas. »
In response, the bank apologised for the issue, explaining: « Chat can be busy in the evenings and overnight. They will respond as soon as possible.
« Once they respond they will be able to help. Please make sure that you’ve provided as much info as you can to help them answer efficiently. »
But the customer was unhappy with this response, urging: « Not a reply back though… can a pending transaction be stopped and refunded same time its a scam that taken the payment? »
Halifax said that unfortunately this wouldn’t be possible, saying: « Once a transaction is pending on your account, we cannot cancel it.
« If you believe you’ve been scammed, you can raise a dispute once it has debited the account. You’ll need to request a refund with the company in the first instance. »
The customer said the company was controlled by the scammers, saying they had searched about them on Google and found it « comes up as a company taking money out of people’s account ».
Halifax then encouraged the customer send the bank a message through the ‘support’ tab in the app so they could look into the specifics of their case.
Savers with big name banks such as Halifax may want to think about switching at the moment as there are several switching offers from providers, offering free cash when you open an account with them.
Santander was the most recent bank to launch such an offer as it currently pays £150 to switchers. Lloyds Bank has a similar switch offer for £200 while other providers also give away free cash to new customers, including NatWest offering £180 and Nationwide offering £175.
John Dentry, product owner of the Current Account Switch Service at Pay.UK, said: « Reviewing your bank account is one thing we recommend doing to ensure you’re with a provider whose services suit your individual needs and goals.
« If you feel you need something different from your current account, it pays to consider switching. »
Amy Knight, personal finance expert at NerdWallet UK, predicted that there could be more of these switching offers to come.
She commented: « Spending announced in the Labour Budget could force the Bank of England to lower interest rates more cautiously to stay on top of inflation.
« Higher rates dampen the demand for borrowing and with fewer people shopping around for loans, we may well see banks using cash bonuses to draw in new customers, increasing deposits instead. »
