I won back £15k lost to a bank con

WILLIAM BALLARD successfully fought his bank for a refund after losing £15,000 to fraudsters in August last year.

He had been called by a conman claiming to be from his bank, NatWest, who said his card had been misused and his account was at risk.

William, from Buckinghamshire, was told to move his money into a safe account to protect it. But after he did as instructed, the fraudster failed to call back as promised.

Realising something was amiss, William reported the call to NatWest. The bank said he was the victim of a scam but warned there was not much chance of getting his money back.

William says: ‘I appealed and went through the complaints process and the bank still said no.’ But he took his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service in December. He argued the bank was wrong not to refund him as he had not been grossly negligent. But before the Ombudsman could rule, NatWest agreed to refund the money lost. William says: ‘I thought the bank’s initial reaction was disgusting. I have been a customer for 60 years.’

A NatWest spokesman says: ‘Keeping our customers safe and secure is of paramount importance to us. Banks will never ask you to transfer money to a safe account and if asked to do so end the call immediately and contact the bank directly on a trusted number.’