Six-week wait for £10k

RETIRED police officer Susan Burdett was forced to wait more than six weeks to get back £10,000 stolen by fraudsters.

She first knew something was wrong when she was unable to access her online account.

After requesting help from her bank, The Co-operative, she discovered a mobile phone number she did not recognise registered to her account. Susan, 64, reported the issue and was told a £10,000 payment had been made that morning, in August.

Under City watchdog rules, banks are obliged to refund unauthorised transactions without delay. Yet Susan, from Bury, Lancashire, was still waiting six weeks later.

Susan has no idea how crooks accessed her account. She says: ‘Customer care has been nonexistent and I’ve been kept in the dark — which is poor from a bank that claims to be ethical.’

The bank eventually refunded her on October 8. A spokesman says: ‘The refund was not made in the timescales that it should’ve been made in and we apologise . . . We will recompense Ms Burdett for this error.’