Banks may not be sympathetic to fraud victims

Most consumers in the UK are concerned about the levels of debit and credit card fraud that take place every year, but at the same time feel reassured that if they do become the victims of this type of fraud the banks will do all they can to make the situation easier, and will ensure that the consumer does not lose out as a result of the fraudulent activity. In reality, recent data has shown that banks are actually becoming less sympathetic towards victims of credit card and debit card fraud, and as a result of this a large number of complaints has risen over recent years against many banks.

The financial ombudsman has been receiving an increasing number of complaints from consumers who have approached the bank to make a claim after becoming victims of credit card fraud, only to have their claim and case dismissed by the banks. A forty percent rise in complaints in 2005 followed by a further twenty percent rise in 2006 reflects the decreasing level of consumer confidence and satisfaction when it comes to banks.

Many thought that the reason why banks have been so dismissive about fraudulent activity of this sort if because of the introduction of chip and pin, which is supposed to have reduced this type of fraud, thus leading banks to think that consumers that are victims of this sort of fraudulent activity may actually be involved in it themselves. However, although credit and debit card fraud has decreased in recent years, more and more concerns are being raised about the safety, effectiveness, and security of ship and pin technology following a space of recent incidents.

A spokesperson from the Financial Ombudsman stated: "We are seeing more cases of banks saying, sometimes privately, that they suspect there has been some collusion in the fraud from the consumer. Before chip and pin was introduced banks may have been more likely to write off these costs and make good the losses to the customer."