Banks really don’t help themselves when it comes to fraud. Part 450

I got a call and a text from Lloyds about a mystery transaction. 1/

Just remember that fraud victims are victims of crime. This is how Met Police says victims of crime should be treated

I did the proper thing. When the call came I hung up and called the number from the back of my card.
There was lots of faffing around, and numbers to press eventually I was put in a queue.....so I waited......

......and I waited......

.....and I waited.....

.....I was out at the shops at time, so I bought some newspapers and walked home, and even managed to put Lloyds on hold while Mrs C called.....

....eventually, after I reckon about 20
Minutes when I got home, I hung up.

A few hours later I tried again.

....more button pressing, more faffing. (Remember I could be a traumatised victim of crime. Also, I have told them by text I think this transaction they alerted me to is suspicious.)...

.....FINALLY i speak to a human being.....

.....but because the fraud has allegedly happened on a secondary card (which I happen to be holding at that moment), I have to go through additional security checks.
‘I’ll put you through to that department, says the person...

....so I get put I a queue....and a voice comes on: ‘the current waiting time is at least 30 minutes’

....so I wait.....and have now made a gingerbread cake while being on hold.....but now the kids need me.....so I’ve had to hang up...

So in conclusion.....

....lots of people wondered why I changed my view on fraud when I wrote this.... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/james-coney-i-said-tsb-was-foolish-to-refund-all-scams-i-was-wrong-t80tbl3mk

....simply, it was because of the utterly appalling way people who suffer fraud are treated. The message from banks like Lloyds is that they don’t care about victims of crime, and they don’t take it seriously.

This minor inconvenience I have had is nothing compared to the way people who have lost thousands are abandoned.

That said, I don’t actually know how much I may have lost, because I can’t get through.

Still, on the bright side....

....at least that is one of next week’s columns sorted. Thanks Lloyds.