My father-in-law is 85. He has just had heart surgery, suffers from mobility issues and is in the early stages of dementia. He also recently lost his wife of more than 40 years.
He still has some independence, but this is limited to a weekly five-minute drive to do a food shop and buy a lottery ticket, and the occasional visit to a nearby social club.
In July 2023, he noticed that transactions had been made from his bank account with HSBC, totalling £5,523.
This is his sole bank account and only held around £6,000. Needless to say, this spending was completely out of character.
He does not have internet banking, so didn’t notice until a few days later at which point he reported it to HSBC. He didn’t tell us what was happening for several weeks.
Originally HSBC did put the money back into his account pending an investigation. However, it later said that as it was his card that had been used and his Pin, the money would not be reimbursed.
The confusing thing is that my father-in-law still has his debit card in his possession.
We may never know what really happened, but our theory is it was cloned or skimmed, perhaps at a cash machine.
We also can’t rule out someone persuading him to give his details over the phone, or somehow taking his card and returning it to him.
Due to the nature of the transactions we are certain he didn’t make them himself.
The money was spent around West Bromwich and Birmingham, more than 80 miles and almost two hours’ drive from his home. Almost £4,000 was spent in a jewellery shop, and the rest was cash taken out from ATMs or spent at service stations in the early hours of the morning.
Helen Crane, This is Money’s consumer champion, replies: This is my 100th Crane on the Case, and I think your father in law’s story illustrates what the column is all about – fighting for justice for those who have been badly let down by institutions that should know better.
The loss of this money, everything he had, has had a terrible effect on him. You told me he no longer goes to his social club, and refused to come to your house for Christmas as he was so down about the situation.
Due to his condition we may never know exactly how his details were stolen, but it seems obvious to me that he was the victim of an unscrupulous criminal.
His card could have been duplicated by a tampered-with cash machine, where he was watched while he entered his Pin. Or, he could have been persuaded to give over the information by someone on the phone or at his door.