I had my card cloned from a BP station near where my parents live...couple of small transactions went un-noticed by me (£1 or £5) and then once they were happy it was going to work...they spent £1000 on pretty high end music stuff (this was back when I was buying guitars left, right and centre).
Their transaction went through with the retailer in Ireland fine, and they took delivery of the items at an address in Stoke Newington.
I had realised this wasnt legit by this point (well...wouldn't you?!
) and got onto HSBC. They were actually surprisingly good with the whole thing. I had to sign a letter stating that there were "unauthorised charges" on the card, and they used that as enough reason to investigate thoroughly.
They re-credited the money to my account immediately when they were in receipt of that letter. The Garda and Met Police got involved and the retailer was contacted. They sent across all the details (they were a bit miffed that they'd lost £1000 of kit) to me and HSBC, and the Met where I confirmed that they weren't authorised. The Met then visited the address...found a lot of expensive equipment but as far as I know, they never found the perpetrators. I'm not sure if the retailer ever got his money back.
It was a nightmare, and since then HSBC have been VERY hot on large transactions on my credit card (even going so far as to phone me to confirm that I'm in a shop making a purchase). On the whole, it was a very unpleasant experience to lose £1000 (even temporarily) but the banks seem to be quite efficient at dealing with this, and since then I've always been impressed with the diligence of HSBC Card Services.
Hang in there, it may take months to be resolved entirely, but you'll get your money back and they may even catch someone involved.
Their transaction went through with the retailer in Ireland fine, and they took delivery of the items at an address in Stoke Newington.
I had realised this wasnt legit by this point (well...wouldn't you?!
) and got onto HSBC. They were actually surprisingly good with the whole thing. I had to sign a letter stating that there were "unauthorised charges" on the card, and they used that as enough reason to investigate thoroughly.They re-credited the money to my account immediately when they were in receipt of that letter. The Garda and Met Police got involved and the retailer was contacted. They sent across all the details (they were a bit miffed that they'd lost £1000 of kit) to me and HSBC, and the Met where I confirmed that they weren't authorised. The Met then visited the address...found a lot of expensive equipment but as far as I know, they never found the perpetrators. I'm not sure if the retailer ever got his money back.
It was a nightmare, and since then HSBC have been VERY hot on large transactions on my credit card (even going so far as to phone me to confirm that I'm in a shop making a purchase). On the whole, it was a very unpleasant experience to lose £1000 (even temporarily) but the banks seem to be quite efficient at dealing with this, and since then I've always been impressed with the diligence of HSBC Card Services.
Hang in there, it may take months to be resolved entirely, but you'll get your money back and they may even catch someone involved.