Thousands of Tesco Bank current account customers appear to have been targeted by fraudsters, with some saying they have lost hundreds of pounds.
Customers have complained money being withdrawn without permission, cards being blocked and about long delays to get through to the bank on the phone.
The bank said its anti-fraud systems had identified “suspicious activity” on a number of customer accounts”.
It said some cards were immediately blocked as a precautionary measure.
Those card-holders would still be able to use online banking, the company said.
Tesco Bank said the customers affected numbered “in the thousands but less than 10,000” and that they had all been sent alerts to notify them. It said they should contact the bank if they had any concerns.
Alan Baxter from Berwick-upon-Tweed said he had lost £600, leaving him with just £21.88 in the bank.
He said: “Tesco said they couldn’t offer me emergency funds but would offer £25 as a goodwill gesture.
“I’ve got food and petrol to pay for. I have a delivery of coal coming tomorrow for our coal-fired heater and I won’t be able to pay.”
Kevin Smith in Blackpool said he had lost £500 from one account and £20 from another.
He said: “I was just about to go to bed last night when I received a text message from Tesco saying there had been fraud on my account. So of course you panic.”
Other customers complained on Tesco Bank’s website and on social media about long delays when calling the company’s customer service line to find out if their account was affected.
“Appalling service here. Woken at 4am to say contact urgently. Spent over three hours on hold. No answer,” one wrote.
The Financial Conduct Authority says banks must refund unauthorised payments immediately, unless they have evidence that the customer was at fault or the payment was more than 13 months ago.
Banks are also required to refund any charges or interest added to your account as a result of the fraudulent payments.
Tesco Bank has been wholly owned by Tesco plc since 2008, after starting life as a joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland.
It offers a range of personal banking products, including credit cards, personal loans, savings, mortgages and general insurance.
The bank has more than seven million customer accounts and 4,000 staff, based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle.
Update:
Tesco Bank has halted online payments for current account customers after money was taken from 20,000 accounts.
The bank’s chief executive Benny Higgins told the BBC he was “very hopeful” customers would be refunded within 24 hours.
About 40,000 accounts saw suspicious transactions over the weekend, of which half had money taken, he said.
Customers will still be able to use their cards for cash withdrawals, chip and pin payments, and bill payments.
They can also use online banking, but cannot make online transactions until the situation is back under control, Mr Higgins told the BBC’s Today programme.
Source bbc.co.uk
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