e-mail Paul Lewis on paul@paullewis.co.uk
Bank computer failure compensation
Millions of customers of RBS, NatWest and Ulster
Bank who suffered from the collapse of the banks’ computer system on 19/20 June
will get compensation – and the banks may offer more than was originally
expected. RBS and NatWest systems were restored within a fortnight but the worst
affected were the 1.9 million customers of Ulster Bank who were without access
to their money – and often their pay – for almost four weeks. Money coming into
accounts was not properly recorded, standing orders and direct debits were not
taken on time or at all, account balances were wrong and online banking did not
work.
RBS Group, which owns the three banks, says
no-one who was affected will be left out of pocket – and that includes customers
of other banks who found payments from the RBS banks, for wages for example,
delayed or missing. It will also compensate out-of-pocket expenses such as bus
fares or parking fees to get to a branch, calls to a customer helpline, hotel or
legal costs if a house purchase or sale was delayed, even rebooking plane
tickets or hotel costs because you could not pay at the end of a holiday.
If you lost interest on savings which you had to
spend or incurred extra costs by borrowing money to tide you over these should
be covered too. In fact any expense due to the failure can be considered. But
you will have to claim. If you are turned down then go to the Financial
Ombudsman Service which can order the bank to make redress. It can also order
the bank to repair your credit rating.
More from the Financial Ombudsman
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk search for ‘factsheets’ or call 0300 123 9
123.
Pension fraud threat
Defrauding people out of their pension funds is
the most serious threat to individuals that the Serious Fraud Office is
investigating. The SFO’s joint head of fraud Jane de Lozey told me that she has
three major frauds on her desk and six more are being pursued by the Financial
Services Authority and the Pensions Regulator. More than £200 million is at risk
from just those cases. And she says there are many more out there. Anyone with
money in a pension fund is at risk – but they can easily protect themselves.
The fraud is simple. The crooks call, text or
email you out of the blue. They suggest you move your money from the pension
fund – which may be safe and stable but slow growing – into a Self-Invested
Personal Pension or SIPP. As its name suggests, once money is in a SIPP you
decide where your money is invested. The crooks then recommend you move your
fund money from its safe UK funds into exotic investments which they promise
will do far better. They are usually located far away, perhaps South America or
an offshore tax haven. And the investments themselves are unconventional.
Property developments, forests, or carbon trading are favourites. Jane de Lozey
warns that if you agree, it may be the last you see of your money.
“We are at the start of seeing the huge threat
this poses to individuals. Many involve developments such as golf resorts and
the like or in renewable energy sector such as biofuels. Often fraudsters are
employing professional people as intermediaries and they can give a veneer of
respectability.”
SIPPs are fine for knowledgeable investors who
know what they are doing. But the crooks target people who know little about
investing and can be tempted into fake schemes. She warns that even Independent
Financial Advisers can be fooled by the smooth talking con-men – losing their
own and their clients’ money.
“We are seeing people who have sold their
houses, put all their life savings with one investor whom we suspect to be a
fraudster.”
One scheme trustee was jailed for eight years
recently for transferring money into a scheme which cost more than two thousand
people over £50 million. But there are many more plausible crooks out there
waiting to prey on the innocent.
Her rule is simple – if you get a cold call or
text claiming to know about your pension and suggesting you perk it up, just say
‘no’.
No PIN? No problem!
If you cannot enter a PIN because you have not
got the dexterity, vision, or memory to do it reliably you can have your debit
or credit card registered as ‘chip and signature’. When you go to pay the
retailer will automatically be informed that you sign instead of using a PIN.
They will print off the necessary form and hand it to you. At least that is the
theory. But a recent study by the Payments Council, which runs the plumbing our
money travels through, found that one in four people registered for chip and
signature found the system difficult or embarrassing. They worried that the
retailer would not know about it or deal with them naturally.
The Council has published a guide for retailers
to explain that both they and the banks have to allow chip and signature for
clients who need it and that the banks retain the responsibility for fraud as
long as the retailer operates the system according to the rules.
If you find it hard to enter your PIN ask your
bank to be registered for chip and signature. And when you are, make sure you
know your rights and don’t be shy of telling the retailer.
More at
http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk and search for ‘signature awareness 2012’
Pension change details delayed
The Government has broken its Budget promise to
let us know more about the plans for changes to the state pension – including
the flat-rate £140 a week – in “the spring”. It has delayed the details and a
promised announcement on further changes to the state pension age for six
months. Both will now appear in “the
autumn” which could mean just before Christmas. We do know that the new scheme
will only apply to those who reach state pension age after it begins in 2015 or
2016. People already over pension age by that date will keep the pension they
already have.
e-mail Paul Lewis on paul@paullewis.co.uk