2004 Balfe Case

Key Facts

Amount stolen	£770
Number of Withdrawals	3
ATM Locations	Enfield £170, Lea Bridge £300, Lea Bridge £300
Issuing Bank	Halifax
Acquiring Bank(s)	Unknown
Card Type	Switch Card, Halifax Current Account
Withdrawal time period	3 days
Days from theft to discovery	3 days
Card theft involved	No
Level of customer action	Reports made to bank and police; ATM dispute form filled
PIN Status	Original PIN
Outcome	Resolved. Customer reimbursed.

Customer withdrew GBP130 on Fri July 23rd (his payday).
Later that day, a further GBP 170 was withdrawn by an unknown party, reaching the maximum daily withdrawal limit of GBP 300/day.
Two subsequent phantom withdrawals of GBP 300 each were made on Saturday 24th, and early on Sunday 25th.
Customer noticed the defecit when using an ATM later on the Sunday morning.
Customer claims card never left his possession, and did not disclose PIN to anyone, and was not in the vicinity of any of the phantom withdrawal sites.
Customer phoned Halifax customer services on Sunday, and was told to go into a branch to fill out an ATM dispute form.
On arriving at Richmond branch of Halifax, customer was told he needed a crime number from the police, which took the rest of the day to receive.
Customer notes that Halifax customer services neglected to mention this via telephone on Sunday, causing unnecessary delay for him on Monday.
On submitting completed form, customer was told to wait for the results of an investigation by head office, taking up to four weeks.
Six weeks later, customer had received no response, and on contacting the bank was told they were still investigating.
Subsequently, customer received new card and PIN, and was reimbursed in full by the Halifax, though notes there was little explanation.