Devastating scams have been a theme of this column for the past five years.
Many have involved money being stolen from bank accounts and furious readers have been left badly out of pocket with no hope in sight of getting a refund.
But this will soon change thanks to a new code of conduct.
In the past, when blameless victims were tricked into transferring funds to fraudsters (otherwise known as push payment scams) they effectively lost their money as banks would refuse to help.
The new voluntary code of practice, which launched on Tuesday, states that victims in this situation should be reimbursed unless they ignored a warning from the bank about the particular scam or were negligent in sending the money.
When refunds will be given
The new code of practice provides that you will receive a refund where the bank is to blame for you sending the money or neither the bank nor you are to blame.
If you were negligent in sending the money the bank can reject your claim.
Claiming a refund
If you find that you have been the victim of a scam, you should report the matter to your bank immediately. When reporting, you will need to explain all of the circumstances and why you made the payment.
The bank will then have 15 days to process your claim or 35 days if its more complex.
The banks signed up to code
Not all banks and payment service providers have agreed to follow the new code.
However, the following have:
- Bank of Scotland
- Barclays
- Carter Alen
- Cahoot
- First Direct
- HSBC
- Halifax
- Intelligent Finance
- Lloyds
- M&S
- Metro Bank
- Natwest
- RBS
- Santander
- Stirling Bank
- Ulster Bank
TSB isn't signed up to the code, but has it's own scheme.
If your claim is rejected
If the bank rejects your claim you can lodge a complaint with the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
