Phone thieves stole £10,000 from my savings but the bank says it’s my fault

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Welcome to the latest instalment of Metro’s Money Problem, from award-winning personal finance journalist and consumer champion, Sarah Davidson.

Every Monday, she investigates a reader’s money dilemma, offering a no-nonsense perspective on what’s gone wrong along with guidance and advocacy to help make things right.

This week, we hear from James, a 35-year-old Londoner who recently had his phone snatched – only the thieves took things one step further, draining his online accounts shortly after.

When he tried to claim the stolen cash back, James’s bank refused, leaving him £10,000 down and extremely frustrated.

The problem…

On a night out a few months back, I was checking my banking app when two guys on a moped grabbed my phone and drove away. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and by the time I rushed home to report it, they’d stolen £10,000 out of my wedding fund with a cash transfer service. 

I did all the things you’re supposed to: cancelling my cards, changing my passwords and contacting the bank with my crime number. The police were sympathetic but said there wasn’t much they could do, so I was relying on the unauthorised payment claim to get the money back.

However, I’ve just been told my refund has been refused because of ‘gross negligence’ on my part. 

I feel like I’m being blamed when I was the victim of a crime – do I have grounds to appeal the decision? 

The advice…

First of all, I am so sorry this happened to you. Being robbed, assaulted or made the victim of any crime is abhorrent, and leaves lasting emotional damage that can still affect people years later.  

In your case you lost not just your phone – which likely cost upwards of £700 – you also saw £10,000 of savings drained from your bank account. That’s a huge chunk of money, and made worse by the fact it was destined to pay for your wedding.

Sadly, you are far from alone. In September last year the Home Office published figures showing that 78,000 people had their phones or bags snatched out of their hands in the previous 12 months – equivalent to more than 200 snatch thefts every day across England and Wales.

Far, far too often victims are blamed for their ‘stupidity’ in falling for online or telephone scams that result in them authorising a payment from their bank account to a fraudster.  

To hear that this is happening when a person is physically subjected to a robbery and then loses money as the result of an unauthorised payment is, frankly, sickening.  

This said, there are a few things to say here – and some we can learn. 

First, you did all the right things as you say. Cancelling cards, changing passwords and reporting the theft to the police and your bank as soon as you were able was a sterling effort. Well done.  

Check your home insurance policy and whether your bank account has mobile phone insurance covered. With the crime number, you should be able to claim back the value of the stolen phone after paying an excess. 

The second thing to say is going to sound less palatable.  

Unfortunately, your £10,000 is barely a drop in the ocean of money stolen by criminals each year. The latest fraud report from UK Finance showed an eye-watering £1.17 billion was stolen by fraudsters in 2023.  

Within that total, £709million was unauthorised payment fraud affecting almost three million victims. You’re one of them. And that’s what you’re up against in your fight to gain recompense from your bank.  

If they have reasonable grounds to refuse to reimburse you, they’ll do it. They have a duty to their shareholders after all. 

The third is to understand what your rights and protections are.  

Your phone was stolen from you while your banking app was open. As such, you did not authorise the transfer of £10,000 from your account but the payment itself was authorised from within your banking app.  

Your case falls under rules that state your bank can refuse to reimburse you if you fail to ‘take all reasonable steps to keep safe personalised security credentials relating to a payment instrument or an account information service’. 

In order for them to refuse to cover your loss, the bank must prove that you ‘acted intentionally or with gross negligence, by not keeping the payment instrument safe, adhering to the terms governing its use, or failing to report its loss theft or misappropriation’.  

Here’s where the thump in the chest comes I’m afraid: that payment instrument is your mobile phone.  

Now, it’s completely unreasonable to expect anyone to prevent themselves from being targeted by thieves as you were. But, even though it leaves a sour taste in the mouth, it is reasonable to expect you to ensure you’re in a safe environment when you’re logging into your banking app.  

You say two guys on a moped grabbed your phone and drove away. That suggests you’re standing outside on a pavement, near the kerb or in the road. You won’t be the only one who’s done it but, in hindsight, I’m sure you can see that was probably not a decision you’d make again.  

Though you did not want to disclose the name of your bank, meaning I cannot check this with them, I would strongly suspect this is where your claim has fallen over.  

To go back to your question: you feel like you’re being blamed when you were the victim of a crime, and want know if you have grounds to appeal the decision? 

To answer the first part: yes. You are being blamed when you were the victim of a crime. It is indisputably not fair.  

To answer the second part: no. You are governed by the law that underpins your contract with your bank and you did something innocent but silly.  You do have the right to complain though, and the steps to do so are below.

I’d also take from this absolutely gutting, galling situation a cautionary lesson. Next time, do everything you can to keep your money safe before something goes wrong.  

Final thing for me to say. I’m sorry. Genuinely. It makes me feel ill to think you’ve lost your wedding savings in such an unfair and despicable situation.  

But, as my mum has always said, life isn’t fair my girl. Get used to it. 

Sarah Davidson is an award-winning financial editor and head of research at WPB 

Got a money worry or dilemma? Email sarah.davidson@metro.co.uk