Chq Book Stolen

Last friday night while checking my on-line banking i discovered that a cheque for €2,500 had been withdrawn from my current account. The first thing i did was call the bank i.e the on-line service (as its 8.45pm), i expained that i never authorised the cheque etc. Furthermore i'd never requested the cheque book (which had been issued to me over 6 months ago). The cheque book was cancelled straight away and i was told to go directly to my branch monday morning. It appears that the cheque was lodged to another branch of the same bank by a respected customer..this respected customer didn't release the cheque signer wasn't ME.

I'm extremely unhappy with the bank for clearing the cheque & sending me a cheque book that i never even requested. Has this ever happened to anyone else...i feel like contacting the financial regulator & the garda.

The bank informed me that my account shall be credited back with the full amount.

any advise appreciated

thanks

i would go to the guards as the same guy might be doing it to lots more people. how did they get the checkbook? was it taken from your mail?

I live in an apt complex ....so the book was stolen from the mailbox.

Samurai said:

Furthermore i'd never requested the cheque book

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Are you sure? It may have been part of the terms & conditions that you signed up to that a cheque book would be issued by default.

i feel like contacting the financial regulator & the garda.

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You should contact the Gardai as mentioned above.

The bank informed me that my account shall be credited back with the full amount.

any advise appreciated

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Apart from contacting the Gardai I don't see what else you can or need to do since you will not be out of pocket.

What about cancelling my account as somebody now has all my bank details account number sort code.....all my DDM's must be changed,standing orders etc.

Anyone that you give a cheque to also has that information. Your account no and sort code is printed on all your cheques. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be smart. I'd be really annoyed if it was me. I think I'd be inclined to go to the guards. Surely theft of someone else's post is a crime regardless of whether it was a cheque book or not.

Samurai said:

What about cancelling my account as somebody now has all my bank details account number sort code.....all my DDM's must be changed,standing orders etc.

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Fair enough. Didn't think of that. As mentioned above it's quite easy to obtain anybody's bank account number and sort code. That in itself should not be sufficient to fraudulently access it. You should discuss your concerns with your bank and ask them for written advice on it. Keep this letter for future reference just in case. You should also make sure (as ever) to never bin but rather shred or burn anything with personal details on it (e.g. utility bills etc.) to prevent others getting their hands on them and using them to fraudulently access your account. If you suspect that the cheque book was stolen from the post in you apartment complex then raise the issue of security with neighbours and the management company.

I've never had a problem with my mail before. The bank informed me that a chq book is automaticlly issued on an account when the client comes to the end of his/her chq book.....

Standard Practice with most banks.

Ask the bank for a copy of said cheque to compare signatures. I suspect the bank would be negligent in paying the cheque in the first place.

Samurai said:

I've never had a problem with my mail before. The bank informed me that a chq book is automaticlly issued on an account when the client comes to the end of his/her chq book.....

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As far as I know that is pretty standard. It may be covered in the terms & conditions of the account. I presume that you can override it by informing the bank that you will collect a new cheque book if/when you need one.

The problem with having any security breaches with your mail is that you never know when it will happen again. Of course we don't necessarily know that this is where the problem arose do we? But if you think it is then you should raise the issue with neighbours and/or the management company.

I have asked the bank for a copy of the chq. i just can't understand how easy it was for someone to gain access to my account....doesn't fill me with confidence to keep my accounts with them.

ClubMan said:

As far as I know that is pretty standard. It may be covered in the terms & conditions of the account. I presume that you can override it by informing the bank that you will collect a new cheque book if/when you need one.

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Except that branches don't keep cheque books anymore. They are printed up as required by head office and posted out. I asked AIB about holding them in branch to collect. The best they could do was to halt the automatic sending of a book and that I would have to request a new book by calling the branch but they would still have to post it out.