Heartbreak of internet scam victim

So the young Bexhill woman was devastated when she discovered she was the victim of a cruel internet scam.

The bank told Victoria Elms, 20, that the 6,000 cheque she had tried to pay in was believed to have been stolen.

She reported the matter to the police who said they were familiar with the scam.

But her nightmare was only just beginning.

Far from helping her, HSBC froze her current account and told her she was being investigated for fraud.

The bank called in a loan. While failing to reply to Victoria's correspondence, the bank put its debt collection wing in touch with her.

Victoria, a receptionist with a mobile phone company, said: "I fully appreciate the bank has to investigate when this sort of thing happens. But at no time did HSBC ask me for an explanation. They treated me like a criminal from day one.

"I was told lie after lie about what business I could transact through the bank while the investigation was going on. They continued to ignore my letters and the hostile call from their debt collectors reduced me to tears.

"I couldn't believe HSBC would treat me like that. I was being forced to prove my innocence but nobody was listening."

In desperation Victoria sought the assistance of Which?, the national consumer group. A senior researcher described the bank's actions as "truly appalling", and agreed to take up the case.

Within days of the Which? intervention, HSBC dramatically changed its tune. The bank admitted it had made mistakes, agreed to reinstate Victoria's current account and loan and offered 250 in compensation.

The bank pledged to ensure Victoria's credit file is not affected by the missed payments and promised that debt collectors would not contact her again.

Which? magazine reports on the incident in its September edition.

An HSBC spokesman tells the magazine: "Miss Elms' account was frozen because of the attempted fraud but we now accept that she was not involved.

"Moreover, she should have been given a proper explanation when she asked for one. For this she has our sincere apologies."

Victoria would be receiving a letter of apology from the bank.

That might have been the end of the matter.

But a week later Victoria had a call from HSBC demanding a 12 penalty charge for a late payment on a loan instalment ... a payment she says she could not have made because the bank had frozen her account.

Victoria said: "I'm pleased they are finally acknowledging they were in the wrong although I don't feel the compensation makes up for what they've put me through.

"I am grateful for the intervention of Which? Without their help I can't imagine how this would have ended."

Last week, two months after the stolen cheque incident, the bank wrote to Victoria with three specific apologies.

The letter '“ seen by the Observer and signed by Bexhill retail branch manager Sonya Paterson '“ states: "In conclusion I am sincerely sorry that HSBC has not reached the required service levels expected..."

Meanwhile, a file on HSBC's handling of the matter has been sent to the banking Ombudsman.

The internet scam triggered by advertisements placed with autotrader.com is being investigated by police.