Halifax customer distressed as bank says it 'can't cancel' payment to scammers

A Halifax customer was left in a state of distress after losing money to scammers only to be told the payment couldn't be cancelled. The concerned customer reached out to Halifax over X at about 9pm on November 1, asking: "Why is nobody responding on the app chat sent a message for help 2 hours ago not had a reply back?

"Had some scamming company take money out me account I need help in getting it back ASAP it's for my gas." Halifax offered an apology for the wait, stating: "Chat can be busy in the evenings and overnight. They will respond as soon as possible."

They tried to reassure them that help would soon be on the way: "Once they respond they will be able to help. Please make sure that you've provided as much info as you can to help them answer efficiently."

However, the customer was dissatisfied with the bank's reply, pressing further: "Not a reply back though... can a pending transaction be stopped and refunded same time its a scam that taken the payment?"

Halifax responded stating that this wouldn't be feasible: "Once a transaction is pending on your account, we cannot cancel it. If you believe you've been scammed, you can raise a dispute once it has debited the account. You'll need to request a refund with the company in the first instance."

The customer expressed doubt about recovering their funds from the company, which they believed was run by the scammers. They said they had searched for information about the company on Google and found it "comes up as a company taking money out of people's account".

Halifax advised the customer to use the 'support' tab in the app to contact the bank, so they could look at their specific case details. People who are saving with established banks like Halifax might want to think about switching, as there are several cash incentives on offer from various providers.

Santander has recently launched a £150 incentive for account switchers. In similar fashion, Lloyds Bank is enticing new customers with a £200 bonus and other institutions have similar offers, such as NatWest with a reward of £180 and Nationwide offering a £175 bonus.

John Dentry, product owner of the Current Account Switch Service at Pay.UK, commented: "Reviewing your bank account is one thing we recommend doing to ensure you’re with a provider whose services suit your individual needs and goals.

"If you feel you need something different from your current account, it pays to consider switching." Amy Knight, personal finance expert at NerdWallet UK, has said there could be more of these switching offers to come.

She said: "Spending announced in the Labour Budget could force the Bank of England to lower interest rates more cautiously to stay on top of inflation.

"Higher rates dampen the demand for borrowing and with fewer people shopping around for loans, we may well see banks using cash bonuses to draw in new customers, increasing deposits instead."