Chip and Pin Fraud Don't Get Done Get Dom

I've fought for consumer rights for years, but some companies are not getting the message.

The big companies don't look after their customers.

Day in, day out, thousands of you are being taken for a ride and it's always the same old things -

shoddy products, the small print and bad customer service.

Customer service is most important for some people.

Some firms are driving you barmy, causing you sleepless nights

and can make you feel like you're the ones to blame.

But don't despair because I'll take them on to make sure you don't get done.

And coming up on today's show...

the horror of thousands of pounds missing from your bank account and the bank blames it on you.

Where has it gone? Where am I going to get it back from?

How one man's fight won a pot of money for the whole community.

The total refund was £223,000.

And my team hits the streets to find out if we can help you get a grip on your consumer rights.

Oh, that's good to know.

There are four vital numbers in any modern-day life

and these four digits enable us to pay for anything from petrol to pork.

I'm talking about our PIN numbers and used in conjunction with the chip in our bank cards,

they've been protecting our savings since 2004.

Now, eight years later, Chip and PIN may not be as trustworthy as the banks would have us believe.

Maybe our money isn't as safe as it should be.

And someone who has found this out the hard way and to her great cost

is council officer and single mum, Audrey Bruce.

Londoner Audrey has been a loyal customer of Barclays Bank for 22 years

and has had a number of accounts with them, including savings and a current account.

In all the time I've banked with Barclays, I've never had a problem.

But in September 2009, that was about to change.

I went to the cash point to use my card, but when I put the PIN in,

it wasn't taking it and it said that the PIN was incorrect.

I came home and called Barclays to find out what had happened to my card.

That's when I found out transactions were being done on my account that I wasn't aware of.

But the biggest shock was still to come.

A staggering £16,700 had been withdrawn from her account without her knowing.

£6,000 was done over the counter via Chip and PIN.

£9,800 was spent in a shop and three ATM withdrawals of £300 were done.

I thought, "Where has it gone? Where am I going to get it back from?"

Crikey! What a massive loss!

Still reeling from the fact that such a large amount of money had been taken without her knowledge

and without her losing her bank card, Audrey couldn't believe that the bank had not been in touch.

I felt upset because no-one had contacted me when the first transaction was done,

then they let another £9,800 go through without contacting me.

Barclays immediately requested Audrey to cut up her debit card.

She felt confident Barclays would root out the truth behind the missing money and give her a refund.

But far from sending her the reimbursement she felt she was entitled to,

in January 2010, the bank delivered her a bombshell.

Barclays sent a letter to say that it was the original Chip and PIN that's been used

and they consider all transactions were done by myself.

I wasn't very happy when they told me that, then I started to ask questions to say I wanted proof

of the receipts to show the transactions,

why wasn't I contacted and also I wanted to see the CCTV footage.

Barclays pinned their evidence down to security questions answered correctly

during the transaction in the bank, but Audrey had her own evidence.

I sent information to show where I was at the times of the transactions,

but it was just dismissed.

It's time to meet Audrey and see if I can clarify some details.

Audrey Bruce has contacted me because she's got a problem that she's not been able to sort out,

so I'm here to see if I can help.

'Now, first things first.

'I want to tackle the tricky issue of how £6,000 in cash was withdrawn from Audrey's account in person

'by somebody else.'

If that wasn't you, who could it have been?

-Throw some...

-I haven't got a clue who it could have been

-because I don't write my PIN down, it's memorised, I haven't got it in my phone.

-Right.

And as soon as I receive the PIN identification from Barclays, I tear them up straight away.

There's no way someone could have a PIN number, but it says "counter withdrawal" here,

so somebody would have had to go in and somebody would have had to pretend to be you,

and the cashier there would have asked some security questions,

possibly would have asked them to show some identification.

Have you any idea what identification Barclays requested?

They said to me that all security questions were passed, for example, my email address was given.

'According to Barclays, other security measures

'relating to her home address and a photo ID were also given correctly,

'which leaves Audrey in no doubt about what her bank thinks of her.'

Barclays does view me as being guilty because they said in the letter it's the original Chip and PIN,

either you've used it or you've divulged information to someone else.

'It seemed doors were being slammed in Audrey's face.

'Her local MP couldn't help and when she appealed Barclays' decision to the Financial Ombudsman Service,

'she felt hopeful of their support.'

They investigated and said as far as they're concerned, Barclays don't have to repay the money.

'That was obviously a bitter blow.

'I'm beginning to realise that this case could be huge

'and I need to get my head around the massive pile of paperwork.

'It seems that £9,800 was spent in an audiovisual shop using Audrey's card.'

Let me throw this at you.

You know because you've been looking into it. Where were you that day?

Right, I have got a counter-signed diary

to show where I was at the times on each transaction.

-What's this? From an employer?

-From work, yeah.

-Your boss can guarantee you were at those places you say you were?

-Yeah.

-Have you ever lent your card to anybody?

-No.

-Has anybody ever stolen your card?

-No.

-Have you ever given your PIN number to anybody?

-No.

-What's the capital of Mongolia?!

-You are adamant this is not you?

-Yeah.

-OK.

'But when it comes to the £6,000 cash withdrawal over the counter,

'surely there has to be a record of that.'

Every time somebody withdraws money, the cashier has to fill out a slip, and they couldn't find it?

-Correct.

-There should have been a receipt and the bank can't find it.

-I've been asking for it - nothing.

That's something I'll push them for. What about CCTV? All banks film the second you walk through the door.

I asked for the CCTV footage and I've been told it's been sent to my local police station.

'But so far, Audrey has not been given the chance to review this vital piece of evidence

'which could stand between her and the bank admitting they might have got it wrong.'

This will be an extremely hard job for me to try and prove otherwise, but it hinges on CCTV footage.

They've got it. The police hopefully have got a copy as well.

-We want to see it. Hell of a mess, though.

-It sure is.

-Cheers, Audrey.

-Thank you.

-Do you want to show me out?

-OK.

I know from previous experience that proving someone hasn't used your card is always a nightmare.

I've got a lot of paperwork to get through, but I already sense this will be a difficult one to solve.

Oh, strewth!

Audrey's case is big and complicated and Barclays could play hardball with me,

but you wouldn't believe how many people are in exactly the same position as Audrey

where they're claiming they've been robbed through their bank accounts,

but the bank is refusing to believe them.

One that caught my eye is another Barclays customer.

Single mum Dee Mann from Berkshire is disputing £1,800

which was taken out of her account without her consent

over a 20-day period in June 2011.

Now, unlike Audrey, Dee admits that although her card details might not have always been 100% secure,

she is adamant that her card has been in her constant possession and she is completely mystified

by how the money was taken and since her complaint,

Barclays has refused to refund her missing money and will not tell her why.

Now let's just take stock here.

Both complainants insist they did not take the disputed money out of their account.

In both cases, Barclays say they have proof it was the original Chip and PIN card that was used.

But both of the customers say they have not lost their card

and most importantly, both customers have asked

to see further details of these disputed transactions and the evidence Barclays say they have,

but have told them nothing.

However you look at this, this is terrible customer service. Right, time to make a call.

Right now, my vibes are telling me this Barclays case is not going to be straightforward.

I think there's going to be lots of toing and froing and lots of strong words.

Let's give them a try.

'I'm going to start with Customer Relations, so I can get the correct contact details.'

My name is Dominic Littlewood. I'm calling from the BBC.

It's about a customer who's got a problem at the moment

and is in dispute with yourselves. Who do I speak to about that?

'Apparently, I need to speak to a team leader, but there are two of them.'

Is it possible to speak to one of them?

'I'm left hanging on the line. Still, it's a chance to check up on some paperwork.

'But boy, oh, boy, do they keep me waiting!'

Nine minutes.

I could have boiled three eggs by now.

'Dearie me! If every question takes this long to answer,

'I could be collecting my pension before I resolve this one.'

Considering this is Barclays, I'm getting passed from pillar to post.

They do not want to put me through to the right department.

They say they want to review it before they speak to me.

Speak to me first, I'll tell you about the case, then review it.

'Seems logical to me, but what do I know?

'Finally, Barclays get back to me and give me the correct contact details I'm after.'

That took me 13 minutes there just to get an email address,

so I can send over a consent form to Barclays to say

this person has asked me to deal with this complaint on their behalf.

Even then, they wouldn't put me through to the right department. I knew this would be tough.

Sometimes I like tough ones. You can't always have it easy.

This investigation raises one important question - how secure is a Chip and PIN card?

Barclays say "very", but not everyone agrees.

The PIN is carried from the PIN pad to the card and the card data is carried from the card to the PIN pad.

If you've got the card data and PIN, you can clone a card and steal money.

Consumer law can be very confusing.

You've got your Sale of Goods Act, distance selling right to return. I could go on.

But knowing just a few of these laws can save you money and a lot of hassle.

My research team have been out on the streets, armed with questions to put to you, the buying public,

to find out if you know your consumer rights from the wrongs.

Today we're in Birmingham, so let's see how consumer-savvy you are in the Midlands.

My first question to you lot...

"Your flight from London to Paris is delayed overnight. You've travelled from Brighton for the flight.

"The airline ask you to go home and come back the next day. Can they?"

-I'd say...

-I'd say they probably can, even though it's unfair.

-I don't see why they should put you up for the night.

-Depends on the reason.

I'd say no, but... they probably are in their rights.

All three wrong, I'm afraid.

You all shouldn't back down so easily. The airline must provide overnight accommodation,

meals, refreshments and free phone calls. This is European legislation.

Next, from airline to pipeline.

"You forget to pay your gas bill one month and at the end of the month the gas company disconnects you.

-"Can they do this?"

-I would say no.

-I say no as well.

If you don't pay, you get cut off. That's what happens.

So, yes, they can do it. It's breaking the contract.

There's been a lot of bad press for them, so probably yeah.

-Two out of three wrong on that one.

-Oh, really?

-Oh, yes, mate.

If you don't pay your gas bill within 28 days, you risk getting disconnected,

but you must be given at least seven days' notice of disconnection.

Some suppliers may act as early as 10 working days from the bill date,

but your fuel supplier can't cut you off without sending you a disconnection notice first.

I didn't know that.

You learn something new every day. And finally...

"You order fish pie at a restaurant. When it arrives, it isn't hot in the middle.

"The waiter offers to cook it a little bit more, but you send it back and refuse to pay for it.

"The waiter tells you you have to pay for it because you have breached the terms of the contract

"within the restaurant. Is he right?" Absolutely not!

-I'd have said no!

-No.

-I wouldn't have paid for it.

No, you don't pay the full price if you haven't eaten it. You don't.

-All correct that time.

-Yay!

-Hurray!

Yes, indeed. That's cause for celebration.

By law, the restaurant has an obligation to prepare food with reasonable care and skill.

Serving a lukewarm fish pie does not fulfil this,

so you can ask for a replacement dish or to deduct the cost of the food from your bill.

OK, you lot. That wasn't too bad. You've been brushing up on your consumer rights.

Knowing them will stop you getting done.

'I'm looking into a couple of similar cases. Londoner Audrey Bruce and Dee Mann from Berkshire

'both had money withdrawn from their Barclays bank accounts, apparently using their bank cards,

'but they are both adamant the cards were never out of their possession.'

I feel I've been unfairly treated by Barclays.

I'm not negligent with my card.

Audrey even had proof that she could not have carried out a disputed withdrawal made at the bank,

but this was not enough for Barclays. They refused to reimburse Dee her £1,800

and Audrey her £16,700.

By taking on Barclays, I really am taking on the big boys.

Last year, in these economic troubled times, they declared profits of nearly £6 billion.

You don't make that sort of profit by paying out when you don't have to.

Barclays may be a big boy, but size should never matter when it comes to fighting for your rights.

However, it pays to know what you're up against.

Barclays has been in the banking business for over 300 years

and operates in over 50 countries, employing more than 140,000 people.

In 2011, in a Great British customer survey of over 12,000 people,

Barclays was beaten by only one other bank as the worst customer service provider in the UK.

Gordon Bennett! After 300 years in the business, you'd think they could do better than that!

When it comes to Chip and PIN fraud, Barclays is standing firm in their belief in their own security,

but I've come to meet Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University Computer Lab,

who is just the man to tell me how safe he thinks the card system is.

-Hello, Professor.

-Hi.

-This looks very interesting.

This is an ATM that we bought second-hand. We've been taking it to pieces to see what goes on.

-It gives you a chance to look at the internal mechanisms.

-Exactly.

This is the encryption unit that sits behind the PIN pad.

This is where a lot of the secret stuff goes on, where your PIN is transmitted to the bank.

So if we look at this one, for example,

this turns out to be the link where the PIN is carried from the PIN pad to the card

and data from the card to the PIN pad. If you have that, you can make a clone card and steal money.

-That leads me to why I'm here - Audrey Bruce. Have you got somewhere where we can chat?

-Sure.

-Let's go through to my lab.

-Thank you.

How secure is chip and PIN?

Well, if a bank were to refuse to refund money to me on a statement that chip and PIN is secure,

I'd complain to the police that it was an offence under the Fraud Act, a false and misleading statement.

I'll put that in my layman's terms. It's certainly not infallible.

Again and again, when we look into customer complaints, which have been dismissed as ridiculous

by the banks, we find fraud is going on and that fraud is going on using new mechanisms we haven't heard of,

and sometimes we even find that the banks already knew of such frauds because they've happened overseas.

Even more reason for the bank to think twice before being so adamant about Audrey's guilt.

'And here's something for all of us to think about.'

I've phoned up the bank before about a transaction I didn't recognise and the first thing they did

was tell you to cut the card up and destroy it. And I was told to cut through the little chip in it.

-Is that good advice?

-It's very bad advice.

It means there's no longer the possibility of you coming to us to read the transaction counter

on the card and to see whether that is consistent with the sequence numbers in the disputed transactions.

So when people come to us and tell us they have a dispute, we say if you haven't destroyed your card, don't!

'Wow. Interesting advice which totally contradicts the bank's.

'But if card cloning has taken place, Ross insists that your chip in your card

'is the most important piece of evidence that could prove it

'because the little chip on our cards keeps a record of each transaction in sequence.

'If there's a transaction not logged on the card, it proves that your card was not the one used.

'Then all you need are the logs from the bank.'

As long as the bank releases that information, you could prove that it wasn't your card.

-Do banks give that out willingly?

-In the UK, banks fiercely resist attempts to get raw log data

because that would open them to independent assessment of the truth or falsity of their claims.

'The log of all the disputed transactions that the bank holds is something neither Audrey nor Dee has

'despite asking for it. This is information I need to get hold of.

'The bank's attitude to us customers needs some care and attention.

'Come on, guys. Without our money, you'd be out of business.

'You probably won't be surprised to know that I've got two more cases

'where banks are refusing to believe the customers were defrauded

'and they've had to hound the banks for the records they're entitled to.

'I think we've opened up a can of worms here.

'In particular, Tanya and Chris Nye from Market Harborough

'suffered their own banking crisis with Lloyds TSB when just over £200 was withdrawn from their account

'on one day in November 2011. While they were using their card in Market Harborough on that day,

'someone was helping themselves to their account over in Coventry.

'The bank insisted that it was their card that had been used, in spite of the evidence to the contrary

'and, just like Audrey and Dee, they felt the bank was utterly dismissive of their case.

-'But Tanya was not about to give up the fight.'

-I was adamant.

Because I knew that we still had the card

and ultimately that was proof that we didn't make those transactions,

we did have a further place to go and would have gone to court. I did not want to let them get away with it.

Unlike Audrey and Dee, but just as our professor recommended,

they kept their card and offered it to the bank so information on the chip could be read

and prove that it was not their card that had been used. But they felt that this, too, was dismissed.

They didn't want us to be able to prove we didn't make the transactions because they'd have to pay us.

It's only from our persistence that they eventually paid us because we didn't give up.

What advice has Tanya got for Audrey and Dee or anyone else in this nightmare situation?

Do not destroy your debit card as that's the only proof you have

that you didn't make the transactions. Do not give up until they give you your money back.

And, if you have to, go to court.

Good on you both. Your persistence paid off. You knew your rights and the bank buckled.

When asked for a statement, Lloyds referred us to the UK Cards Association, which is a trade body

for credit and debit card issuers.

Counterfeit card fraud losses have decreased by about 70% since chip and PIN was introduced.

Similarly, fraud in the high street has decreased by two-thirds.

And lost and stolen card fraud is currently running at its lowest ever level over the last 20 years.

It's definitely succeeding in doing what it was brought in to do, which is tackle card fraud.

'I've had a bit of bad news. Barclays has informed me that Dee has told them

'she has, in the past, shared her PIN number with people she trusted.

'I'm sure this is something many of us have done, but the banking regulations state that the bank

'does not have to give a refund if it can prove you are at fault

'because you failed to protect your card details, PIN or password.

'So this means Dee was in breach of the bank's terms and conditions and was no longer protected

'when, as in this case, money was taken from her account without her authority.

'It may not be the news she wants, but at least now I can tell Dee why her case was turned down.

'And it's a warning to us all. Never, never, never give out your pin.

'It could end in some very expensive tears.'

I've just had the report from the police about Audrey Bruce's case. Listen to this.

"This matter was investigated thoroughly by police, relying heavily on CCTV footage." Good.

"Unfortunately, the only CCTV evidence available was from the bank

"and they were unable to identify who was responsible."

So if they can't say who was responsible for taking that money out, it means they're assuming

that Audrey is guilty. That's not how it works in this country.

You're innocent until proven guilty. Show us the CCTV footage. We'll look and make our own mind up.

I wonder if I can get it. Right, time to ring Barclays again.

'This time I get straight through to a press officer.

'After explaining my aim to get a resolution to these cases, I get down to the nitty gritty

'of Audrey's dispute.'

She asked to see the CCTV footage,

as the police did.

She was never given that chance.

'They assure me that they will liaise with their colleagues and, if appropriate, release it. Good.

'Sounds like I'm getting somewhere. They say they have no reason to doubt the identification documents

'and security questions given at the counter transaction for £6,000,

'but I want to know about the security of the PIN.'

Is there a way anybody can override the PIN element of that chip?

Are they infallible?

'They say no, they don't believe there's been any evidence that chip and PIN has been compromised,

'but we know from Prof Ross that, in theory, this is possible.

'The press officer goes on to say that although they're not saying Audrey has carried out

'these disputed transactions, they do believe her card was used,

'which suggests to them that she has been negligent with her security details, just like Dee Mann,

'and in that case Audrey is not entitled to a refund.

'It's not sounding good, but at least they're prepared to pursue the CCTV footage.'

Thanks. Bye bye. ..Right, that was a 48 minutes and 7 seconds call.

They're saying it's still a mystery, but as far as they're concerned,

the women's cards and correct PINS were used, so it'll remain a mystery until we can prove otherwise.

I did say they had a police report and I'd send it over and then we could chat again.

So no good news, but no bad news.

'I'll tell you what. One of the most frustrating things in these cases with Barclays and Lloyds

'is that getting the transaction logs has proved no easy task.

'They give exact details of every transaction and, in Audrey's case, there's CCTV footage

'of a disputed counter withdrawal inside the bank which would give her some vital answers.

'Stephen Mason is a barrister who specialises in consumer disputes and could be our saving grace

'when it comes to dealing with the banks. First things first -

'what are the regulations when it comes to cases like these?'

Since 2009, we've got the Payment Service Regulations.

In essence, if there's a dispute between the bank and the customer,

first of all the customer is liable for the first £50 if, in the end, they are found to be at fault,

which is fair enough. The customer is also liable if they are negligent

or, of course, if they are trying to defraud the bank.

However, if the customer is adamant that it wasn't them, then the bank has a duty to investigate it fully.

The bank has to prove it was the customer that withdrew the money.

'That's more like it. The customer gets the benefit of the doubt.

'But it doesn't seem to help when, as in Audrey's case, the bank seems to be ignoring all requests

'to hand over the evidence of transaction logs and CCTV footage.

'First, what should you do if you think you've been defrauded?'

Time is of the essence. Put your life on hold at least for 24 hours.

If you've got your card, keep it. Go and look at the ATM machine.

If there's CCTV, ask for a copy. You can do that under the Data Protection Act.

Write to your bank for details of your account. Inform the police.

Also always ensure that even if you have telephone calls with your bank,

make sure you record the time, date and the name of the person,

but always, always follow up with a letter sent by recorded delivery. This is crucial.

'Great advice and, just as I'm always telling you, be proactive,

'gather your own evidence and keep the big boys on their toes,

'which is exactly what I'm doing.

'Based on all that vital information from our two experts, I'm ready to tackle Barclays again.'

Now Barclays have dig their heels in here. They seem to think this chip and PIN is infallible.

I disagree with that. I've done a bit of research and I've got some awkward questions for them,

but when I ask for them, requesting certain bits of information, it might put a cat amongst the pigeons.

'I ring the contact I've spoken to before, but they're not there, so I leave a message.'

Can I request the transaction logs of the CVV and the SSAD certificate and the transaction certificate?

I've been speaking to Professor Ross Anderson. He's going to be looking into some of this for us.

And I'd like to reiterate my request for CCTV footage to prove Audrey Bruce made the counter transaction.

The police said it's not a criminal matter, so we need it from you.

Look forward to your response. Bye.

I tell you what, that's going to hit them right there. He's going to go, "Whoa! Who's he been talking to?"

But will what I find out be the making or breaking of Audrey's case?

The only CCTV footage they have was sent to the police and got lost. Barclays didn't keep a copy of it!

More and more of you are becoming consumer savvy. By putting your knowledge to the test,

you get some great results. And here's how you did it.

Home is where the heart is and over two million Britons who own leasehold properties

pay a management company to look after and maintain their building.

It's estimated that this costs leaseholders over £700 million every year.

But what if your agent is charging you high fees, but not maintaining the building? Can you do anything?

Well, apparently, yes.

Meet Neil Healey. He bought an apartment in a block of 165 flats

on a swish development in Nottingham in December, 2007.

But soon he realised that Solitaire, the property management company, hadn't kept the house in order.

I realised, by speaking to some of my neighbours,

that we seemed to be receiving very large service charge bills.

And the management was poor. It was obvious that the grounds weren't being maintained properly.

The communal area in two blocks smelt of sewage. This is a problem that was continuously reported

to Solitaire Property Management and nothing was ever resolved.

Solitaire had crossed the wrong man with Neil Healey and he was about to create a stink of his own.

I wrote to Solitaire Property Management and asked to activate, to use my right under legislation,

to inspect receipts and invoices.

A meeting was arranged at Solitaire's headquarters to look through the paperwork.

We were given spreadsheets of figures that did not relate in any way to bills I'd received.

We were in there for less than an hour before we had to abandon it. The information wasn't available.

Neil wasn't deterred. He switched to plan B.

It was decided that all blocks would join together and make a very large joint application

to a leasehold valuation tribunal to determine whether years of service charge were reasonable.

After six months, the tribunal ordered Solitaire to hand over copies of all receipts and invoices

for each year for each block.

There was invoices and receipts for repairs to other estates that didn't relate to our estate.

There was invoices and receipts for duplicate works.

Neil spent hundreds of hours collecting evidence from all 165 leaseholders

until he'd a mountain of paperwork against Solitaire.

And so, almost two years after Neil had moved in, it was crunch time at the tribunal.

On one side of the room was myself

and on the other side was a barrister from London on behalf of the Solitaire Group

and also two solicitors, an accountant

and quite a few senior managers from the Peverel Group.

Peverel was the company that bought Solitaire in 2008 and had to face the music on the day of reckoning.

Neil's hard work and countless hours trawling through accounts were about to pay off.

The judgment was refunds for all years for all blocks at City Heights.

The total refund was £223,000,

which went to 165 families.

This was a great victory, but it was time for Neil and his neighbours to take charge once and for all.

In May, 2010, we served the correct notices

on the freeholder, activating our right to manage, to take over the blocks.

The new company was owed money by the old management group, including advance payments already made

and they got back every penny.

The total amount I've managed to recover from the Solitaire Group back into the development

is just short of half a million pounds. It's about £420,000.

Gordon Bennett! What an incredible result. 420 grand! Good on you, Neil.

Even I could learn a thing or two from you. What a community champion.

Holding & Management is a landlord company and the freeholder of this development.

They've issued a statement with includes...

Peverel has also released a statement which includes:

That was a typical case of David and Goliath.

Neil diligently did his research, put together his case and beat the big boys. We all like to see that.

Hard-working single mum Audrey Bruce has been battling Barclays bank

for a refund of money she insists has been stolen from her bank account while she had her bank card.

Barclays is adamant it was her card and PIN number that was used,

in which case the bank does not have to pay back the money.

When they do send me a PIN, I will look at it and then burn it. I don't just put it in the bin.

Shockingly, I've come across many of you who are taking on your banks over disputed transactions.

If, like Audrey, you find the going gets tough, I know just the organisation to help.

The Information Commissioner's Office enforces the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act.

If people have concerns about how their information is being used then they can come to us.

But do you have to wait until you're in a dispute with a company before you can ask for your information?

Individuals can request information relating to them from organisations that hold it at any time.

They don't have to give a reason. Just say, "Please give me the information you hold about me."

This usually costs £10. However, it can be more.

-What if a company keeps ignoring your requests?

-Repeat the request, probably by recorded delivery.

If still nothing turns up, come to us and make a complaint.

It's also open for individuals to go to court, but it's a lot easier to come to the Information Commissioner.

It's good to know these guys are on our side.

'I think it's time to ramp up the pressure on Barclays to get the information I requested,

'particularly the all-important CCTV footage.'

It's been quite a while since we spoke - three or four weeks ago.

I know you wanted some time

to thoroughly look at it. Any news?

'Now the news is that apparently they're getting ready to give us their final statement

'in which they say their position remains unchanged. But hang on.

'How can they say they're not budging when we still haven't seen any evidence? Talking of which...'

Have you had any luck getting the CCTV footage? 'And that's when they drop their bombshell.

'The CCTV footage, crucial evidence to prove Audrey's innocence,

'has been lost.'

How can the bank say their position is unchanged if you're unable to provide that crucial evidence?

'It seems that between Barclays and the police, it's gone missing, but that wasn't the only disaster.'

That's the only copy of the footage? I find that a bit shocking,

especially if you won't change your stance.

'I'm absolutely flabbergasted,

'but they still think their final statement will cover all my points.'

Now that guy at Barclays just said to me, "I'm sending you a final statement

"and basically it's telling you that we're not changing our stance." I said, "I don't call that final.

"I might want to challenge it." But then I found out from him

that the only CCTV footage they have was sent to the police and it's got lost. They didn't even keep a copy!

That is negligent, if you ask me.

It's time for a catch-up with Audrey, but unfortunately I haven't got any good news for her.

Audrey, normally when I come back to meet people, I have good news.

-I haven't got any good news for you. Does that surprise you?

-No.

Barclays have said to me that between them and the police they have lost the CCTV footage.

That's the footage which would either show you're innocent or show who actually was guilty.

How do you feel about that?

Very...unhappy.

Because now the evidence that I've been asking for from day one, which would probably prove my innocence,

is nowhere to be found.

Barclays have issued a statement which includes:

-They told me on the phone they're very sorry.

-It's not good enough.

-Sorry can't give me back my money.

-I agree.

Since their initial statement, Barclays have finally released the transaction logs for Audrey's card.

These logs give her details of the exact where and when of all the disputed transactions

and the card and PIN numbers that were used.

However, without Audrey's original chip, it doesn't definitively prove that it was her card.

The bank insists that it was her actual card.

In further correspondence, Barclays also say that having reviewed a letter from Audrey's employer

stating she was at work at the time of the transactions, it does not alter the fact that...

They have told me this is it, final statement, they're not going to give your money back.

So there's nothing else I can do.

Audrey is still adamant that she has no idea how the money was withdrawn from her account.

What is clear is that the banks do have security checks in place for chip and PIN cards,

but no system is infallible. If something goes wrong on your account,

remember our expert's advice.

We say to people, "If you haven't destroyed your card, don't do it."

Go to the bank and look at the ATM. If there's CCTV there, ask to have a copy of it.

Individuals can request information relating to them from organisations that hold it.

'I have to say there are clearly lessons to be learned from this one and I do feel sorry for Audrey,

'but I'm now even more determined in my fight to stop us all getting done.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd