MONMOUTH MP David Davies has raised concerns about the effectiveness of checks being carried out on people opening bank accounts after a local company director become the victim of identity theft.
The personal details of Mark Jones and two of his fellow directors at Precision Engineering Ltd in Monmouth were used to fraudulently open multiple bank accounts on-line with Santander.
Upon receipt of welcome packs through the post, Mr Jones immediately contacted Santander to query the accounts. By this time, the fraudsters had already used the overdrafts and spent an estimated £14,000.
Although the demands were cancelled after the fraud was discovered, Mr Jones remains furious that his identity was so easily faked and used by a bank which handles the accounts of HM Revenue and Customs.
“How should anyone be able to apply for and successfully open three bank accounts with one bank on the same day having provided only a name, address and date of birth?” said Mr Jones.
“Furthermore, the fraudsters were granted immediate access to unsecured funds. We estimate they had spent in the region of £14,000 before we and the bank knew what was going on.
“I can only imagine the scale of such fraudulent activity when it is so easy for them to succeed. It unfortunately comes as no surprise to me that banking fraud costs the UK economy billions every year.”
Mr Jones claims Santander is denying any wrongdoing and is unwilling to properly investigate his case despite the findings of an initial investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which confirmed that the bank did not follow its own procedures when opening the accounts.
The FSA is unable to take any further action as Mr Jones is “not a customer”.
“In my opinion, Santander demonstrated a blatant lack of control and responsibility in allowing this to happen and as such needs to acknowledge this and make prompt and appropriate change to their systems,” added Mr Jones.
Local MP David Davies now intends to draw the matter to the direct attention of the Government.
""A few months ago I had to open a current account in Monmouth where I have lived for years,” he said.
“The manager and the members of staff all knew me but would not let me open an account without seeing my passport and other ID. Quite rightly, they did not say to themselves ""here is the local MP, he is well known in the town so we don't need to conduct any checks.”
“Yet somebody was able to open accounts via the Santander on-line application process using information found on the Companies House website. No proper checks were carried out and the fraudsters disappeared with a load of money, leaving Mr Jones to sort out the mess.
“Understandably he wants an explanation, yet all he has received is a cursory apology and the offer of £100 compensation.
“I think Santander owes a full explanation detailing how this happened and what is being done to prevent it from happening again.”