When you are the victim of a scam, you think you will be protected and reimbursed, but this is not always the case. To hope to get your money back, here is what to avoid saying when filing a complaint. Advice from a lawyer that banks will be careful not to tell you.
Scams are becoming more and more numerous, and since easier access to artificial intelligence tools, scammers no longer have any trouble targeting all types of people. However, when we are the victim of a scam, we spontaneously believe that our bank will be on our side, but this is not always the case. If it is supposed to reimburse us in the event of an unauthorized payment transaction, in accordance with article L133-18 of the Monetary and Financial Code, it also and above all seeks to save money.
Thus, she often brandishes the card of “gross negligence” which she attributes to the victim for not paying a cent. The bank will therefore seek to gather all the evidence against its client to prove that he should have been more attentive, for example, to the sender of the email or the content of the SMS message and realized that it was a scam well before authorizing the payment. If negligence is proven, it is then more difficult for the victim to obtain reimbursement from their bank.
So, how can you prove that you are indeed the victim of a scammer and not be victimized a second time by your banker? For Maître Aubane Malvezin, lawyer at the Aix-en-Provence Bar in consumer law and banking law, “the victim must provide as much supporting evidence as possible regarding their fraud, namely screenshots, cell phone call logs, documents or photos… And very quickly make a written report to their bank so as to keep a trace of the date on which they were informed of the facts“. It is also appropriate to file a complaint immediately, but the conduct to be followed when filing a complaint with the police must not be left to chance.
According to the lawyer, it is better “do not be too “saying” in your complaint because unfortunately, honesty does not pay“, she tells us. So avoid bursting into excuses by admitting that you should have been more vigilant, that you had sensed that something was wrong during this phone call, or that you should have checked the identity of the person who asked you for money… “We must stick to filing a complaint for the fraud of the loss of our funds and let the bank demonstrate what was the serious negligence if there is any“, recommends the lawyer to the Journal des Femmes. In short, “we avoid any confession!“, she advises us.
If, however, the bank refuses a reimbursement, it will suggest recourse to the banking services mediator, but he is often overwhelmed and risks “take months, even a year or more to respond to the request made to him”. The victim can first seek advice, contact a consumer rights association such as What to Choose Together. She will thus be able to obtain an initial opinion on the follow-up given to her complaint and then go see a lawyer specializing in the matter depending on the situation.
Thanks to Maître Aubane Malvezin, lawyer in consumer law and banking law, partner and Vice-President of the Aix association for the defense of consumer rights QUE CHOISIR ENSEMBLE.
