A PENSIONER who had his bank account wiped out to the tune of £17,000 has had the missing money reimbursed after the Daily Echo got involved.

Retired David Alsop, pictured inset, 67, of Deneve Avenue, Poole, said he was shopping near a friend’s house in Mansfield last October when he fell victim to a debit card scam.

He said that the con artists who tricked him must have seen his PIN before they approached him in a supermarket car park asking for change.

Distracted by one of them, he believes that the other swiped his card.

Mr Alsop’s bank account then shows multiple transactions for electronic goods in shops around London, as well as a monthly London travel card and several hundred pounds of cash being withdrawn.

Within a few days, £17,000 had gone.

By the time Mr Alsop, a former police officer, bus driver and personal trainer, noticed on his return to Poole, it was too late.

He was then left stuck between TSB bank and the police for several months, with little prospect of seeing his money again.

Mr Alsop added: “This happened on October 4 and we’re now in January and all this time I’m scratching my head wondering why they are doing it to me.

“What makes it worse is my mother is subsidising me.

“I’ve done everything I possibly can; it shouldn’t be me running around.”

But within a couple of days of the Echo making calls, Mr Alsop said on Wednesday that he had been reimbursed by TSB.

He said that the unusual transactions were not flagged up as suspicious by the bank originally.

The case was eventually referred to City of London Police, which deals with fraud.

Mr Alsop said the police told him that the bank had to reimburse him and then report it.

But he said he understood why TSB, with whom he has banked for 50 years, would not reimburse him until police had investigated.

The Daily Echo contacted City of London Police to ask what was happening with the investigation but was told that it could not comment on individual cases.

BEFORE confirming that Mr Alsop’s money had been refunded, TSB said it was waiting for CCTV and other evidence from the police to check if and how the fraudulent transactions had occurred.
Afterwards, a spokesman added: “There are some simple actions customers can take to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.”
He explained: “Customers should never write down or share their PIN number.
We would recommend taking extra care to shield the entry of their digits when using a payments terminal or an ATM.
“Should a customer suspect they are a victim of fraud, or find that their card is missing, they should alert their bank immediately.”