Matt's the 犠牲者 of a £1.5m 詐欺 - so why is his bank 扱う／治療するing him so shabbily?

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For nearly six years, Matthew 堅い has tried to get his bank, Barclays, to take 責任／義務 for its part in 許すing a £1.49million 詐欺 to be committed against him.

He has failed, though not through 欠如（する） of trying. He has racked up a six-人物／姿／数字 合法的な 法案 in the 追跡 of 司法（官）, hounded the bank for 文書s and recordings of calls, and recently wrote to the board members of Barclays 勧めるing them to 調査／捜査する his 事例／患者. 非，不，無 had the 儀礼 to 答える／応じる.

Barclays is not for turning. It has washed its 手渡すs of the 事柄. Sadly, my 介入 in the 事例／患者 has done nothing to 転換 the bank's intransigence either. It has answered 非，不，無 of my questions - and given what can only be 述べるd as a glib 返答.

Abandoned: Hard-working Matthew 堅い has 戦う／戦いd for years to get 支援する money stolen by scammers

So, I tell his story today because I think it needs to be heard. In 要約, Matt has been disgracefully 扱う／治療するd by the bank he has been with, man and boy . He deserves much better.

For 56-year-old Matt, life goes on - he is a successful entrepreneur building a food 調達 商売／仕事 with the help of a supportive chairman whom he has known for a long time. Hopefully, he will make enough from the 商売／仕事 (調達 Partners) to put his 財政上の life 支援する on 跡をつける.

But the past six years have taken their （死傷者）数.

During this time, he has visited some horribly dark places, 苦しむd serious mental health 問題／発行するs, received counselling for 不景気, and 戦う／戦いd against the demon drink. At one 行う／開催する／段階, his wife Sarah asked him to leave the family home.

For the moment, Matt is feeling strong. He has been sober for four months and is 支援する with Sarah at home in Knowle, West Midlands.

Yet he remains incensed that he has been left to 選ぶ up the 法案 for a 詐欺 that he argues (with 広大な／多数の／重要な 長所) should have been 避けるd if Barclays had shown him a 義務 of care. His 合法的な team has amassed 広範囲にわたる とじ込み／提出するs and King's Counsel advice is that the 事例／患者 has high 長所 should it go to 法廷，裁判所.

It rankles that Barclays has played a game of 瀬戸際政策 with him - banking on the fact that he won't take the 事例／患者 to 法廷，裁判所 because he could lose literally everything if it were 解任するd, and he was 軍隊d to 支払う／賃金 the bank's costs.

'I'm not 用意が出来ている to take the 賭事,' says Matt. 'Unlike Barclays , I don't have a bottomless 炭坑，オーケストラ席 of money. I have a wife and daughter who 事柄 to me and I can't jeopardise their 未来 any more than I have done already.'

The 詐欺 against Matt and Sarah stemmed from a house 購入（する） they 手配中の，お尋ね者 to make in September 2018. This followed the sale of the 商売／仕事 he was a director of - another food 調達 company called PSL - to 契約 caterer Sodexo.

Matt and Sarah 始める，決める their hearts on a detached five-bedroom house in Hampton in Arden, a few miles from where they lived in Knowle.

'It was our forever home,' says Matt. 'It was everything I had wished for in my wildest dreams when I started my working life.'

In September 2018, they agreed a 購入（する） price of £1.5million, with an 初期の deposit 要求するd of £150,000, followed by the balancing 支払い（額） (含むing stamp 義務) of just over £1.49million. The deposit was transferred from the 堅いs' account to the Lloyds account of their solicitors. The 支払い（額） was made at the solicitor's office 経由で Matt's laptop in three slices. Everything went 罰金 and the money arrived 安全に.

Matt's email account was then 切り開く／タクシー／不正アクセスd in between the deposit 存在 paid and the 完成 支払い（額）. The fraudsters were able to change the 詳細（に述べる）s on the 支払い（額） 指示／教授／教育 from Matt's solicitors so that the £1.49million would go into an RBS account - rather than the solicitor's Lloyds account.

Given Matt was away on 商売／仕事, Sarah said she would visit their 地元の Barclays 支店 in Knowle and sit 負かす／撃墜する with a member of staff and make the final 支払い（額）. But the 任命 was cancelled, and she was told instead to go to the Barclays 支店 in nearby Solihull.

Here, she was 迎える／歓迎するd by a junior clerk and given a 文書 to 調印する, 認可するing the 支払い（額）. At no 行う／開催する／段階 was any check made by the clerk to 確実にする the receiving accoun t 詳細（に述べる）s were the same as for those used for the deposit.

Later that day, Matt received a call from Barclays 説 that the money would not be transferred until その上の 安全 checks were made. 怪しげな, he 接触するd Sarah who rang the Solihull 支店. She was told all was 罰金 and that the 支払い（額） had been made.

Unfortunately, nothing could have been その上の from the truth. The day before the home 購入（する） was 予定 to 完全にする, the solicitors rang to say they had not received the £1.49million 支払い（額）.

Matt すぐに got on to 活動／戦闘 詐欺 to 報告（する）／憶測 the 罪，犯罪. He also 接触するd Barclays' 詐欺 department, only for the bank to say that it was not their problem and that it had no 事例／患者 to answer - the loss was the 堅いs' fault.

王室の Bank of Scotland would not speak to Matt because he was not a 顧客. The police were helpful, 明言する／公表するing the money had gone into the RBS account, only to disappear within four hours into 44 accounts 世界的な.

The police also 跡をつけるd the Internet 議定書 演説（する）／住所 of the computer used by the fraudster to 切り開く／タクシー／不正アクセス into Matt's email account.

An 逮捕（する） was made, but no 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金s were brought.

Matt was left with two 選択s - take the enormous loss on the chin and get on with his life, or fight

Barclays. He chose the latter, but it has been a 戦う／戦い that has left him batte red and bruised as Barclays has 確固に 辞退するd to 受託する it was negligent in 許すing the £1.49million to go into a fraudster's account.

IASKED Barclays to explain how it could defend itself from the 告訴，告発 that it was neglectful in the 扱うing of the 堅いs' house 購入（する） 基金s. I also 手配中の，お尋ね者 to know why it had not made good the money the 堅いs had lost and how it could 'live' with the consequences of its 活動／戦闘s.

Its 返答 was: 'We have every sympathy with the position our 顧客s are in.

'This scam is an appalling 事例／患者 of 犯罪の 窃盗 by a fraudster 切り開く／タクシー／不正アクセスing and 修正するing a solicitor's email. This resulted in our 顧客 事実上の／代理 upon （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） they believed to be 訂正する and 教えるing us to 問題／発行する a CHAPS 支払い（額） to the fraudster's bank account rather than the ーするつもりであるd 受取人, their solicitor. As soon as we were 警報d, we 行為／法令／行動するd 速く to 回復する [the] 基金s, but there were 非，不，無 remaining.

'We always encourage 顧客s to call their solicitor on a 信用d number before making a 支払い（額）, or to send a smaller sum and 得る 確定／確認 of 安全な 領収書 before sending the remaining 基金s.'

For the 記録，記録的な／記録する, Matt says Barclays did not advise them to follow the 議定書 it 輪郭（を描く）s in its 声明. Given Matt could not 完全にする the 処理／取引 he also lost the £150,000 deposit.

I also 接触するd 王室の Bank of Scotland for comment.

It chose not to. Yes, the 堅いs were not 完全に blameless in 許すing this despicable 罪，犯罪 to be committed against them, but they were not as negligent as their bank. 司法（官） has yet to b e served.