Fraudsters hit top gear to intercept insurance cheque

How did Esure's insurance payment for my car end up in someone else's Halifax account?

In January, I had an accident and my car was a write-off. Esure estimated the scrap value to be £3,200. I live on a pension and rely on my car for hospital appointments. I kept chasing Esure for my cheque but was fobbed off with excuses. Then, in April, it said the cheque had been posted in February and the money credited to a Halifax current account. I have no account with Halifax.

My nearest Halifax branch told me a 25-year-old woman in Manchester had opened the account, paid in my cheque, then taken all the money. I told Esure, which took eight weeks to say there was nothing it could do as the cheque had been sent to, and cashed by, me. I have had to pay for a new car on my credit card. JK, London

Esure posted the cheque, printed with your initials and surname, to your home on 5 February. The fraudster managed to intercept the letter and open an account using the first name Judy, which is not yours.

Halifax cannot explain how she was able to produce the ID required to open a bank account proving you are that named person and are living at that address.

Halifax logged this as a fraud on 24 April following your visit to the branch. By mid-August, Esure still hadn't heard back from Halifax but, after a further prompt, Halifax has released a cheque for £3,200.

Esure is forwarding this to you by special delivery. It is apologising for the delay by sending you £150 as a goodwill gesture and paying the credit card interest on the cost of your replacement car, about £300.


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