Making a bad situation worse

  • Tony8801's Avatar
    Fresh Eyes
    I have just received a Tesco credit card statement. Which is strange as I haven't used a Tesco credit card for a few years. Even more strange the statement shows a credit of £500 posted on May 2nd.

    I looked at the reverse of the statement for a telephone number to call. A paragraph in the small print describes the customer service number as being on the front page of the statement. It isn't

    I went on the Tesco bank website to see if I could access my old account details. A couple of incorrect passwords/username/secret number later and I am blocked from the website.

    I phoned Tesco bank customer services on the number provided by the website. We value your call and if you can suffer the torturous wait caused by the above average number of calls our army of bots plus of course Jack and Mabel, are dealing with at present. Then we will be overjoyed to help you. I am then given a few push button options...none of which suggests eg.'if you have an unexpected deposit on a credit card you no longer use and thought you'd closed the account, press button 5'.

    A little concerned now that this might be some precursor to a scam. I telephoned the lost/stolen department where a pleasant young lady with a strong Scottish accent listened to my query, asked the usual personal questions to establish my identity and had a look at my account. She confirmed the deposit of £500 into the account on May 2nd. But couldn't tell me who had paid it in and for what item or service. She agreed that apart from this there had been no activity on the account for a long time. Indeed, there was no record of a valid credit card which had not expired. I asked in this case could she simply close the account and transfer the balance to my bank account. She agreed that this would be a good idea but only customer services could arrange this....

    So I have gone full circle. I am blocked from the online account, I can't get through to anyone in customer services willing and able to address my problem. So do I wait for someone in Tesco bank complaint department to pick up my this email or do I complain to the banking ombudsman.

    Any suggestions welcome
  • 1 Reply

  • Verified Answer

    JoeC's Avatar
    Your Community Expert
    Verified Answer
    Hey @Tony8801, I can understand that you've had a frustrating experience so far. If your online banking is locked, we will need to help you with the credit balance refund over the phone. Please call 0345 300 4278 (Mon - Fri: 8am to 9pm, Sat - Sun: 8am - 6pm) again but select option 0 on the automated system. You will then be passed through to an advisor who can help as soon as possible.