Please help going to court over card fraud

[trottster81]

Hi to all and firstly I would just like to state what a site of interesting information this is on most aspects of disputes, Im astounded.

I open this new thread as I cannot find anything in regards to people with similar circumstances to mine so if there is one I apologise.

I write for any information that might help with a pending court case with my credit card provider over fraud on my card whilst on holiday in riga.

I will write a brief nature of events.

Me and three friends arrived in riga after seeing copenhagen stockholm and talinn we go on road trips every year purchasing a car from ebay and seeing places of interest. We arrived in riga on the 22nd and went out into the old town for dinner and drinks we finished the evening by going into a bar underneath our apartment for a drink before bedtime. I ordered a coke to which the barmaid did not accept cash payment so gave my HSBC card over she said it had declined so gave my a & l debit card over again declined i disputed this she shouted you must pay to which security came over and demanded payment, to which my friends came over and persuaded them to accept the correct change to which my friend had.

The next day I cancelled the cards to which they stated a bars eight was withdrawing thousands from my accounts. This place however was not called bars eight. Anyway I cancelled the cards which left me with my Egg and Abbey zero card.

On the evening of the 24th we visited what looked like a sports bar on the main street called the lord pub we all drank beer and I got talking to a student girl at the bar. My friends left and I stayed with this girl for further drinks at her place in which I ended up passed out on her sofa. I awoke the next day to find my wallet on the floor the next day to which I picked up and we both went to the internet cafe. I checked my online statement to make sure no further transactions were made. I asked this girl wether she would like to meet my friends for lunch and she said yes so i returned to our apartment told my friends to get ready to go out for lunch to which we returned to internet cafe to find shed gone, I didnt think anything else of it.

I returned on the 27th september to find this bars eight had withdrawn monies on my egg card and tried but failed on pin entry on my abbey card. The affected accounts all had the same pin. This bars eight also ran transactions through whilst at home in england on the cancelled cards but the hsbc representative stated he allowed it to go through as evidence of fraud as i was home. I thought my whole identity had got stolen furthermore I realised my national insurance card was missing. To put this into perspective the perpetrators tried to get in total over 13,000 pounds.

I immediately felt that the initial bar that was responsible for this activity was the first one as stated as it was blatently obvious to me that fraud was taking place by the barmaids actions. But I stated that i didnt pass my egg card for payment because i was sure i didnt. Obviously egg disputed this and declined to refund me this has caused so much confusion and torment I felt i had to prove this whole case and bearing in mind I had visited so many places on our holiday I was pulling my hair out egg didnt give me receipts to determin the merchant or anything.The case eventually got refered to an Ombudsman and whilst this was happening I was researching the places i visited in riga.

I found that these bars I visited have been well known for card fraud and extortion and have been deemed unsafe places to visit, had I known this i would not have visited these places. The transactions that took place happened between 9 and 10 in the morning and these businesses are shut at this time. I requested egg to send receipts to confirm the merchant they did not do this so all my evidance was secondary source material from other peoples experiences and warnings from embassies not to visit these places. So I have supposedly authorised transactions that completely wax all accounts to this bars eight.

I was paying interest on transactions I was not reponsible for plus penalties accrued due to insignificant credit. Both hsbc and a&l refunded my money but egg did not.

I proposed that the first bar was responsible for the egg transactions because they all came out under bars eight the ombudman stated that she cannot safely conclude that fraud took place but this isnt to say that I am not an innocent victim of fraud so sided with the bank. I was devastated and continued researching more into it.

I reported this to the latvian tourist and development agency about my experience and the person stated this has been going on for a long time and that when media attention hits these places they simply shut and reopen under a different name. I asked why are they not shut for good and he stated that all they can do is pass the information to the police and they are powerless to do anything because of latvian legislation allows them to commit these offences, incredible!!!. I eventually received a letter from the riga police in latvian, nice. I eventually translated it and what I made from it was that they have decided not to launch criminal proceedings as an offence never took place due to page 3,5 or there criminal process which basically confirmed what the person from the latvian tourist agency confirmed. There are also reports that the whole system is corrupt and adopts communist principles and that these places in question are operated by the russian mafia, I just cannot believe all this. This has caused me so much heartbreak as I just know i was fleeced of everything I worked so hard for and am an innocent victim.

I noticed one singularity with the transactions that differed on my egg statement than that to the others and that was that it says bars eight ka and the others just say bars eight. As i collected my research I knew that the first bar where i initially suffered the fraud was vagnera street underneath our apartment. the lord pub was kalku street, if ka at the end of bars eight on my egg statement is the street name this would be the lord pub as it was the only bar I visited on that street and this brought me to the attention of this girl I met and found my wallet on the floor where i thought id just dropped in my drunken stupor. I feel ive been subjected to some seriously organised crime whilst in riga but egg are having none of it.

I am trying to claim against egg for negligence based on all the information i have given them they failed to contact the merchant or supplied receipt so that if needed take legal proceedings with the merchant. This is what hsbc and a and l did. All egg have done is supplied an audit trail and refused recompence, once i had the new evidance in regards to the lord pub and that this bars eight ka I passed it onto the Ombudsman. Because I had already started legal proceedings with egg she could not act on it. These places have now been closed forever after the president got involved and new legislation has been introduced to diminish these business motifs. I blame my credit card provider as if they had requested receipts I would have been in a position to take the lord pub to court this is shameful as im not in a position where I can locate the owners.

I filed my claim on moneyclaim and gave egg notice of intentions. Claim was issued on 03/02/10 and deemed to be served on the 8th. they had to the 22nd to reply to which they didnt. I gave them an extra week quoting the claim number and my intentions to apply judgement by default on the 1st march so i gave them an extra week. I applied judgement by default on the 1st march to which this has been rejected. Egg phoned me and asked for the claim number but i was on a train and didnt have the info but explained to her that they were in the emails i sent to you and the summons addresed to egg. This is a blatent lie as I phoned on the 23rd to make sure the customer relations received all emails and correspondance to which there response was that they had and they have passed it on to the legal department. Then I get a phone call asking for the claim number as they deny having it. I do not believe the amount of stress this is causing me they have sent me to hell and back. I have since had my judgement by default rejected six days after I could have enforced it.

I cannot help but feel Im gonna get screwed in court with legal jargon with egg being in there professional field.

I just feel if theres any advice anyone can give me I would greatly appreciate it I have been let down by every institution I have placed my trust in and feel alone in this........... please help.

[trottster81]

I am currently proposing that these transactions were commited by this girl I had met at the lord pub in conjunction with employees at the merchant, it is the only other time my wallet could have been compromised. These establishments have been designed with fraud in mind. the establishment in question is closed during the day as its a nightclub and these transactions were conducted during the day at times I believe i was asleep at this girls residence. I may have used my card at the nightclub but purely for beer in which the employee may have retrieved my pin at the point of sale!!! thousands were taken and my card has always been in a positive balance they took everything, trying to prove all this in a court of law is very daunting as i feel they will say I may have colluded or i may have been negligent but I havent and how in the hell can I prove in the court of law that i was asleep i feel ashamed to Egg for not chasing the merchant and contesting the transactions over 5000pounds was trying to be authorised, they were successful in making one transaction of 950 and 2000 on a 2.5k egg money card......please help

[trottster81]

I will note that I have never gone to court or threatened but am willing to do so as I have not authorised these transactions I am an honest person that has been blatently fleeced on possibly two counts of fraud at known blacklisted bars they will not comment on transactions from the same merchant on other accounts even though HSBC told them of their investigations. Told them transactions had even gone out of my account when I was at home, no they are not interested. They are arrogant and just fob you off, their fraud investigators just go through every transaction on the hypothesis it was your fault its incredible? they have a code of consumer credit to adhere to within their investigation it seems if you cannot prove that fraud took place you are liable and are unwilling to supply all receipts to determin not only source but the circumstances to how this fraud may have been orchestrated. I would not have taken it this far if I didnt feel I had to, my hate for this company grows with every day.

[trottster81]

I enclose some links of interest regarding these merchants in question and to warn any prospective visitors of riga. Any comments would be much appreciated, regards.

http://www.li.lv/images_new/files/20...est%20Bars.pdf

Latvia: Scams Common in Riga’s Clubs, Bars - Europe

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins welcomes Riga City Council's activities to prevent fraud against tourists

Night club scams on the rise

Stag parties targeted in Riga -Times Online

Tourist Police Department

November 2008 - U.S. Embassy Riga, Latvia
this will paint a picture for the moment.....

[trottster81]

this initial incident happened on the 25th september 2008 and have been fighting ever since.

[trottster81]

images of establishment and name changes Lord pub, groks and most recently the royal bar.

lord-pub.jpg

1608606_12603696133364.jpg

RESTO03.jpg

[trottster81]

any input will be greatly appreciated, Im new to this site and hoping I can go to court with confidence if it came to it. regards, trottster

[trottster81]

will be calling mcol at 9 to determine why the judgement was rejected. I phoned yesterday to request how long it takes to make the judgement valid and the lady i spoke with stated they havent replied and they have two hours so will be interesting what the rejection reasons were for as I have stated in my previous posts I gave them an extra week to be reasonable. Will update as soon as im made aware, regards

[trottster81]

right just got off the phone to mcol help desk they stated that Egg have filed acknowledgement and have got til monday to file their defence, it all seems that egg are designed to denying of paperwork, emails and telephone conversations to which is damn right wasting my time, the courts time. They have consistently done this with my claim from their investigation to giving the ombudsmans information and now for filing acknowledgement. I will phone eggs customer relations with respect to them denying they had the information when they had this countless times on my behalf.

[trottster81]

please comment on what should I do? regards, trottster

[trottster81]

customer relations staff still denied they had the information even though she contradicted herself by saying that her collegue wrote notes regarding my call to reafirm emails and courtsummons, this is a disgrace. I asked about obtaining receipts as evidance of the merchant involved and she stated this is the ombudsmans job to, lie, I already asked the Ombudsman and she stated its not their job to retrieve information for either party to which she got all defensive but is in the process of consulting their own police liason officer and will ring me back in regards to this evidence.

[trottster81]

customer relations returned call and stated that she spoke to the legal department in regards to the claim and was informed that they will defend. I sort of expected this and it will at least give me an opportunity to express all my issues in regards to this. I may lose as i will be representing myself but I will not back down until ive exhausted all avenues of this. She also stated that she cannot obtain the receipts only to my legal representative to which I then said well I am my own legal representative, she then said that a direct link to the people that will deal direct and obtain this will be available in forthcoming correspondance. This is a sham I have always requested these receipts at initial investigation and Ombudsman investigation and they still will not produce this crucial information that would have enabled me to pursue the correct merchant this is a disgrace!!!!

[trottster81]

filed my story with the bbc watchdog am hoping for a response.

[trottster81]

Acknowledgement of eggs defence came today with shoosmiths as their solicitors. They claimed that Egg didnt know about the claim, lie, sent a letter to the court manager with emails corresponding to the claim and details of telephone conversations with eggs customer relations. Stated that I want this claim to run naturally but will not sit here reading a letter that is a lie.