Relatives of an elderly woman who had recently died discovered that she had been the victim of a fraud, where a carer had gained access to her bank account.

The deceased woman had an account at her local bank for 60 years and had conducted her affairs in a normal and orderly manner up until the last few months of her life.

Ten years previously she applied for a cheque card which she regularly used. Some years later, when this card was renewed, the new version doubled as a cash card and she was assigned a PIN number through which she could gain access to her money. Before her death she was a patient at a nursing home where the fraudster managed to get access to her card and PIN number.

Everyday and sometimes twice a day for several months small sums of money were withdrawn from her account. In total, her relatives discovered that £17,000 had wrongfully been withdrawn from her account. Solicitors who were administering her estate highlighted the fraud to the bank and asked it to make good the loss. The bank, while expressing regret at what had happened, disclaimed any liability on the grounds that the card had never been reported stolen.

The Ombudsman disagreed, relying on evidence which showed the woman was a well known and valued customer at the branch. During that time she never used or requested an ATM card on her account but had started to suddenly withdraw money in this way at 94 years of age.

The Ombudsman decided that this was a fact the bank should have been aware of and made enquiries about with its long-standing customer.

The relatives claim was upheld and the bank was instructed to pay £17,000 to the executors of her estate.