A TOP Scots comic was left fuming after his bank tried to hide the fact a thief strolled into a branch and stole nearly £1,000 from his account.
Greg McHugh, star and creator of Gary: Tank Commander, was filming the second series of Channel 4 student comedy Fresh Meat in Manchester when he realised his bank card was missing.
McHugh then phoned the Bank of Scotland to cancel his card and was assured by staff that there had been no transactions on his account since he last used it.
But when the Edinburgh comedian checked his account on the internet he found that someone had in fact withdrew £900.
Greg, a former employee of the Bank of Scotland, said it was “unforgiveable” that he had to force bungling bank staff to put him through to the fraud department after his questions went unanswered.
Writing on Twitter the comic voiced his outrage at banking bosses who tried to cover up their disastrous mistake.
He wrote: “Reported bank card missing to HBOS then looked at statement – large amount of money taken AT A BRANCH and no-one let me know!”
After having the truth hidden from him, Greg then continued to vent his disbelief:
“Phoned @AskBankOfScot to report theft and phone operator said he would email the branch to get someone to call me back!”
After heavy persistence HBOS then claimed that the withdrawal was made after someone walked into a Manchester branch and lifted the money and may also have used the funnyman’s driving license as ID.
Greg was left “furious” that the bank tried to cover up the incident and was astounded that they didn’t think it was worthy of flagging up as fraud.
He said: “I said to the operator, this is quite serious – they said they would phone the branch. He then said he couldn’t get through.
“I was furious that I had £900 taken and they didn’t put me straight through to the fraud department. I insisted on being put through and they were shocked.
“It’s been a bit of a hassle. It’s frustrating that they didn’t think
£900 being taken out was suspicious.”
The bank did not confirm exactly how the thief was able to lift McHugh’s number but it is understood that his driving license, which is also missing from his wallet, was targeted by thief and used as proof of identity when taking the cash.
Greg added: “I need to know if they used my driver’s license as it could have bigger implications.
“It’s frightening to think that someone can se a bankcard and take out whatever they wanted. I still don’t know all of the details as no one has contacted me with a full explanation.
“I think it’s unforgiveable. I invest my money and I expect them to keep it safe.”
A spokeswoman for the Bank of Scotland said: “We treat our customers concerns very seriously and we’re disappointed to hear we haven’t met our high standards on this occasion.
“I can confirm however that an innocent victim of crime will not lose out financially as a result of the fraud that has occurred on their account.”
