2023-10-26 04:00:00
The defrauded customers at the National Bank have been reimbursed, but they are outraged by the bank’s attitude. A first victim has just sent a formal notice to the BNC demanding compensation.
• Read also: Other SMEs scammed at the National Bank
• Read also: Dozens of National Bank customers defrauded by hackers
“It’s a bit of hell, what they put us through: the lack of sleep, the worry, the anxiety, the stress. Humiliation too,” says Stéphane Lessard, founder and president of MAR-Optimisation, in Beauce.
His formal notice was sent on October 19, two days after his reimbursement. His company had been defrauded of $240,000.
“They offered me $120,000 in September. I said no. They finally refunded me in full. Let them pay compensation now,” said the 56-year-old entrepreneur angrily.
“The bank’s crisis management was deplorable, it should have immediately made a public announcement. The federal government should also legislate to force banks to be more transparent,” says lawyer Alexandre Michaud, who represents one of the companies victims of the fraud.
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The bank should take the formal notice seriously if it does not want to end up with a class action on its back, adds the lawyer, because it could cost it a lot more and could expose it to punitive damages. exemplary.
THE hackers took $240,000 from the business account owned by the owner of MAR-Optimisation at the BNC. The bank refused to pay him back for a month, then when the media reported on it, “she magically found the money.”
Without calling him, the BNC deposited the money into his account, hastily, on the morning of October 17. He still doesn’t know how hackers entered his bank account.
“They could at least explain it to us, it seems to me that it would relieve us a little,” he says indignantly.
In the hole of $250,000 for a month, his business almost collapsed. “Everyone’s confidence was shattered. My suppliers and my customers wondered if I had gone to play at the casino,” says the 56-year-old entrepreneur, recalling the humiliation suffered.
Additional fees to pay
The newspaper spoke with 10 other defrauded entrepreneurs on Wednesday. Pascal Gosset, who had $60,000 stolen, is the only one to have received a call from the BNC to discuss possible compensation.
“It seems like they’re testing the waters to see what I expect,” says the owner of Muze, an electric vehicle company.
Marie-Claude Normand, defrauded of $98,079, was told by the bank to write an email to request compensation.
“They want me to explain to them why I am entitled to compensation. I have to tell them what happened, what I experienced, what it caused, as if they don’t already know,” says the president of Constructions Richard.
She wrote to them and has been waiting for news since Tuesday.
Another contractor who did not want to be named also expects compensation.
He paid $6,000 to have his computers “cleaned,” at the bank’s request. Checks bounced in the account, for total charges of $500.
“They will at least pay for that, that’s the least they can do,” he can’t help but believe.
Another defrauded BNC customer was only entitled to two free transfers per month into her account. As the fraudsters made five, he was charged fees for three additional transfers.
The bank has still not reimbursed her for these costs, more than a month after the theft and more than a week after the reimbursement of the stolen amount.
“Just for the stress incurred, the time spent on the phone, it deserves compensation,” adds Eve Blanchette, of Distribution Fort-Mag.
Defrauded of $39,000, she still doesn’t know how the crime was committed. “I get anxious every time I go online. The bank asked me to have my hard drive formatted, but the fraud took place on my phone. They never told me about the phone.”
The silent bank
Jean-François Cadieux works in public affairs at the National Bank. photo taken from the LinkedIn account of Jean-François Cadieux
The BNC refuses to speak to Journal since his only interview granted on October 16.
No way of knowing if it intends to explain to its customers how the fraud took place and if it intends to compensate them.
She doesn’t want to answer questions, except one. “No employee has been dismissed in connection with this situation,” indicates Jean-François Cadieux, a spokesperson for the BNC.
– With the collaboration of Francis Halin
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