INTERNET fraudsters stole £31,000 from a GP surgery in Yate — and the doctors are furious that their bank refuses to refund the full amount.


West Walk Surgery was hit for £31,455 when criminals accessed their NatWest bank account online.


Five months later, the doctors are still campaigning for a full refund as only £22,455 has been returned to the practice in Yate West Gate Centre.


The crime occurred when a practice manager logged into the surgery’s account to make a payment and the computer system malfunctioned.


During a second attempt, she received an email from NatWest security saying the surgery had been a victim of internet fraud.


NatWest has told the doctors that the crime was possible because the surgery did not have the bank’s security software installed on its system, and refused to return the outstanding £9,000.


Dr Sam Davies, GP partner at the surgery, said: “It transpired that almost £32,000 had been transferred to an account held by somebody holding an account with Barclays.  


“Many phone calls and emails took place during November and December with NatWest, but we were consistently told that it was our fault this theft had happened — despite our protestations that it was reasonable for us to assume we had been dealing with the real NatWest internet banking website. At the beginning of January, Barclays managed to recover £22,455.

"However, £9,000 of our money was not recovered and despite our best attempts to discuss with NatWest and explain why we think it is unfair that money can be stolen so easily from a bank account held by them, we have been told that we are liable for that loss.


“This kind of incident just adds additional pressure on to an NHS that is already holding a high-profile place in the public eye. The reality for our 13,000 patients is that we will not be able to complete the equipment replacement programme that was planned for this year, and it is likely that our patients will suffer.”


The practice, which has seven partner GPs and 35 other employees, contacted Action Fraud, the UK reporting centre for fraud and internet crime, on the day of the offence.


A spokesman for Action Fraud said: “If West Walk Surgery has not been reimbursed by their bank, they may want to update their report and let Action Fraud know how much they have lost as a result of the fraud.


“The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau would then be able to assess whether there are viable lines of inquiry for the relevant police force to make an investigation.”


Elaine Smith, practice manager, said the surgery staff are so furious with NatWest that they were planning to switch banks.


“We have been with NatWest for 30 years and it is shocking that when we need them most they have treated us like this,” she said.


“We plan on moving banks now as we cannot stay with a company that does this.”
Julie Powell, director for business banking at NatWest, said it was not responsible for the surgery falling victim to the fraudsters.


“The bank is not in a position to accept any liability for the loss arising out of this transaction,” she said.