Gary Bank demander: Comic’s fury at not being told thief took £900

A COMEDIAN from the Capital has launched an outspoken attack on his bank after almost £1000 was stolen from his account in a brazen theft.

When Greg McHugh rang up the Bank of Scotland to say his debit card had gone missing, he was told there had been no transactions on his account since he last used it.

But when the Gary: Tank Commander and Fresh Meat star checked his balance online yesterday morning as a precaution, he found that £900 was missing after all.

And after he had to insist on being put through to the bank’s fraud department and important questions about the theft went unanswered, he took to his Twitter account to vent his fury to his 19,000 followers.

The furious comic tweeted: “Reported bank card missing to HBOS then looked at statement – large amount of money taken AT A BRANCH and no-one let me know!”

He went on to say: “Phoned @AskBankOfScot to report theft and phone operator said he would email the branch and get someone to call me back!”

Speaking to the Evening News last night, Greg, whose first job was working for the Bank of Scotland, said that he had eventually been told that someone had entered a branch in Manchester, where he is currently filming, and withdrawn the money.

“I said to the operator, this is quite serious – they said they would phone the branch,” he said. “He then got back to me saying they 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.”

Greg’s driving licence was also missing from his wallet – but so far the bank have been unable to tell him whether the thief used that as identification to take out the money or not. “I need to know whether they used the driver’s licence as it could have bigger implications,” he said. “It’s frightening to think that someone can use a bank card 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 unforgivable. I invest my money and I expect them to keep it safe.”

Greg, who comes from Morningside and is a a former pupil of St Thomas Of Aquins High School, said that banking mishaps aside, he is enjoying keeping busy.

“We’re filming Fresh Meat series two at the moment, it’s been brilliant, and we’ve shot the third series of Tank Commander,” he said. “Hopefully, the shows are funny, and we’ve had a lot of fun.”

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.”