Has anybody else experienced unwanted/unrequested direct debit setups or blocks?

Yesterday I received an SMS from Movistar informing me that my direct debit to make the monthly payment to them had not been processed - upon checking my account I found the direct debit had been switched to 'not pay' Why and who by? (not me)

Conversely, a while ago I found a monthly direct debit had been set up to pay Lightinthebox (an online sales outfit) a monthly amount for a one-off purchase and also a direct debit had been set up to pay Movistar for a mobile which I had not ordered (this has been reported to the Guardia Civil as someone used my ID etc to place this order)

In the old days, I would have visited my branch and discussed it with one of the many people I knew in the branch office - but those days have gone.

So keep your eye on your direct debits and ensure they are valid.

Not exactly, but in the same vein.

I received notification from Sabadell that a purchase against my card had been made (usual procedure), but I hadn't used my card for a month.

As my branch was closed I phoned their helpline. They were helpful in blocking the card and taking details and advised me to make a report to the National Police ASAP and visit my branch in the morning. I went to the Police who wouldn't accept my denuncia without a specific piece of information that they said only the bank could supply. I then checked the transaction and found that it was an online purchase from Morrisons in Bristol, a shop I've never visited, at a time when I was in San Sebastian. I phoned Morrisons who made a note and gave me a reference number. Avon and Somerset police would not do anything and could only point me to Action Fraud. After completing their online form they declined to register the matter as it didn't meet the criteria of being a crime.
The following morning I went to my branch and explained. They confirmed that the card had been cancelled and a new one ordered. They said that the process had been started to refund the amount and that I need do nothing else. I asked for the relevant information to enable me to ma a denuncia but they refused to supply it as they said that they didn't need it to be reported.
Within 2 days the money was back in my account and a week later the new card arrived.

I can't fault Sabadell's service but I'm a little uneasy about the whole business.
Nobody wanted to accept a statement from me and nobody wanted to admit that a crime had been committed.
The shop involved, although it was an online purchase, was one I've never been to and I've never used my card for purchases in the UK.
The most puzzling of all is that the amount debited from me was €299.00. That's too much of a coincidence for me, an online purchase in GBP plus delivery, possible transaction costs and the conversion to Euros is exactly €299.00!
More than one thing ain't right.

maybe that is the € limit for a serious crime instead of a misdemeanor

The reality is in this day and age is that if the Police (in whatever country) accepted a crime report for every fraudulent card transaction they would have millions of reports that can never feasibly be investigated. The buck stops with the bank and they have done their bit and refunded you, the rest of it happens in the background if anything.

I know that a great deal of crimes are not investigated.
The particular points that concern me are
Firstly, exactly €299.00 what are the chances?
Secondly, that the Police both here and in the UK and the bank didn't bat an eyelid. That none of them were interested indicates that there is a tacit agreement to do nothing, that this sort of thing just happens.
Now call me suspicious if you like, but combine those two points and I'm still not convinced.

The bank did do something, they recorded it and refunded you. What exactly do you expect the police to do ? There are literally millions and millions of fraudulent transactions every year ….. it’s the reality of life unfortunately

I've acknowledged the bank's action.
I've acknowledged that many crimes are not investigated.
I've also noted my concerns and why.
If there is something specific that you don't understand just tell me and I'll try to explain. If it's an argument you are after best try elsewhere.

Exactly the same thing happened in the case of fraudulent transactions on my credit card (twice) when I lived in the UK, and that is more than 16 years ago. On the first occasion goods (400 pounds worth) were bought from a mail order company I had never used, and they had a delivery address which wasn't mine so I thought it could be investigated. On the second occasion someone had bought 2k worth of goods at Comet in Edinburgh on a day when I was at work in Manchester, and the purchase was made in person so I thought the shop would have CCTV. Both occasions were after I had used the same branch of a dry cleaners in the city and paid with my card so I suspected a member of staff was involved in cloning cards. Police not interested although the bank did refund the money and said they would report it to the police (it is the bank who ends up losing the money so is the victim, really). As others have said there are so many of these types of crimes they are not capable of investigating them. More serious in my view is the fact that they don't even seem to investigate domestic burglaries any more, just hand out a crime number.

not looking for an argument ….. your post said that police and bank “didn’t bat an eyelid” ….. I took that to mean that you felt they didn’t do enough….. apologies for misunderstanding your post.

Getting back on track......just had a WhatsApp conversation with 'Aura' Movistar's interactive factura system - works quite well!

So nobody else has had their Sabadell DDs mysteriously changed?

Fair play, my apologies if I was a bit terse.

I have a number of DDs going out of my Sabadell account and no problems so far.

hahaha - many many years ago this box was ticked on my annual review -

'Takes the point of brevity to terse obscurity'

Yes, it was an American company.

Thanks Lynn good to know....long may it continue