Cheque delayed in post

arsenalboy

I had a 1 year fixed deposit mature with a "regional" building society. It matured on a Sunday and the T&C states it would be posted first class on the Monday.
It didn't arrive on Tuesday nor Wednesday, I rang and they confirmed it had been posted on the Monday.
I rang again on the Thursday as it hadn't arrived and they asked me to write and request they put a stop on it, I did this by recorded delivery.

On the Saturday the original cheque arrived dated the Monday. However, the envelope only had one postmark and this was the Friday, it wasn't a franking machine but a stamp and PO postmark.

I rang them and cancelled my instruction to stop the cheque.
I then wrote to them and claimed the lost interest (not inconsiderable) and showed my annoyance that they had asked me to write requesting a stop be put on a cheque that hadn't even left them, I enclosed a copy of the envelope.

I was expecting an apology and the interest,..... wrong!!

What I got back was a letter that stated as their system showed the account was closed on the due date, then they are happy it was posted on that date, and whilst acknowledging the postmark was the following friday, they could not be held responsible for post office delays.

If the postmark had been the Monday but had not got to me until the Saturday I obviously would not have contacted them.

I am obviously biased in this matter but is the Building Society being unreasonable?

Hintza

arsenalboy wrote: »

I am obviously biased in this matter but is the Building Society being unreasonable?

Probably not. To get anywhere you will have to prove they didn't post it out on the Monday and I think that will be an uphill battle.

Inconsiderable loss of interest with these savings rates?

Just a thought though surely in this day and age you could have requested it being transferred electronically?

arsenalboy

okay, the 5 days delay equated to £35 lost interest, in my books worth chasing.
They don't do electronics, this gives them another 4 or 5 days of your money whilst waiting for cheque to clear etc.,

greyteam1959

I would have thought a BACS payment was the best and most secure way of making this payment to you.
Why on earth a they using cheques ???
Unless of course you requested one.

Hintza

Well if you have the strength you can always go here:-

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

But to have cost you around £35 (over say 3 days) the amount needs to be in the region of £100k.

arsenalboy

50k, 4.3%, 6 days (should have paid it in on the Tuesday but couldn't pay it in until the following Monday)

I had spoken to Royal Mail and they tell me that whilst post can and does get delayed this is normally after it enters the postal system and has a post mark. They tell me it is not possible for post to be collected from a post box and to wait a further 4 days before it "enters" the postal system.

The Building Society are purely relying on a computer system date, it takes no account of human error in physically posting the cheque.

On balance of probability it is more likely that the cheque was delayed by the b soc than the post office.

A number of smaller societies to not offer BACS unless you pay for it at an exhorbitant rate. This is to entice you into transferring maturing funds into another product.

custardy

arsenalboy wrote: »

50k, 4.3%, 6 days (should have paid it in on the Tuesday but couldn't pay it in until the following Monday)

I had spoken to Royal Mail and they tell me that whilst post can and does get delayed this is normally after it enters the postal system and has a post mark. They tell me it is not possible for post to be collected from a post box and to wait a further 4 days before it "enters" the postal system.

The Building Society are purely relying on a computer system date, it takes no account of human error in physically posting the cheque.

On balance of probability it is more likely that the cheque was delayed by the b soc than the post office.

A number of smaller societies to not offer BACS unless you pay for it at an exhorbitant rate. This is to entice you into transferring maturing funds into another product.

once mail is collected it goes direct to the mail centre that day
from there its on route to its destination