HSBC have "misplaced" £240 of my money!!

MajorTom_2

Hi all,

Bit of a funny one here so bare with me......
I sold my car for cash at the weekend (£18,850 - A lot of cash I know), to be safe I asked the buyer to come with me to the local HSBC branch and pay the money in directly to my First Direct savings account before taking the car.
The branch is open on Saturdays until 5pm however there are no cashiers working only advisor staff and these automated machines that don't work very well.
Upon entering the bank I ask one of the advisors for assistance as we were paying in a large sum of money. We started using the automated machine but got about £4k into the money and it gave up the ghost and shut down. The advisor went to the back of the machine and recovered the money which had been put in. After leaving a queue of 6 people looking VERY unhappy we went to one of the booths to count the money out.
The advisor said the money could be deposited into the business deposit machine and would be credited to my account on Monday (today). Between the buyer of the car, the advisor and myself we counted out all the money (there were 4 envelopes to go through), as we got through each envelope the advisor was keeping and running total and added up exactly what was needed out of the last envelope to equal £18,850. Once it had all been counted out she (the advisor) took the big brown envelope out the back to be sealed, she then put it into the automated business drop machine and give me the receipt with the bag number and tracking details.
I asked her to put on the receipt how much had been received and sign it which she did no problem.
Looking at my account today it is £240 shy of £18,850 which the manager of the branch wants me to go in and sit down with him and the advisor tomorrow to discuss.
They are currently saying the advisor said on Saturday the money would have to be verified today (Monday) before being credited to my account and the advisor didn't count all the money.
I'm trying to work out where I stand, I have a receipt from the advisor saying £18,850 received and I've emailed the buyer of the car (still waiting to hear back) whether he thinks he may have miscounted but I can't see him holding his hands up.

I know I should have counted all the money out myself however we were on the meter and in a slight rush to get things sorted, I would like to have thought if the bank has given me something to say they have received a certain amount of cash it would be safe.

Not sure where or what to do if they tell me to do one tomorrow?

Cheers for reading.

MT

premierfella

Just to clarify, the advisor did not actually count ALL the money themselves, but did in part and kept a running total based on other numbers additionally given to them?

MajorTom_2

Yes correct.

Cheers,

MT

capehorn

It's a nasty situation to be in, but if the staff counted the money before they credited your account and it was £240 short, they are not going to give you £240 as a goodwill gesture. Your only hope is with the buyer of the car.

onlypaddy

from the sounds of it, as you each counted one envelope as far as the bank are concerned the advisor didnt count it all.

as far as they know, one of you could have said 'I have £####' but stashed a chunk in your pocket

nasty situation, next time have them draw up a bankers draft

MajorTom_2

Even though they gave me a signed receipt saying £18,850 had been received?

onlypaddy

i know its hard to swallow but as far as im aware, all money paid in at a machine will be subject to verification.

I would complain about the advisor - she should have taken responsibility and counted it all herself, in your presence of course.

Complain in writing and threaten to take it to the financial ombudsman - each complaint taken to the ombudsman costs the bank £400, so its worth a shot

MajorTom_2

Thanks for the advise Onlypaddy, I have nothing to lose so worth a shot.

paulw98

looks like the buyer of your car saw the chance to save himself a few quid and slipped a few notes off into his pocket while counting out the money.

Also how come you let the buyer count the money? This is totally useless as he is unlikley to admit hes ripping you off if the money comes up short.

Likewise for all the bank knows you could be trying to rip them off, its a nasty situation but highly unlikley that the bank has "lost" your money

jonesMUFCforever

With hindsight wouldn't a CHAPS payment (with £30 deducted) been a whole lot better for you?

MajorTom_2

Yes and that's the way I would normally do things, but the guy turned up on Saturday with £19k in his pocket and offered to take the car there and then. Knowing that cash is "normally" king and the bank being open I accepted the offer. Thinking that once the money is in the bank it will all be safe I wasn't expecting this hassle.