Online banking errors - claiming back money

ahj2001

Hi, recently I paid my M&S bill through my Lloyds account online - I have paid it this way for numerous years. Something went wrong this time. The money left my account but never reached M&S and arrived back in my account 3 days later. M&S have charged me a £12 late fee plus £20 in interest. They say the money never arrived so not their fault. Lloyds say it left my account and cannot explain why it never reached M&S. My account was in credit and I appear to be the one that is going to lose £32. I have had to lay out an extra £700 to clear my M&S account of all purchases that wouldn't have needed to be paid for until August :mad: as I would have been accruing interest had I not. How do I go about claiming the money back from Lloyds? I have spent time on the phone with both Lloyds and M&S and am now down to pester power by making myself a nuisance at my local LloydsTSB branch even though they tried to encourage me to ring the online service! Any advice would be appreciated.

Olipro

given the automated nature of transactions, I really doubt Lloyds are at fault.

Either M&S have changed their account numbers or they had a problem, I suggest printing out proof of the funds being sent and then send that to M&S as evidence their receiving bank had a problem.

Consumerist

Olipro wrote: »

I suggest printing out proof of the funds being sent and then send that to M&S as evidence their receiving bank had a problem.

If that does't work you should start the formal complaints procedure with both institutions (who are presumably both denying liability) so that you can ultimately refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The service is free so you have nothing to lose.

rb10

First, double check the sort code, account number and reference of the payment that left Lloyds - online or telephone banking should be able to tell you exactly where the money was sent.

Then compare this with your most recent statement from M&S. The sort code and account number on the back of the statement (not the one on the Bank Giro slip at the bottom) should be the same as the payment that left Lloyds, and your 16 digit card number (check that this is the same on both the statement and on the front of your card) should have been sent as the reference of the payment.

Once you have checked that it all ties up, then get Lloyds to give you a written copy of the sort code, account number and reference from the payment, and send this to M&S, asking to make a complaint.

I'd be very surprised if Lloyds were at fault here - it's most likely an error by you or by M&S.

ahj2001

Thanks for the info. Yes everything matches. Been through it with Lloyds online and in the bank. Account number not changed. M&S say they never received the money as even if it had arrived with no reference it would have gone into a holding area and they wouldn't turn away money to pay a bill. I'm still awaiting a phone call from the Lloyds branch but I get the impression that unless I write off to the Financial Ombudsman I'm not going to get anywhere.

lindos90

lloyds have recently implemented an updated their online banking, (I hate it, but thats another story) which is aparently not glitch free, could be down to that, however if this is set up as one of your regular payments, then the details should still be correct on your account list.

Its been commented on another thread that its not so easy to identify the chosen payee, so perhaps you sent it to another one on your list? Worth persuing though, hope you get it sorted.

I would suggest persuing this with the branch, if you have an otherwise healthy looking account, then they can use their discretion and waiver fees, so may agree to help out with the fees M&S have made, particularly if you press them on where the money went and why it was returned, follow it up in writing too, as phonecalls can be fustrating and dont leave a paper trail.

Likewise I would send your proof that the money left your account to M&S, they may agree to waiver their fees of you can prove you tried to pay.

It must be very fustrating to have paid, and then get stung for £32, with neither TSB or M&S taking responsibility, and not be able to pin down the process to know why and therefore who is responsible

Consumerist

ahj2001 wrote: »

. . . I get the impression that unless I write off to the Financial Ombudsman I'm not going to get anywhere.

Don't forget that you must go through the bank's formal complaints procedure before referring the complaint to the FOS.

Set out your complaint in a letter, head the letter "Complaint" so that they are aware that you are making a formal complaint and not just a general enquiry. To be on the safe side, it might be prudent to complain to both banks even if it seems, more than likely, only M&S are to blame.

They should send you a final response to the complaint and advise you of your right to refer it to the FOS. You can read more about the process by clicking on the link provided earlier. I think you can also talk to the FOS about the complaint if you want to.