Natwest tried to steal my money

ronskopila

I mistakenly paid a cheque £5100, drawn from my Abbey account payable to me into an old closed Natwest account I closed 2 years ago. Instead of following banking rules and regulations laid down by the FSA (financial services authorities) they did not return the cheque or inform me of my error. I meant to pay the cheque into my current Gibraltar Natwest account but used the wrong paying in book. When I realised my error 7 months later and tried to recover my money, Natwest told me lie after lie about how they had returned it back to The Abbey. Eventually, I contacted the ombudsman who put pressure on Natwest to return my £5100 and they offered me £250 compensation which I rejected. I am presently pursuing the matter with my local MP after exhausting the normal channels to no avail.

Techhead_2

Where did the money go?

ronskopila

Techhead wrote: »

Where did the money go?

I got it back 7 months later when the FSO got involved

jonesMUFCforever

Did you leave a debt with NatWest then?

kazwookie

ronskopila wrote: »

I mistakenly paid a cheque £5100, drawn from my Abbey account payable to me into an old closed Natwest account I closed 2 years ago. Instead of following banking rules and regulations laid down by the FSA (financial services authorities) they did not return the cheque or inform me of my error. I meant to pay the cheque into my current Gibraltar Natwest account but used the wrong paying in book. When I realised my error 7 months later and tried to recover my money, Natwest told me lie after lie about how they had returned it back to The Abbey. Eventually, I contacted the ombudsman who put pressure on Natwest to return my £5100 and they offered me £250 compensation which I rejected. I am presently pursuing the matter with my local MP after exhausting the normal channels to no avail.

It took you 7 months to realise your error!!!! :eek:

Blimey I think I would have noticed after 5 days or so!

ERICS_MUM

Was it a member of staff who stole it ? Has the bank reported them and are they being prosecuted - they will lose their job if found guilty.

You should be able to see all your NatWest accounts on their on-line banking. Their Gibraltar branch is set up as a "high street" branch with a UK sort code and full access to UK cheque, BACS and CHAPS clearing. So you can view it on-line. This might have helped you realise your error sooner.

If Nat West did not supply you with statements on your Gibraltar
account for the frequency you requested then they may be liable. Banks are legally obliged to supply them unless other arrangements or T&Cs apply and are advised to you up-front.

What outcome are you looking for that you think your MP can help you with ? (I'm not sure I agree with getting your MP involved in this, he/she will have other priorities). Anyway good luck getting it sorted out to your satisfaction.

Linda

powerone

This is teribble!!!

But I do have the same problem. I pay money into my account, my closed accounts and any other account that i dont have access to. But the girlfriend steals my money and buys SHOES & HANDBAGS!!!

But I do notice this within 7 months and dump them. That behaviour is wrong.

Whilst my story is true, not having the ability to notice that you have paid money into an account that was closed. Also with the fact that you waited for seven months to notice. Its all a lie.

Whilst I could say that there is no point in making up stories attacking a company. But why waist your time doing so anyway.

AnonymousForObviousReason

You rejected a £250 payment for the fact you are an idiot? How much did you actually want?

magpiecottage

I am not getting this at all.

OP paid money into a closed account. The bank would not necessarily have documentation that showed they had another account (the Data Protection Principles would mean they were not necessarily linked, particularly if one is offshore).

They would not be aware who the drawer was or that they had contact details so they could not easily return the money even if there were FSA rules requiring them to (and I have not found any).

So the money was probably paid into a suspense account pending the rightful owner claiming it back.

I also doubt there was any "pressure" from FOS and that they simply referred the matter back to NatWest.

I presume the £250 was over and above the £5,100 and that is roughly what I would expect an Ombudsman to award in such circumstances - in fact, since the primary error was by the OP, I think it was rather generous.

OP could go back to FOS (within six months of the offer from NatWest) or, I suppose, sue.

But really they are wasting everybody's time.

stclair

The thing I dont understand is if the account was closed the cashier would have seen the account was closed straight away :-S

chambta

magpiecottage wrote: »

I am not getting this at all.

OP paid money into a closed account. The bank would not necessarily have documentation that showed they had another account (the Data Protection Principles would mean they were not necessarily linked, particularly if one is offshore).

They would not be aware who the drawer was or that they had contact details so they could not easily return the money even if there were FSA rules requiring them to (and I have not found any).

So the money was probably paid into a suspense account pending the rightful owner claiming it back.

I also doubt there was any "pressure" from FOS and that they simply referred the matter back to NatWest.

I presume the £250 was over and above the £5,100 and that is roughly what I would expect an Ombudsman to award in such circumstances - in fact, since the primary error was by the OP, I think it was rather generous.

OP could go back to FOS (within six months of the offer from NatWest) or, I suppose, sue.

But really they are wasting everybody's time.

Quite. Almost certain to have gone into a suspense account.