Cheque clearance times - a reply from the bank

Mrs_pbradley936

Well I happen to agree with you but it is not up to me. So you can alter your banking arrangements so that both your accounts are with the same bank. I am with Barclays and anyone I pay via online banking who is also with Barclays is credited much quicker than those that bank with someone else. Or you can acknowledge the system that is in place and make sure you are not caught out like that again. You can also write protest letters and try to make waves for the banks but I think it is a waste of time and energy. There have been people who have sued their banks for unfair charges and while the banks pay up rather than go to Court they also close the accounts of those that have threatened them with Court action. There was a programme all about this on Radio 4 a while ago and basically what was said by the banks is that those who maintain their accounts within the codes of practice can enjoy free banking. Those who do not, cannot or will not face fees, the alternative being that we all pay some fees. As you would expect those that were always in the black wanted free banking and did not want to subsidize those they thought were !!!!less.

Turtle

You may be interested to know that my bank (first direct) and possibly others now pay you interest until the day the transfer has reached the other account.

Mrs_pbradley936

I did not use a swear word there, but the system thinks I did. So for !!!!less subsitute useless with money.

jonesMUFCforever

John Peard

Why don't you just have accounts with one bank?
Internal transfers are done instantly between personal accounts and update overnight for business acounts.

JohnPeard

Yes, clearly this is what I should do, and it would obviate delays in the system. I think though that this masks a problem rather than addresses it.

The reason (at the moment) is that I like to keep my business seperate from my personal. Also a bit historic, in that I have held my personal account for many years and don't fancy the inconvenience of swapping. But you are right, this is just an excuse.

However, when running a business, cash flow is essential, and many of my clients pay by on-line transfers, and they won't have the same bank.

But the main point is this - bansk 'fine' people for an unauthorized o/d using the argument that you are using their money without permission. Yet they feel the can use mine without any!

jonesMUFCforever

You could always go to Nat West, withdraw the cash take it over to LTSB, pay it in and it shows immediately.
A nuisance - perhaps but it is another way around your problem.

JohnPeard

My business account charges me for cash withdrawals !

I think the best way is for me to keep my cash under the mattress and stuff the banks!

moooooo

Day 1: Cheque handed in to bank. Cheque placed in work pile for posting. Cheque picked up by post man.
Day 2: Cheque arives at processing unit. Cheque is checked and processed.
Day 3: Cheque is shown on customers account OR cheque is returned to issuing bank
Day 4: Cheque arrives at issuing bank OR cheque fully clears.
Day 5: Issuing bank stops cheque.

Therefore, the bank do not know whether or not that cheque has fully cleared until the fifth day.

http://www.apacs.org.uk/payment_options/cheques_draft.html

The bank does not hold onto your money to earn itself interest without you having any claim on it.

Direct debits and BACS work on the same system and take 2 working days to fully set up and to cancel. If a direct debit is due out tomorrow, and you go in to cancel it today, the direct debit will still go out of your account. It can however be recalled by the issuing bank. So:

day 1: you go in to cancel DD due out tomorrow
day 2: DD leaves your account, but gets recalled by bank
day 3: funds are returned.

Therefore, banks do not know that funds are fully cleared until the 3rd day.

http://www.bacs.co.uk/BPSL/corporate/corporateoverview/

There seem to be a lot of myths around....

Morglin

"But the main point is this - bansk 'fine' people for an unauthorized o/d using the argument that you are using their money without permission. Yet they feel the can use mine without any!"


To do otherwise would mean banks have to work under a system of providing a decent service........:rolleyes:

And, that would never do.

Banks have everyone between a rock and a hard place now - with all pensions and benefits having to be paid in, there is no longer an option of keeping the money under the mattress.:mad:

I worked in a bank 30 years ago, and in those days, we actually attempted to serve the customer, and the banks still made a profit.

Nowadays, they are just greedy and appear to have the morals of alley cats.

I have a DD taken from my account on the last day of the month payable to my son.

He gets the payment in his account on the 6th.

Someone is making a profit on this money, and it's not me or my son. I can't send a cheque as he lives nowhere near a branch to pay it in (and they are abolishing cheque books, anyway).

It's a rip off - and it'll only get worse.:mad:

jamesd

JohnPeard, arrrange an overdraft facility and wait until the new same day payments system arrives around this time next year. Even with the most modern systems there is an advantage to creating batches of transactions, so there may well be same day but not same hour or second processing.