Bank pays cheque into wrong account!

arunadasi

My husband closed his Alliance and Leicster account and opened a joint account with Santander. A&L aka Santander sent him a cheque for £179, the balance on the old account. I put the cheque in an envelope, wrote the new bank account number on the back (didn't have a paying in book) and put it in an envelope which I posted into the bank's post box. When it didn't appear in the new account I wrote saying it had been lost and asked them to cancel it. They wrote back saying it had been cashed already - on 17th December!

As it did not go into the new account I went to the branch and complained. They said they would enquire. That was well almost three weeks ago and I have heard nothing more; I haven't received new cheque and the money has not been paid into my account.

I write the head office again today and demanded that they send me a new cheque, regardless of whether or not they have sorted out who got the money. It was their mistake, after all!

They seem to be really taking their time over this. It's now over a month and I have no result. What can I do to speed things up?

olly300

You can't.

However you can write a letter to the new bank's complaints department. Give the letter the title "Formal Complaint" and sent it to them via recorded delivery. In the letter state concisely what happened i.e. you paid in a cheque and they wrongly credited to another account. At the end of the letter state if you don't hear from them you will take the matter further.

If they don't reply to the letter after 8 weeks or credit you with the money (which is why it's worth sending it recorded delivery so there is no argument about them not having received it) contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.

arunadasi

Ok, an update.
No reply from the letters I sent on 28th January to both Head Office and the local branch.
On the 12th I wrote head office again and demanded a replacement cheque, threatening legal action as well as complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
I got two letters in reply.
Head Office basically told me to put the complaint in writing (!) to them or the Financial Ombudsman.
The local branch wrote to confirm that the cheque was not paid into the account, and that they will investigate where it went to. This should have been done a month ago, at my first investigation.
I am not intersted in where it went to. All I want is my money.
So I'm writing to the Financial Ombudsman, AND consulting a solicitor, so as to extricate my money ASAP.
When writing to the FO, do I send all the documents in the first instance, or merely a letter?

(8 weeks is much too long to wait. The cheque is already two months overdue.)

glider3560

arunadasi wrote: »

(8 weeks is much too long to wait. The cheque is already two months overdue.)

The Ombudsman will just send you back to the bank if you haven't waited 8 weeks.

Send a letter, headed FORMAL COMPLAINT to:
Complaints
Santander UK PLC
PO Box 1125
BRADFORD
BD1 9PG

Alternatively you can log the complaint officially by calling 0845 600 6014 or 01908 680123.

david39

The possibility is that the cheque was put into an automatic processing system that only reads the front of the cheque, so it did not see the number you put on the back of it.

If it was manually handled, the same might apply or the person who handled it did not understand that the number on the back was an account number into which you wished the cheque to be paid.

The chances are that if any of the above is true then the cheque will have been posted to your old account which, having been closed, means it will be in a suspension account somewhere. Alternatively, it might be in someone else's account if they have the same name as you.

Reading in other posts of Santander's customer service (or, rather, lack of it) 8 weeks would be about the norm for them to sort it.

mossy

arunadasi wrote: »

and put it in an envelope which I posted into the bank's post box.

Do you mean rather than go into the branch and use a blank paying in slip or take it to the cashier and give them the account number you wanted the cheque to go into, you simply posted the cheque (in the envelope) into the branch letter box? Or do you mean their automatic payment system type thing where you use their little envelopes that you pop into their machines with the bank account details on?

I'm not sure which kind of bank post box you mean. I've never heard of anyone just posting a cheque through the letter box (with or without any paperwork) and expecting it to be paid in correctly. :eek:

I hope it gets sorted out for you soon.

arunadasi

Thanks for the 8 weeks confirmation. That's why I'll be taking it up with a solicitor.
Definitely, nobody has the same name as us. I'm thinking it was handled manually and the person got one of the numbers wrong.

arunadasi

mossy wrote: »

Do you mean rather than go into the branch and use a blank paying in slip or take it to the cashier and give them the account number you wanted the cheque to go into, you simply posted the cheque (in the envelope) into the branch letter box? Or do you mean their automatic payment system type thing where you use their little envelopes that you pop into their machines with the bank account details on?

.

I gave it to my son to take to the bank and he put it into the box, without a paying-in slip. I know, I know...

fannyanna

arunadasi wrote: »

Thanks for the 8 weeks confirmation. That's why I'll be taking it up with a solicitor.

I think the cost of getting a solicitor involved will far outweigh the benefit of getting your £176 (going from memory so figure may not be 100% correct) back.

I would be reassured that the bank are looking to find the money for you. I appreciate that 8 weeks is quite some time to wait but you're nearly at the half way already. Give them another 4 weeks and then if you still haven't heard anything escalate your complaint to the FOS. This is after all a service that is free to you (your bank will incur a £500 case fee) unlike the cost of instructing a solicitor.

It's completely up to you though and that is only my opinion.

Hope you get your money back ok though

jamesperrett

mossy wrote: »

I've never heard of anyone just posting a cheque through the letter box (with or without any paperwork) and expecting it to be paid in correctly. :eek:

I used to put a cheque in an envelope with a paying in slip through my bank's letterbox on a regular basis and they always ended up in the right account. I started doing this when I complained that my bank didn't have anything like the Lloyds Creditpoint system and they suggested doing this.

arunadasi

fannyanna wrote: »

I think the cost of getting a solicitor involved will far outweigh the benefit of getting your £176 (going from memory so figure may not be 100% correct) back.

Luckily, I won't have to pay a dime! I have legal insurance and I might as well use it!

ETA: making a call to the Complaints dept right now. They have me on hold -- for the second time. They cut me off the first time.