Advice please: Santander - a comedy of errors

Flyer333

Dear all,

Apologies in advance for a very long post, but I am at my wits end and need somewhere to vent my frustration.

I am a Santander account holder, and have been a customer for over 10 years. Over the last month I have been messed around by so many people so many times that I am ready to explode.

Let me start from the beginning.

1: I owed my friend - a very loyal and close friend - 500 pounds. So at the end of February, I set up a payment plan online using his details. To make sure the details were correct I sent a payment of 5 pounds which he received.

2: 2 days later I sent 495 pounds using the same details (which were saved via the online payments method). A week passed, after which he said he did not receive the money.

3: I tried to log into my account to find that my online credentials have been suspended and to contact my bank. on 7th March I received a letter which basically said they blocked the payment due to suspicious fraudulent activity. Which is fair enough as it is out of character with previous transactions.

4: On the 10th March I went to my main branch (6 miles away) on the way to a business trip in London. I had to change my travel schedule to fit this in. I spoke to an assistant who said there was a block on the payment by the fraud team. I told him to phone them and remove the block (which he did). He then asked whether I wanted to resend the payment using the same details, or withdraw the money form a cashier. For supposedly 'peace of mind' I asked him to resend the payment. Which he did, and said it would take a couple of working days.

5: 18th March - my friend still has not received the money. The money had gone from my account 4th March according to my statement, but my friends statement does not show anything from me after the initial 5 pounds.

6: 20th March: I went to my local branch. The lady printed out a mini statement and said the money has gone, there was nothing they could do and to take it up with my friends bank as the money had left my account. I was fuming as they were as good as accusing both myself and my friend of lying.
I explained exactly what had happened, talking her through all of the previous steps. She said she could not do anything and to go to the branch who dealt with number 4 - which was 8 miles away. This was a Saturday too.
So I went to the branch as advised, arriving at 1050, explaining every single point all over again, only to be told that I would have to wait until 1230 before I could be seen by a 'specialist' adviser. I was obviously very distressed at this point, but made an appointment and left to do some shopping. I returned at 12 noon and sat down to wait.
I waited until 1300 and queued up for the main counter, wondering what had happened to my appointment. The woman (the same one who dealt with me earlier) said she had no recollection of me making an appointment, despite writing my name down with the time on her clipboard. I showed her this and she then said I did not let her know I was here! I was sat right in front of her for a bleeding hour!
So she asked someone to see me, and I explained each point all over again to the advisor. She said my friend must be lying as the account shows the money had gone on the 4th March so it must have reached his account.
My frustration at this was huge. I had to explain that it was literally impossible for this to happen as my letter dated 7th March clearly stated that there was a block on the payment which I tried to make on the 4th March. She said my account shows the money left the account on 4th March and it was impossible to do anything because it has left the account.
So after 4 hours in the branch and refusing to leave, she said she has now issued a 'payment recall request' - I have never heard of one of these. And she said it would take up to 4 weeks. I could not wait that long for the money.
I left the branch at 330pm having wasted an entire Saturday chasing after shadows.

7: 29th March: I returned to the branch to check the status of my 'payment recall request', and the lady (a different lady) said she had never heard of this kind of thing and there was nothing on my account showing anything of the kind. I was furious at having to explain AGAIN each of the previous steps. She looked at my account and said that the money had left on 4th March, etc etc etc (same story as before). So I demanded to see someone in a higher position, and had to wait an hour for the priviledge.
She looked at my account and said that there was a problem between the block being placed and removed, which had an effect on the money being returned from a 'suspense' account (the fraud team?) and the money has not been returned to me.
However, she said that without seeing my friends bank statement she could not do anything.
So AGAIN, I left disappointed and very stressed indeed.

8: 31st March (Today): I returned to the branch armed with my friends statement which CLEARLY shows that he had not received the money. After several very long calls, they came back to me and said that the account is going to be investigated and I will hear from them in 5 to 7 working days! This is absolutely unbelievable.

I am very stressed about this, having lost several days of work through stress, and wasted many hours of many days waiting around in various branches. I have already lodged a very strong complaint, and do not seem to be nearer to a resolution.

Can anyone offer me advice? My bank has basically lost my money and will not give it back to me. It has gone on for a month, I have visited Santander 5 or 6 times in total, been accused of lying, and my closest friend has also been accused of lying.
I have been treated like crap and still they are holding my 495 pounds.

Do I have any rights to claim for damages, or at the very least, get my money back?

Apologies for the long post, I am very tired and very very frustrated!

pmduk

I'd make a formal complaint and whilst waiting for them to consider it open a new account elsewhere.

Flyer333

Hi, thanks for your reply.

i have made a formal complaint and luckily I have an account with another bank which I have already switched to my main.

pawnbroker_2

When doing similar things with RBS you get a huge reference number against the account that appears on the statement. Presumably Santander can print this out and prove or otherwise that the funds went to the account you wanted. I think this is a bank standard as transfers into my account have an equally huge reference number. Presumably this reference number will appear on your friend's account IF the transfer worked. If it's not there then no transfer took place and Santander either have your money or have given it to someone else.

Flyer333

My statement shows a reference number for both payments, both amounts have left my account. But only one has reached his account. the 5 pounds payment, and it shows on his account as my full name.

Flyer333

Still waiting for a reply from the 'Fraud Team'. Is there anything else I can do in the meantime?

AndyJ52

Poor you Flyer333. What a nightmare!
Have you thought about giving the financial ombudsman a call - the helpline number is 0800 0 234 567.

website address is: financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Can't supply a link as I'm relatively new to the site and, as such, am barred from posting links - apparently to avoid spamming activity.

It's my understanding that you won't be able to lodge a complaint with them at the moment, though happy to be corrected on that point. I think that you have to progress your problem with the bank itself first, as you're doing.... however, they may well be able to give you some guidance about how best to do that.


Best wishes for a successful outcome for both you .........and your patient friend.

Cmdr_Bond

Re the FOS, you will have to wait 8 weeks (or for a letter of deadlock) from the official complaint.

But yes, that is a route I would consider eventually.

Could I point the OP in this direction - here is my ongoing complaint with Santander.

The best I can suggest is do not despair, if you get anyone in the complaints team like I did, you will find them very understanding and helpful (even if they cannot rectify the problem themselves).

Good luck.