BACS transfer - when they go wrong!

snikpoh

Just tried to do 2 BACS transfers for seriously large amounts of money. I was told they would take up to 7 days (why 7 and not 3?).

Anyway, the first went OK in 3 working days. The second has been 'lost'.

I am now being told that after 10 days they will now start to trace the transaction but that will take about 2 weeks!


Is there some sort of gaurantee with BACS? How do I go about getting compensation for loss of interest and how can I recoup the subsequent charges?

oldfella

go and see your bank and tell them you are not prepared to wait that long. Last time it happened to me they sorted it quickly. They should be able to get an audit trail of what happened, you will probably need to then take it up with the receiver, or their bank.

dunstonh

I was told they would take up to 7 days (why 7 and not 3?).

1 - if its an old building society account they take longer
or
2 - the staff member either didnt know and was guessing or using the play it safe principle of telling you more than it actually is.

Is there some sort of gaurantee with BACS?

Not really. However, it has a very good audit trail on paper so can be traced fairly easily. It just has to go through each stage to find where the problem is.

How do I go about getting compensation for loss of interest and how can I recoup the subsequent charges?

Depends on whose fault it is.

Were these paper bank giro credits or internet transfers using the faster payments or electronic method?

snikpoh

The money was going from Zurich International to Santander.

So, from one reputable, financial institution to another. They organised the (BACS) transfer and I was not involved - this means any fault has to be down to either one of them and not me.

ffacoffipawb

snikpoh wrote: »

The money was going from Zurich International to Santander.

So, from one reputable, financial institution to another.

Well, you are half right.

dunstonh

Well, you are half right.

Hmm. I'm not sure which half you think as I am struggling to apply it to either

The money was going from Zurich International to Santander.

Was it Sterling to Sterling using UK clearing banks or was there a currency conversion involved (and an international money transfer)?

this means any fault has to be down to either one of them and not me.

In which case you deal with the sender. They may not be at actual fault but your contact is with them until they can find out.

snikpoh

dunstonh wrote: »

Hmm. I'm not sure which half you think as I am struggling to apply it to either

Was it Sterling to Sterling using UK clearing banks or was there a currency conversion involved (and an international money transfer)?

In which case you deal with the sender. They may not be at actual fault but your contact is with them until they can find out.

The money was Sterling to Sterling so it should have simply been one bank to another!

Zurich are stating that I have to wait for the trace (at least 2 weeks).

I asked about compensation but they won't discuss this until they find the money. But surely, if my contract is with them and it's not my fault (other one went through OK), then the only person to blame is the person I have the contract with - Zurich?

I asked if they could resend the funds and then once the 'lost' funds were found, they could reverse the transaction but they just laughed! My IFA assures me that he HAS heard of this being done in the past so the precedent is there.