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Tranzfers.com - Warning avoid tranzfers farce.
competitionscafe
Posts: 4,050 Forumite
Over a year ago I attempted to transfer some money overseas via tranzfers.com According to their website the transfer was successful and showed as having being 'paid to beneficiary'. Some time later the company I had sent the money to contacted me complaining that they had not been paid.
After checking with tranzfers it appeared that they had not transferred the money as they needed 2 forms of id from me including a driving licence or passport. This is despite their website saying that they only needed this from the second time you made a transfer (odd I know, but that is what it said on their website). They also needed me to input an address verification number on their website (apparently sent to me by post but I had received nothing). As I have neither a driving licence nor a passport I said that I would arrange to make the transfer via my bank and could they return the money to me to enable me to do this.
They said that they would still need me to input the address verification number and they would send me another one of these.
When the address verification number arrived I typed it into their website but it would not accept the number. I phoned them (I think the person I spoke to was in Canada) and after being put on hold for ages they said I would need either a driving licence or passport as id before they could return the money (my own money) back to my account!
I tried to explain that not having either of these was the reason for the transfer not being made in the first place but to no avail. What a farce!
Eventually (after several calls and emails) they said I could use their website to send them a scanned copy of my bank account as id and when they received this they would return my money to me. They would do this by doing another transfer by converting the money back into £ and then sending it to me. I sent them my signed bank statement several times (as I kept getting an error message) and eventually the scanned document went through.
I got an email back a few days later saying that this id was unacceptable and I had to provide a passport or driving licence.
This farcical circle of events is ongoing to this day - I kept sending them the requested scan of my bank statement and explained that they said this would be sufficient and I had neither a passport nor a driving licence. In return I kept getting emails saying they needed to see my driving licence or passport! :mad:
Despite this my account with them still shows the original transfer as having been successfully paid to beneficiary and the transfer back to me as also being successfully paid to beneficiary - neither of which are true! (See screenshot below)
So after a year (!) they still have my money and I still keep getting a monthly (automated?) email asking me for a current passport or driver's licence, as follows:
"We would like to settle this as soon as possible for you. At present however, we are unable to do so as we are awaiting identification documents from you. The ID is a once off request and not required for each deal.
What We Need
a)Photo ID in the form of either a current Driver's License or Passport;
b)Bank statement or utilities bill signed by you (no older than 3 months);
Please Note: Mobile phone bills not accepted as proof of address *
How You Can Provide It (4 options)
Thank you for your assistance with this process."
*(They say they need both options: a) and b)
Not sure what else I can do to get my money back as I keep going round and round in circles and I have lost over £1000 due to this farce.
After checking with tranzfers it appeared that they had not transferred the money as they needed 2 forms of id from me including a driving licence or passport. This is despite their website saying that they only needed this from the second time you made a transfer (odd I know, but that is what it said on their website). They also needed me to input an address verification number on their website (apparently sent to me by post but I had received nothing). As I have neither a driving licence nor a passport I said that I would arrange to make the transfer via my bank and could they return the money to me to enable me to do this.
They said that they would still need me to input the address verification number and they would send me another one of these.
When the address verification number arrived I typed it into their website but it would not accept the number. I phoned them (I think the person I spoke to was in Canada) and after being put on hold for ages they said I would need either a driving licence or passport as id before they could return the money (my own money) back to my account!
I tried to explain that not having either of these was the reason for the transfer not being made in the first place but to no avail. What a farce!
Eventually (after several calls and emails) they said I could use their website to send them a scanned copy of my bank account as id and when they received this they would return my money to me. They would do this by doing another transfer by converting the money back into £ and then sending it to me. I sent them my signed bank statement several times (as I kept getting an error message) and eventually the scanned document went through.
I got an email back a few days later saying that this id was unacceptable and I had to provide a passport or driving licence.
This farcical circle of events is ongoing to this day - I kept sending them the requested scan of my bank statement and explained that they said this would be sufficient and I had neither a passport nor a driving licence. In return I kept getting emails saying they needed to see my driving licence or passport! :mad:
Despite this my account with them still shows the original transfer as having been successfully paid to beneficiary and the transfer back to me as also being successfully paid to beneficiary - neither of which are true! (See screenshot below)
So after a year (!) they still have my money and I still keep getting a monthly (automated?) email asking me for a current passport or driver's licence, as follows:
"We would like to settle this as soon as possible for you. At present however, we are unable to do so as we are awaiting identification documents from you. The ID is a once off request and not required for each deal.
What We Need
a)Photo ID in the form of either a current Driver's License or Passport;
b)Bank statement or utilities bill signed by you (no older than 3 months);
Please Note: Mobile phone bills not accepted as proof of address *
How You Can Provide It (4 options)
Thank you for your assistance with this process."
*(They say they need both options: a) and b)
Not sure what else I can do to get my money back as I keep going round and round in circles and I have lost over £1000 due to this farce.
"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
best of everything; they just make the best
of everything that comes along their way."
-- Author Unknown --
best of everything; they just make the best
of everything that comes along their way."
-- Author Unknown --
0
Comments
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They do say on their website...
However, when clicking on that link you will find it is the Australian FOS.
But their T&Cs say...
So is this company UK based or Australia based?Governing Laws
This agreement is governed by the laws of England. You submit to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England. You will comply with the laws applicable in your place of residence and in England.
Bit of a muddle there.
Not sure of your best course of action, but one thing is certain...
this thread should not be on the "praise, vents and warnings" board.
Maybe PM a board guide to get it moved to this board.0 -
competitionscafe wrote: »Not sure what else I can do to get my money back as I keep going round and round in circles and I have lost over £1000 due to this farce.
Sorry to hear of your experience. I use Tranzfers for transferring between EUR, GBP, and NZD, and have done for a few years now.
Whilst I did face some additional (and irritating) compliance overhead when setting up my euro account with them (I use a Cypriot bank), I have always found their service to be very good, and their UK-based compliance people to be very helpful.
At the risk of stating the obivous, I would suggest that you call them and insist on speaking to the Chief Compliance Officer for the UK. If you don't get any satisfaction, escalate to their UK regulators.
Good luck.0 -
They do say on their website...
However, when clicking on that link you will find it is the Australian FOS.
Their website clearly states that they are FSA-regulated in the UK (see the bottom of their home-page).So is this company UK based or Australia based?
Bit of a muddle there.
Their 'About' page tells us that they are a regulated Australian company (based in Sydney).0 -
You mean the bit where it says...Their website clearly states that they are FSA-regulated in the UK (see the bottom of their home-page).
That statement is absolutely true.Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FRN: 521566) for the provision of payment services.
And when looking at their entry in the register it says "Payment services are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme."
Quite. Which may make things slightly difficult for a UK based customer when things go wrong.Their 'About' page tells us that they are a regulated Australian company (based in Sydney).0 -
You mean the bit where it says...
That statement is absolutely true.
And when looking at their entry in the register it says "Payment services are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme."
It is wholly transparent on their FSA registration details that Tranzfers is an 'Authorised Payment Institution'; therefore it operates within the scope of the Payment Services Regulations and is regulated by the FSA. It is also a fact that 'Authorised Payment Institutions' are not covered by the FSCS.Quite. Which may make things slightly difficult for a UK based customer when things go wrong.
Perhaps. But there is direct recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service here in the UK in the case of API's. And, whilst I have every sympathy with the OP's predicament, I seriously doubt that Australia's largest investment bank (Macquaries - one of Tranzfer's principals) is plotting to deprive him of his £1,000, requiring him to escalate to the Oz regulators…0 -
Well that's the point isn't it?...whilst I have every sympathy with the OP's predicament, I seriously doubt that Australia's largest investment bank (Macquaries - one of Tranzfer's principals) is plotting to deprive him of his £1,000, requiring him to escalate to the Oz regulators…
They are depriving him of his money.
All his efforts so far have failed to alter that.
So you are sort of saying that tranzfers being Australian, might be a bit of a problem.
That was all I was saying.
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competitionscafe wrote: »
I kept sending them the requested scan of my bank statement and explained that they said this would be sufficient and I had neither a passport nor a driving licence. In return I kept getting emails saying they needed to see my driving licence or passport! :mad:
So after a year (!) they still have my money and I still keep getting a monthly (automated?) email asking me for a current passport or driver's licence, as follows:
"We would like to settle this as soon as possible for you. At present however, we are unable to do so as we are awaiting identification documents from you. The ID is a once off request and not required for each deal.
What We Need
a)Photo ID in the form of either a current Driver's License or Passport;
b)Bank statement or utilities bill signed by you (no older than 3 months);
Please Note: Mobile phone bills not accepted as proof of address *
How You Can Provide It (4 options)
Thank you for your assistance with this process."
*(They say they need both options: a) and b)
Not sure what else I can do to get my money back as I keep going round and round in circles and I have lost over £1000 due to this farce.
I don't want to state the obvious, but if this has been going on for a year, have you not considered either
A - spending £77.50 on a passport
B - spending £50 on a provisional drivers license0 -
[FONT="]Hi Competitionscafe,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Firstly, we would like to acknowledge that this has been taken far too long to get sorted. We pride ourselves on the service we provide our clients and I am confident this is a case that one of our senior managers will be able to investigate further, and solve quickly. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Please let us clarify, however, that we are legally required to receive proper identification from our customers (Passport, Drivers licence etc.) before we can transfer funds, something that is stated clearly on our website. We also require this identification to return funds to comply with money laundering legislation.[/FONT]
[FONT="]As for any confusion on who we are regulated by – Tranzfers is part of our UK arm of the company, UKForex, which belongs to the Australian OzForex Group. We have offices in Sydney, London and Toronto in order to service our customers 24 hours, 5 days a week and to have a local presence in our strongest markets.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Our Private Client Manager is looking into your case as we speak and we will call you asap to find a solution to return your funds.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly via [EMAIL="sandra@tranzfers.com"]sandra@tranzfers.com[/EMAIL].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cheers,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sandra[/FONT]
[FONT="]Social Media Manager[/FONT]
[FONT="]Tranzfers[/FONT]0
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