Barclays staff transferring money between my accounts without permission

System

The Standing Order idea suggested in an earlier post seems to be the most likely reason for the £20 transfer.

During the sales pitch when you opened the Basic Account and the Savings account, since you were not that interested in the Savings account, you may not have listened to everything that was being said about it. The sales staff may have told you that they were going to setup a standing order for you to transfer £20, and that you could change it whenever you wanted, just as an example of how to do it maybe

You should be able to check your online statements for the Basic Account to see what type of transaction was used to transfer the £20 to the savings account - what was the transaction type ?

I agree that you need to check if there are any Standing Orders setup on your Basic Account - use online banking to confirm one way or the other.

enigma368

If you ... indicated you'd like a certain amount transferred over then you have given authorisation.

I didn't though, that's the whole point. And before you suggest it - no there is no chance that I agreed to it without realising.

You should be able to check your online statements for the Basic Account to see what type of transaction was used to transfer the £20 to the savings account - what was the transaction type ?

I agree that you need to check if there are any Standing Orders setup on your Basic Account - use online banking to confirm one way or the other.

The transaction type is listed as "Other". The guy on the phone specifically said it was a manual transfer done at the cash desk in the branch my account is located at. There are no standing orders on the account, I have just checked.

JimmyTheWig

Hasty1991 wrote: »

If you signed an application form and have indicated you'd like a certain amount transferred over then you have given authorisation.

The £20 he agreed to transfer was done at the time. He then transfered it back again.

Additionally, I doubt moving £20 from one of your accounts into another will have been of any benefit to the lady in the branch.

But this I totally agree on. It seems a very odd thing to have done.

enigma368

The £20 he agreed to transfer was done at the time. He then transfered it back again.

Not exactly. I deposited £50 in cash into my new current account and £20 in cash into my new savings account. There was no transfer between accounts on the day of opening the account. I did about 5 days later transfer the £20 out of the savings account as I didnt have any interest in keeping money there and had only put the £20 initially in because she said I had to.

In any case I have sent in the complaint. It may well turn out that there is an innocent explanation that we have not thought of, but right now I cannot think what it could be.

JimmyTheWig

In which case, in the confusion, my money is on something like this...

Staff: To have this account you will need to put £20 in a savings account. [Lying through their teeth, we think.]
OP: Ok, whatever.
Staff: Sign these, then, to open the accounts. [Includes an instruction to transfer £20 to the savings account as (sort of) just agreed.]
OP: Ok.
Staff: The to pay in to either account just go to the desk and use these forms.
OP: Ok.
OP: Hello, I need to pay some money into both of my new accounts as agreed.

I.e. what are the chances they got you to agree to transfer £20 when you thought you were supposed to be depositing £20?

All speculation, certainly, but without a significant motive I can't see them risking this transfer without your approval.
Will be interesting to see what they come back and say.

pqrdef

hippey wrote: »

I have had a similar thing happen with Lloyds TSB recently that is still ongoing where a member of branch staff has been trawling through accounts looking for sales. This was done to customers who had no relationship with that particular branch

I've seen something like this as well. The guy was doing it in the evenings. His branch (not mine) was in a mall and would have been all shuttered up. I don't suppose he was locked inside. Worrying.

enigma368

Just got off the phone with Barclays Customer Relations.

Guy there called me, apologised and confirmed that the transfer was unauthorised and should not have happened. He said that after talking to me he would be on the phone to the person's line manager and that they would be dealing with the person appropriately. He said it was something that definitely should not have happened altho he didnt seem to treating it as something super serious.

He then thanked me for bringing it to their intention, and confirmed that he would be closing the complaint after which the matter would be dealt with internally.

I guess I am glad to have it confirmed that it shouldn't have happened and glad that they seem to be taking it semi-seriously. Bit of an anti climax though in that I won't be told what happens and that I wasn't even offered any kind of compensation(not that I was looking for that but it at least would have made me feel like they were taking it seriously).

Should I have pushed for more? i.e. should I have asked for written response on what the final outcome of my complaint is?

JimmyTheWig

If I were you I'd want to know _why_ it happened. That's what I really don't understand.

pqrdef

All sales forces are the same. The salesmen will develop little tricks and dodges which the management will be aware of and will turn a blind eye to. The banks that mis-sold so much PPI aren't going to worry about something like this.

whitewater_2

id be surprised if the person gets credit for opening a savings account with just £20, normally there is a minimum needs put in for that person to get credit.

But stranger things have happened and im sure this kind of thing goes unnoticed by alot of people