An interesting situation I need help with!

Jim_Jupiter

My partner had a loan of over £10000 from Natwest and was referred to Wescott topay off - long before we had met.

Several years later, we now live together and as such I was keen to get rid of this debt that was now also hanging over me. As such thanks to this site and its posters I took on board all the advice and I agreed an early settlement fee of just under £4k with Wescott and I duly wrote them a cheque for that amount.

Several days we got the letter confirming the debt was paid off, no other party would pursue for the rest etc. and as expected the amount was taken out of my account. End of story I thought.

The next day I received a letter from my bank, Barclays, saying due to the fact there is no signature mandate on my account they were unable to pay the cheque, no charge was made to me, and lo and behold I have the amount I thought I'd paid back in my account.

We waited for Wescott for get in touch about this so I could pay with another method.

This was over a week ago - they have not sent any letters nor have we received any phone calls. As it stands I have a letter confirming the debt is gone but also the money still in my account.

I'm at a loss as what to do - do we gamble that Wescott will no longer be pursuing us or do we get in touch and rectify things?

Thanks for any advice you can offer me on what I believe is a rare situation!

opinions4u

They'll be in touch. Why do you think they won't be?

Apples2

Can we assume you have now stopped Monthly payments?

If so, I'm sure they will sit back fat and happy for a while before contacting you. With a gleeful smile they will inform you the debt is in arrears and a merry wedge has been added to the amount outstanding.

Make it your priority to get this resolved as soon as possible. There will be only one winner, and it surely won't be you.

camuk81

Jim, please chase this. I did a similar scenario when they wanted 7k paying in cash in at a branch. I did an automated bill payment from my bank.

Two months later my monkey of a husband tells me they are chasing him.

Long story short, phoned halifax and they admitted the money was sat in their account they just "forgot" to apply it.

In the meantime they had tried to wreck husband credit file.

Please chase this up and speak to them in the morning.

Jim_Jupiter

I'm sure you're all right, I'll contact them and sort it tomorrow morning. Thanks everyone.

zxspeccy

It may also be worth having a word with Barclays, as it is they that have lost your signature. They should have kept a copy in their records when the account was open.
Banks will always act on the side of caution when they do not have a signature on file, and in most cases return the cheque for a technical reason. They would much rather have a customer complaining about a cheque that was not paid, rather than one that was paid (i.e. possible fraud and loss to the Bank).
The important thing to remember is it is the Bank's own records were not up to date that has caused this problem. Therefore they should be able to cover any of your "out of pocket" and "third party expenses" due to this error. So if you have incurred any extra charges, interest and expenses because of this error then go to your Bank.

Jim_Jupiter

Quick, unusual update:

I phoned Wescott this morning and explained there may have been a problem with the cheque and could I pay with a different method. No problem said the guy on the phone - except he went on to say there was no problem, the account balance shows as 0 and was in the process of being closed. I asked him to double and triple check and in the end thought I was being daft. I made sure I got his name and employee number in case I needed to refer back to this phonecall.

To make double sure I phoned Natwest the originator of the loan who also didn't understand the problem as they also show the account in the process of being closed

I'm now really confused and unsure what to do - I still have the money but the loan is shown as satisfied! I've tried being honest and to rectify the mistake but neither Wescott nor Natwest see the problem. I really don't want this biting me on the bum several months down the line!

happyformonths

Put the £4000 in as high interest an account as you can find these days, and then put a note in your diary to phone Westcot every 2 weeks to re-check that they still think the account is zero. After three months start phoning monthly. Once they realise their mistake, you've still got the money there to pay and hopefully you've earned a few pence interest.

It's annoying that you'll have to keep phoning them, but I can't see what else you can do - and at least you're not phoning because you've been debited twice. That'd be a whole other level of stress.

somethingcorporate

It was such a short time ago that you paid it off, I really don't think you are scott-free yet. It will show up on an audit at some point in time and you will still owe the money regardless of you having a letter saying it is paid because if they can prove they have not received the money then you still owe it!

I second putting the cash in a high-interest (but accessible) account and call them every other week. This could turn sour against you (i.e. extra charges, interest etc) even though it is not your fault.

It's in your interest to get it paid off and do not for a second imagine that you will get away with not paying it back, not until 6 years have passed will you be safe!

Apples2

Although it is early days, I would start getting this in writing.
Write to them outlining the problem and request they investigate as a matter of urgency.

The longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be to prove anything you have done. I would put good money on that employee having "left the company" if the wheels fall off later.

iolanthe07

putting the cash in a high-interest (but accessible) account

Please let us all know where you can get an account like that these days.