Nightmare scenario: our money has disappeared

yorica

Firstly apologies for the level of detail outlined below.

Whilst in Japan my wife sent £20k of her savings in 2 separate transactions to our joint bank account in the UK. We used the Japan Post Office to facilitatethe transfer as we have used them in the past and they had a decent exchange rate. This was in early June and the money hasn’t arrived yet – nearly a month later.

The Japanese Post Office has stated that the money arrived in the UK within4 days. They used the Standard Chartered Bank as their UK intermediary bank. I’ve contacted the client services department of the SC bank based in London but they will not give me any details about the transactions as the Japanese Post Officeis their client and not me.

It's been 10 days since we raised an investigation with the Japan PostOffice and they've stated that the Standard Chartered Bank as the intermediaryin this transaction has yet to respond to the messages sent by the Japan PostOffice relating to these 2 transactions.

Despite the Japan Post Office offering concrete proof that they havesent the money this has left me with no choice but to conclude that the money has been stolen which could potentially turn into a criminal matter as a last resort. In my desperation I've writtento the SC bank to implore them to respond to any messages sent by the Japan Post Office and send the funds onto to my bank account as originally requested but I’m sure they won’t reply due to data protection laws.

Why haven't they passed the money onto the beneficiary (me) or if there is a problem why haven't they sent the money back to the Japan Post Office? My wife is currently based in Japan and everytime she goes to the Japan Post Office to get an update they say that the SC bank hasn’t replied and there is nothing they can do.

Surely a month is too long to wait.

This problem has put my family & I into a horrible & desperate situation from which there appears to be no end.

Any advice is welcome.

yorica

any advice on whether this is the right forum to post this?

pmduk

I would have thought so. I'm not sure how many members have knowledge of the Jaanese banking sector. For a domestic transfer it is usually for the sending bank to initiate any traces. Can your own bank not offer any insight?

usignuolo

I assume you have a UK bank account with SC - and it is insisting the money has not arrived there.

Where do you think the money was stolen? In Japan, presumably then at the Japanese PO in which case they will not be able to produce evidence it was sent. If they can then you are better able to chase here. If not, then it is clearly a problem in Japan.

Have you got the details from the Japanese PO confirming how and when they sent the money and the confirmation of receipt by SC? I assume the money was sent by international bank transfer of which they will have records.

Have you got copies of Japanese PO chasing this transaction with SC (emails/letters etc)? If so, have you approached SC complaints department here with the actual proof supplied by Japanese PO - conversations and comments are not proof you need actual evidence.

You could also approach the Personal Finance correspondent of the one of the UK national newspapers, with copies of your correspondence.

noelphobic

usignuolo wrote: »

I assume you have a UK bank account with SC - and it is insisting the money has not arrived there.

I don't think the OP does have an account with Standard Chartered, hence their refusal to deal direct with them. SC are the intermediary and when they receive the funds they should forward them to the OP's account with whichever bank they are with. If SC state they do not have the funds then the enquiry as to their whereabouts could only come from Japan.

Not sure this is much help but hope it gets sorted soon.

heloid

Follow the complaints procedure with the JP PO. They are providing you with an end to end service and that includes working with intermediaries to ensure your money arrives in a timely manner.
They are obviously not understanding your urgency yet.

cottager

Yorica, you haven't said where your UK bank account is held. In light of all the problems there, is it with the RBS/NatWest group?