Bank made mistake entering cheque but denying responsibility

clarkey1000

(sorry bit of a long one....)

Wondering if anyone can advise me what to do next with my bank problem.

Someone wrote me a cheque for £7 which my husband took it to the bank to pay it in for me

The cashier accidently entered £700 not £7 and my husband didn't check the receipt (oops) :eek:

I realised the mistake when £700 appeared in my account & rang the bank who said that a £700 cheque had just bounced.

I rang the lady who wrote the cheque who the following day told me her bank had stung her for loads of charges - bounced cheque, unauthorised overdraft etc etc (currently £76 of charges!!)

We then tried to get our banks talking to one another & when I spoke to her end of last week it seemed like my bank was going to send her a bankers draft for some of the money & sort the rest out once the cheque had come back & her bank had confirmed the rest of the charges.

I received the cheque back today & took it to her.

Apparently now my bank manager is saying it's not his fault and the her bank should pay the charges. I however know different because I have a receipt that shows it is my bank's fault.

My plan is to ring my bank (Halifax) in the morning and tell them that they can't pass the buck on Barclays because it was the fault of one of their cashiers and I have proof.

Now I'd like to just check that because my husband didn't check the reciept this doesn't make us liable for anything does it?!?!

Also surely my bank manager can see that the fault is at his branch what can I do about the fact that he appears to be not telling the truth (obviously I'd like to confirm this for myself before I go accusing anyone of anything)

Any thoughts on how to approach this!!??

Any help much appreciated

richardmk

A couple of points:
1. When you pay a cheque in across the counter at the Halifax they do not add the MICR payment amount to the cheque. When a cheque deposit is lodged the amount and account number is printed on the back of the cheque.
2. I don't think the Halifax machines it's own cheques - they would be picked up by the Courier. At that point they would be machined and the MICR amount added to the bottom of the cheque.
Perhaps the writer of the cheque did not make it very clear. Did they put 7 -00 and perhaps not have a very good full stop in the amount box.! It just seems a bit of a co-incidence that a mistake gets made twice..

clarkey1000

Well the full stop wasn't very big but in the worded part of the cheque it clearly says "seven pounds only" Should the cashier not check both parts of the cheque?

Are you saying that the value entered onto the system by the cashier at Halifax is basically irrelevant as someone else puts it onto the main system and can override the initial cashier? Would that not still happen within Halifax? (sorry I don't really understand how cheques go through the system! - I may now do a big of a google search!)

cheers

Banker54

Make sure you stick to your guns, the cashier should have realised the mistake at the time, also the person checking the cheques at the end of the day should have also realised. Halifax should pay as its nothing to do with Barclays, and your husband is not liable, just stick to your guns. The manager concerned probably doesnt want the refund to come off their branch budget so they will try and fob you off if at all possible.

Banker54

clarkey1000 wrote: »

Are you saying that the value entered onto the system by the cashier at Halifax is basically irrelevant as someone else puts it onto the main system and can override the initial cashier? Would that not still happen within Halifax?

No, when a cheque is paid in the cashier puts the amount into the system(all thats printed on the back is account number, date, time transaction number etc...) which then appears on a list which is sent away at the end of the night after the cheques are banked. The amount the cashier puts in is the amount which appears on all the bank lists, its only overidden if a mistake is made (or if they realise a mistake is made) so it should have been found a lot sooner than it was!

clarkey1000

Thanks everyone.

What annoys me the most is that my bank manager is trying to pass on the buck when he must be able to see on his system that the mistake was made initially within his branch. (regardless of the fact it wasn't picked up later in the process)

I'm not sure he's aware I have a receipt to show this so I think I may speak to him tomorrow see what his says and then email a scanned-in copy of the receipt and then see what he says.

What a nightmare!!

virgin_moneysaver

did your hubby sign the paying in slip agreeing to the amount deposited? - don't no if it matters, just making sure you cover all bases before seeing the manager

regularsaver1

Halifax send their cheques to Barclays

regularsaver1

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

did your hubby sign the paying in slip agreeing to the amount deposited? - don't no if it matters, just making sure you cover all bases before seeing the manager

Halifax don't do paying in slips

you get a receipt - to be checked