Dodgy Lloyds TSB

x.sophie.x

Hi MSE'ers (sorry long post.. but shows complete banking incompetence)

In Dec 2012 my OH and I went to apply for a mortgage with Lloyds TSB. At the time we were informed that we would receive a preferential mortgage rate if we opened a current account with them. We decided that we would move our joint account from Natwest so we could take advantage of this offer. A month later our accounts moved smoothly, and we did not have any issues.

Move forwards six months to June, and my OH and I are purchasing our house via Nationwide. I decide to pay our solicitors using a cheque from our joint Llyods account since we have plenty of money in there. A week or so later, the cheque bounced. I realised this when I received letters informing me that I would receive £10 fees for each day I was O/D. As I was away on business for nearly 2 weeks - the fines amounted to £120.

My OH visited the branch we opened the account in, and they couldn't find evidence of the cheque being presented and agreed that we had plenty of money to cover the cheque.

After going home and reviewing the letter sent, we realised that Lloyds opened up an account solely in my name... which I never asked for, nor signed paperwork for. I DID NOT SIGN ANY PAPERWORK FOR THIS ACCOUNT AT ALL!!!

To ensure we didn't incur more fines we paid in the exact amount to cover the solicitor fees, but not the fines. After speaking to an advisor they agreed to waiver the fines, and give us £50 for compensation, which would be put into our account within 2 days.

I asked for an explanation as to how this could happen without me signing the relevant paperwork, and no answer was provided.

It has now been over 2 weeks. We haven't had any communication from Lloyds, nor has the money been placed in our account. We went in again today, and was told that the person looking after our case was ill.

I'm extremely disappointed with Lloyds. Not only has a bank account in my name been open without permission (leaving me open to possible fraud), but I have had my card declined in store (thinking it as my joint account - and me remembering wrong pin) leaving me embarrassed. I've also had to spend my Saturdays going into town to try and sort this out... which is wasting my time.

Does anyone know how I can take this forward? At the moment I feel like I'm being fobbed off. Surely opening an account without someones permission is a big issue?

I want the account closed, and I believe I should be compensated! I'm not into the whole compensation culture, but I have been embarrassed, stressed that our solicitors were not progressing our house purchase due to a bounced cheque and spent hours trying to sort this out.... I've spent two Saturday's going into town, rather than sorting out my wedding... just to get this resolved.

Any advised duly appreciated.

Pheww.. that was good to get off my chest!

grumbler

Surely you have received a lot of paperwork with the card and the chequebook. The paperwork is sent to be read and checked, not just binned. And cheques for joint accounts show two names on them, not one.

They refunded the charges and gave you £50. Take it and just move on - IMHO.

Hominu

So, you didn't have an account with TSB, you moved your Natwest joint account to TSB, you had plenty of money in TSB to pay your solicitor costs, but cheque bounces and you get £10/day fees for being overdrawn. I don't see how that can happen? Then they can't see the cheque, so how can it make you overdrawn?

You don't need a signature to open an account. You can open an account online or over the phone and the your sort code and account number will be given to you there and then.

You were sent paperwork for the account which includes the account type and account holders, but you didn't notice the information was wrong for 6 months. Since they received no communication from you, they assumed the information was correct.

Then you had your card declined because you typed in the wrong pin. Not the banks fault.

Since they refunded the charges and offered compensation, I'd just carry on with life. No bank is perfect.

innovate

From the account you gave, OP, it is quite unclear why the cheque bounced. If indeed the account is in your name, had enough money in it, and you signed the cheque, why would it bounce? Afraid, your account of what happened sounds quite confusing.

x.sophie.x wrote: »

A month later our accounts moved smoothly, and we did not have any issues.

Sounds the account move was done to your satisfaction.

x.sophie.x wrote: »

I decide to pay our solicitors using a cheque from our joint Llyods account since we have plenty of money in there.

Sounds you do indeed have a joint Lloyds account, and you checked the account balance before you took out the cheque book. On the cheque, the name of the account holder(s) is printed. Does it just have your name on it?

x.sophie.x wrote: »

My OH visited the branch we opened the account in, and they couldn't find evidence of the cheque being presented and agreed that we had plenty of money to cover the cheque.

If they discussed the cheque and the balance of your account with your OH, surely your OH's name must be on the account? If there is no evidence of the cheque being presented, how can it have bounced and cause charges?

x.sophie.x wrote: »

After going home and reviewing the letter sent, we realised that Lloyds opened up an account solely in my name...

Why did it take you over 6 months noticing that?

x.sophie.x wrote: »

I have had my card declined in store (thinking it as my joint account - and me remembering wrong pin) leaving me embarrassed.

How is it the bank's fault if you use a wrong PIN?

x.sophie.x wrote: »

.... the cheque bounced. I realised this when I received letters informing me that I would receive £10 fees for each day I was O/D

if the cheque bounced, it definitely was not the reason for you having gone overdrawn. More likely the cheque bounced because there was not enough money in the account to start with

madasamonkey

If I were going to make a complaint, I wouldn't go into the branch. I would put it in writing at least, probably to head office. I'd wait and see what their response was, if I wasn't happy with it, close my account with them and move to another bank. Life is just too short for letting incidents like this drag on.

x.sophie.x

Thank you for your replies.

To clarify a few things. Lloyds opened up two accounts. One which we asked for (our joint account) and another account (just in my name) which I didn't ask for, nor sign paperwork.

I was onlysent a card for the account I did not ask for, but believed this to be our joint account. I was not sent two cards/cheque books, so did not see any alarm bells ringing. I paid the solicitors with the cheque linked to the sole account. An account that did not have any money in, because we didnt know it existed.

Lloyds did agree to sort it for us, but they haven't. We have had to chase them several times. Still no action for over 2 weeks. We have asked to close the account and move on... But they are not doing it! I have asked for the correct card and chequebook for our joint account to be sent (since I don't have these) and haven't been sent anything.

I think I will just make a complaint to head office, as we are not getting anywhere with the branch.

Thanks for listening. Sophie

jonesMUFCforever

Where and how did the original monies get into the joint account?

Did you not notice when you wrote out the cheque to the solicitors that ONLY your name was on the cheque book?
Did you not think this was strange?

innovate

Ah right, this explains things a bit better, and it seems odd that a sole account was opened for you. Though why you didn't notice this a lot earlier is a mystery - - you did say "A month later our accounts moved smoothly, and we did not have any issues." This sounds you checked that the move went as expected? Is it a spello that you said "accounts", or did you actually ask for more than one account to be moved?

How could you not notice that the cheque you wrote was for an account in your name only?

Are you actually certain that the other Lloyds account is a joint account? Were the cards and the cheque book for that account sent to your OH (who presumably lives at a different address)? If your OH does not have two debit cards pertaining to the "joint" account, I reckon there is a good chance that you don't actually have a joint account.

But if you do, did you never notice that there are different account names, and different account numbers?

x.sophie.x

Yes we did set up a joint account - I even saw it on lloyds system explicitly stating it was a joint account that we opened. My boyfriend transfers money into this account each month to cover our bills. The transfer of this joint account is what I believed went smoothly, as our direct debits from our previous natwest account were moved across ok.

Lloyds admitted they did not have the paperwork for the sole account and were perplexed as to how this was opened.

I did see that my cheque book only had my name on it, but just believed that lloyds must have just issued the cheque book in our single names. As I have only ever been with natwest before, I just thought that lloyds just did things differently.

As I was expecting lloyds to open just a joint account, and I only received one cash card and one chequebook there was no suggestion that anything was amiss. I don't read my boyfriends bank statements, so I was never going to realise that we had different account numbers.

x.sophie.x

@innovate why do you assume I don't live with my OH? We have been living together for nearly 7 years!!!

Oh and when I said 'accounts' moved smoothly, I meant our direct debits, all this financial jargon is quite confusing

jonesMUFCforever

Did you have a cheque book on your previous Nat West account?
If so were both names on it?