How much compensation could I be entitled to for Bank Error?

Potty74

I bank with RBS who have recently cancelled all the debit cards to all of my bank accounts with them, which mean I can only gain access to my cash via walking into a branch. My cards were still valid as they were 3 months within the expiry date but yet they cancelled the cards stating that all RBS customers were to receive new cards due to the Santander take over falling through. Not too sure how the take-over falling through was going to affect me as my debit cards were issued before Santander started the take-over process & were still valid until October 2013.

When I went into my local bank they said that new cards were supposed to have been delivered for my partner & I but for some reason their system did not process the new cards but still cancelled our existing ones. They did not write to us to inform us that we should have received new cards & didn’t inform us that our old ones were going to be cancelled within the expiry period of the card.
I only found out the cards didn’t work whilst trying to pay for items in Tesco, where it was declined on 3 separate machines with no explanation.

The bank have admitted it is a mistake from their side & didn’t know why new cards weren’t issued but they have requested new cards which will take around 7 working days to be processed, excluding time for a new PIN to be issued. We have 26 month old twins & need to shop frequently to cater for our family needs but unfortunately the time scale from the banks side can’t be sped up.

When I made a complaint to their complaints department they asked me how they could compensate me for my inconvenience stating that I had to tell them rather than them suggesting compensation to me. Does anyone know what kind of compensation we should be entitled to?

innovate

It would be reasonable for you to ask for a full refund of any and all additional costs caused by this, plus a moderate amount (£50?) for stress and inconvenience.

Hope you can get this sorted asap. Also, consider opening an account at another bank and/or credit cards so you reduce the risk of finding yourself financially stranded because of a bank c***-up. These will keep happening, so it's good to be prepared and have a backup.

As an aside: is there any chance that your mail could have got intercepted, and someone else got your replacement cards? Have you checked your account transactions, are they all as expected?

BaxUk

Push the embarrassment in Tescos and im sure you could push for £100 to resolve it and draw a line under the matter

stclair

Have you tried the get cash feature?

http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/online-banking/g2/mobile-banking.ashx

Do you and your partner only have one bank account each?

It might be worth opening another account as a back up should you have any issues such as this in future.

TheEffect

How much money have you lost as a result of the error?

That's how much compensation you should receive, so that you're not in a worse position than you was before the error happened.

In my opinion, you should always carry a spare credit/debit card from another bank with you in case there is a problem.

hamsterfan1

I'm not sure if the rules have changed but the old rule under the FSA was the bank should restore you finances to the position they would have been in if the error had not occurred

dalesrider

hamsterfan1 wrote: »

I'm not sure if the rules have changed but the old rule under the FSA was the bank should restore you finances to the position they would have been in if the error had not occurred

That could mean that the OP owes the bank money as having no cards tends to mean you spend less... :rotfl:

OP.
How many times have you had to make trips to get cash from the bank?
You do not say how long you have been without cards?

Potty74

Thank you all for your replies, it is well appreciated. I was made aware of this incident by my trip to Tesco on Tuesday 9th July 2013. I do have multiple accounts which unfortunately are held with the same bank which means I have no access to my funds without going into the branch. As some have suggested, maybe I should open another account with another bank which would have made this situation easier to deal with. I do have a credit card with the same bank but don’t really use it, think I will have to start using it now.

With regards to mail falling into the wrong hands, there is no chance of that because the bank made no attempt to deliver the replacement cards. Their system just didn’t request them.
I haven’t really lost any money due to this, it’s just the inconvenience of being limited to how I and when I purchase. I purchase things online & some websites store card details, as my cards have now been cancelled I can’t even make orders online. I took out a large sum of cash on Wednesday with the hope it will last us until we get the replacement cards which means I shouldn’t have to make trips into the city, where I’d have to pay for parking fees.

It was very embarrassing in Tesco when both the cards which have sufficient funds wouldn’t process my purchase, luckily I had cash on me which I used to pay for my goods. I am just grateful it didn’t happen at the petrol station after filling up my car, now that would have been embarrassing having an £80 fuel bill with no method to pay for it.

I read a post somewhere where recently an RBS customer tried to pay for a meal on his debit card but RBS systems went down at that particular time. He had to get a colleague to pay for his food which RBS refunded & compensated him with an extra £25 for his inconvenience, now that was just for an evening, we are looking at 7 days minimum here.

stclair

Just go the bank and withdraw what money need instead of ten pound here and there, plus it'll save all the visits.

matttye

You could try haggling with them. Start high

Caladan

Compensation guidelines suggest you should be compensated for any direct financial loss only (i.e. petrol, parking, phone calls to resolve the issue etc). Nevertheless, most banks will offer gesture of goodwill compensation in order to keep you as a customer and draw a line under the issue.

I've seen customers offered between £25 and £100 in similar situations, but it will all depend on how valuable you are to the bank (and how hard you push your complaint).