Cheques went missing

nielsplatz

So help me out if you can. I thought there was nothing I could do...then I found this forum. I'm really happy I did.

My father went into the Post Office to pay in 7 cheques, worth £700, three months ago. The cashier (who he has since seen again) remembers him, and remember paying the cheques in, putting them in the banks envelope, has confirmed the right information was written down...we have a receipt too...

The bank/Bootle cheque centre lost the cheques. It has been three months. I was depending on the money to buy flights, which since went up in price by £400. The bank paid £100 into my account, and said sorry, please get new cheques. It has taken my father and I many hours to get the UK cheques reissued...I've been without the funds since then...

So here we are three months later, the cheques are still lost. I have a very unique name so finding them or finding out who they belong to (because of my name) should not be an issue. further, two of the cheques were from US companies and are worth £300, but I cannot get them reissued now, being back in the UK.

What rights do I have here people? the bank has cost me more than the cheques were actually worth!

McKneff

What is stopping you from getting the cheques reissued from the US companies, just ring or email them.

They will put a stop on the original ones and and re issue....

BaxUk

Whilst losing cheques is unfortunate, it is a reasonable expectation that you will be able to obtain replacements.

The £100 compensation also seems fair for the error, I would say whilst its unfortunate, they have been fair in how they've dealt with the matter.

dalesrider

nielsplatz wrote: »

I have a very unique name so finding them or finding out who they belong to (because of my name) should not be an issue. !

You are aware that there are still millions of cheques processed a day. ( 2 million per day in 2011)
They are not searched by name. But by account numbers. So you name will not make one iota of difference to them being found.
There is also the chance that they never made it to the processing center. Could be its sat in the bottom of a sack at the post office.

There is nothing more you can do other then contact the companies your wrote the cheques. To get them stopped. Then I would get them to transfer funds direct to your bank account rather than reissue new cheques.

ERICS_MUM

just to clarify - have the cheques themselves been lost "physically", or have they been cleared but the money hasn't reached your account ?

If the former then everyone is correct - contact the issuing companies, ask them to place a "stop" on the cheques through their banks and issue fresh ones.

If the cheques have actually been processed but the money hasn't hit your account then the money can be traced but only via the bank on which they are drawn.

jonesMUFCforever

I could be wrong here but if these cheques were dollar ones not sterling I did not think that the Post office could accept them.

I am asuming here that the actual account is with a different bank and not a post office one - if that is the case ignore this post.

In any case you cannot hold the bank responsible for the price of the flights increasing - they only have a responsibility to put you back into the position you were in had everything gone through smoothly.

nielsplatz

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

In any case you cannot hold the bank responsible for the price of the flights increasing - they only have a responsibility to put you back into the position you were in had everything gone through smoothly.

This is my point.

I was using the money from the cheques to book a flight. The cheques were lost, took me many weeks to get replacements, etc.

So the price of the flight doubled in this time, when I was going to use the money from the cheques to book it.

Also, because one of the cheques was American, what happens is that after six months they expire. I was sent a letter from the company stating that it's law I have to respond in 30 days or the cheque doesn't get replaced - the money goes to the State Department for whatever American State my address was in - and you lose it.

I got this letter too late because it was sent to my address in Asia, so arrived a day after the deadline.

The other company that have to reissue a cheque are charging me $120 to do so, an admin. fee.

I have told my bank all the above, and they are not only fobbing me off with go away letters, but now they say that they are not going to enter into any further correspondence on the matter. End of story.

JuicyJesus

nielsplatz wrote: »

I have told my bank all the above, and they are not only fobbing me off with go away letters, but now they say that they are not going to enter into any further correspondence on the matter. End of story.

So escalate to the free Financial Ombudsman Service. It won't be quick (going on two years for me) but they act as an independent arbiter where the bank has issued a final response.

jonesMUFCforever

nielsplatz wrote: »

This is my point.

I was using the money from the cheques to book a flight. The cheques were lost, took me many weeks to get replacements, etc.

So the price of the flight doubled in this time, when I was going to use the money from the cheques to book it.

Also, because one of the cheques was American, what happens is that after six months they expire. I was sent a letter from the company stating that it's law I have to respond in 30 days or the cheque doesn't get replaced - the money goes to the State Department for whatever American State my address was in - and you lose it.

I got this letter too late because it was sent to my address in Asia, so arrived a day after the deadline.

The other company that have to reissue a cheque are charging me $120 to do so, an admin. fee.

I have told my bank all the above, and they are not only fobbing me off with go away letters, but now they say that they are not going to enter into any further correspondence on the matter. End of story.

How is it your bank's fault that the letter sent to Asia did not reach you?
Did you get terms and conditions with your receipt when a bank accepts a foreign cheque from you?
Can you confirm that you were using the post office as an agent for another bank?

Foreign cheques normally can take up to 6 weeks to clear - no definite timescale is given as they are dependant on getting the funds from the foreign bank before paying you - how could you have used these funds to buy a flight when even if they had gone through the system correctly - you would not have had a date for the funds being credited?