My Evil Bank - need help

raoulduke12

Hi there, my bank (not sure if i'm allowed to name them here!) are giving me a real headache. I went to see them in November of last year and while there declined a meeting as i had to go to western union to transfer some money abroad for my first ever business deal. the bank told me that they could handle this and so i filled out the correct forms, had them stamped and was happy as the proverbial lark. then it turned out that the transfer hadn't gone through, i asked the seller to wait a few more days and he waited for 2 further weeks while i tried to sort out what was wrong at the bank. They told me verbally over the phone that these transfers can take upto 9 working days and that i should be patient. eventually the seller sold the items to someone else and I lost out on close to £4000 of profit!! I had quit my job on the strength of this deal believing that I could have it lead to all sorts of other things (stupid i know). The bank addmitted that they had been at fault and had forgotten all about the transfers (i had more than enough funds at the time). I started a compensation claim after being messed around for 2 months by the bank. I heard nothing unless i chased them and even then was only ever told that they are looking into it. finally i went to another branch and they had told me that the bank had closed the dispute months earlier and that they'd offered me £400 as a goodwill gesture but had forgotten to both inform me of this verbally, or in writing, and had also not paid it into my account. I am not at all happy at this shabby treatment but have been told by my lovely bank that £400 is a take it or leave it offer and if i go to the financial ombudsman then i'll probably lose the lot as the bank are not liable for anything. this started in november of last year and its done my head in. i'm not looking for anything other than suitable compensation as had i proceeded with western union i wouldn't be in the financial mess i now find myself in. please someone help!!!!

Clive_Woody

I take it the figure you have in mind for compensation is considerably more than £400. Have you thought about how you would justify this figure and how you have reached this number? You talk about £4000 profit, was this for a deal you already had in place (do you have the paper work to prove this)?

I wouldn't take the bank threat seriously. Send them a nice letter stating unless you receive a satisfactory offer within 14 days, you will continue with your complaint to the financial ombudsman. Send the letter recorded delivery.

dmg24

Was your account a business account or just a personal account?

If it was a personal account, I would accept the banks offer, as they are cannot be held responsible for consequential loss.

If it was a business account, I would check the terms and conditions regarding consequential loss.

raoulduke12

Both raise very good points and i appreciate your reply. Yes i did have the deal confirmed. I have a letter from the supplier I was buying from (and another stating why the deal couldn't go ahead) and one from the buyer I was going to sell to. I know it sounds materialistic and all but yes I do think I should get more money. I arrived at the figure by looking at what all my outgoings were as a buyer (import tax, stock, delivery and sales tax) against what I had coming as a seller (agreed sales price and letter of confirmation) and the end product is around 4k.

Alas yes this was with a personal account but I explained at the bank when they offered me the service what I was doing as at the time the reason i was in the bank was because i had to have a meeting with an advisor about the healthy state of my bank account. I am tempted to take the money, as I need it, but at the same time I think that they did cost me my first business deal which would have gone fine had I not listened to the advice and carried on to western union. This was a done deal and has since damaged my confidence, ruined a relationship with a supplier and tainted me as a seller to this potentially big client.

So the question is what are my chances of taking this further and how would i proceed? I am just an average Joe trying to stand on his own two feet against a massive bank.

Thanks again for your replies and i look forward to any more comments. Didn't think anyone would reply.

dunstonh

So the question is what are my chances of taking this further and how would i proceed? I am just an average Joe trying to stand on his own two feet against a massive bank.

If you take it to the FOS, the bank is within it's rights to withdraw the offer and wait for the FOS to decide what is fair. This could me more, it could be less, it could be nothing.

I am going to play devil's advocate a bit on this:

!! I had quit my job on the strength of this deal believing that I could have it lead to all sorts of other things (stupid i know).

Bank wont have any liability there as you should have waited until the deal was closed and completed.

eventually the seller sold the items to someone else and I lost out on close to £4000 of profit!!

Why did the seller not wait? You had a contract with them for sale of goods. Even if the payment did fail at first attempt, then it could have been resolved and new payment sent within a satisfactory timescale. The bank is unlikely to accept responsibility for someone pulling out of a sale because they were unwilling to wait a reasonable time for payment. It sounds like he waited 3 weeks but that is not enough. Also, express international money transfers take 1-3 days. Normal money transfers take around 5 days. You/the bank could have sent multiple payments in that time. So what took so long for no payment to be sent after the error was found?

and tainted me as a seller to this potentially big client.

You didnt have the goods in your ownership. Effectively, you were selling something you had no right to sell at that time.

I arrived at the figure by looking at what all my outgoings were as a buyer (import tax, stock, delivery and sales tax) against what I had coming as a seller (agreed sales price and letter of confirmation) and the end product is around 4k.

You have forgotten income tax, so deduct another 22 or 40%. That is unless you are registered as self employed (which doesnt sound like it).

they'd offered me £400 as a goodwill gesture

That happens to be the exact cost to them if you take the complaint to the FOS. Often with complaints, they will go upto this figure as a goodwill gesture because they will have to pay £400 if you go to the FOS, even if your complaint is not upheld. Plus they have to pay the staff to deal with the complaint through the FOS which can take months. So, it can be cheaper for them to offer up-to £400 just to stop you going to the FOS.

Nobody here has enough information or experience with complaints to say one way or the other what will happen. There are also some inconsistencies. The bank made an error and errors happen. That in itself doesnt give rise to compensation. Once it was found that the payment had not gone through, the bank could have done an IMT, waived the fees and had the money there in 3 days. Not a problem as the timescale is still reasonable.
The FOS would look at the errors and what the bank did to try and resolve it. If the seller was unreasonable and broke the sale of goods contract with you, then it is not the bank you should be dealing with but the seller. If the bank acted quickly after the error was found then the FOS may rule that no redress is payable as the seller is the one who you have the issue with. If the bank did not deal with the error quickly and efficiently then the FOS is more likely to side with you. However, I dont believe for one minute they would offer you anything like £4000.