Made bank transfer payment to plumber, says its not received. What can I do?

mickym

Hi.

Ive recently had some work done by a tradesman on our house, which is now finished.

I paid £300 cash to them as deposit at the start of the job, after most the work was done and I agreed to pay them a further £300 last week (on the 9th Oct) via direct bank transfer using the details the tradesman supplied, before the remainder £500 to be paid upon completion of the job (which has now been done, and I planned to pay this week).

However they have yet to see the £300 go into their bank account that I did via bank transfer.

I placed the bank transfer on the 9th Oct. The tradesman notifiied me on Friday 11th that it hadnt been put into their account.

I called on my bank (Natwest) the same day to check what was going on and was told the money has left my account but can take 2 working days to transfer, however the tradesman has today (15th Oct) checked and their bank (LLoyds) says it hasnt gone in.

The tradesman has double checked the details I used for the trasnfer and has told me they are correct.

Is there a chance that it takes 5 working days rather than 2? Which would mean it will go in tomorrow?

Id really appreciate any help with this?

I plan to goto the bank in person tomorrow to discuss the situation, but would like to be armed with some help from you guys on the situation. What are my options?

I know now it would of been probably best to of done a test sum of a low amount first... but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Cheers

Buzby

How did you initiate the transfer? Keep hold of the details he gave you as if they are incorrect it will save you being liable to pay again. Ask for a trace, and see if they confirm.

Archi_Bald

If the money has left your account, it has been paid into a valid current account somewhere by now. Faster Payments must, by law, arrive by end of the next working day in the payee account.

If you are 100% certain you sent the money to the sort code and account number the plumber gave you, the money will have arrived there by now.

There are very few explanations as to why the money shouldn't be in the plumber's account by now. One would be that the plumber is lying to you. Another one would be that you sent the money to somebody else.

mickym

I received the details in an email from the tradesman with a business header.

mickym

How would you advise I find out if the tradesman is lying to me?

What could I ask to see as evidence that they haven't received it?

Checking the sort code online it indicates its for a local town bank, so I know that must be correct.

What is the chance the bank has made a balls up... is it possible?

stclair

mickym wrote: »

How would you advise I find out if the tradesman is lying to me?

What could I ask to see as evidence that they haven't received it?

Checking the sort code online it indicates its for a local town bank, so I know that must be correct.

What is the chance the bank has made a balls up... is it possible?

How was the transfer made was it via telephone or online banking?

Ask the bank to confirm the account number and sort code the payment was sent to if the transfer was done over the telephone.

mickym

Done via Natwest online banking.

stclair

mickym wrote: »

Done via Natwest online banking.

The bank would not have made a !!!! up then

If the payment was sent to the details the plumber provided the money would be well with them by now.

How trustworthy is this plumber?

Im assuming they have give you incorrect details or they are pulling a fast one

grumbler

mickym wrote: »

How would you advise I find out if the tradesman is lying to me?

What could I ask to see as evidence that they haven't received it?

The only way is to see their bank statement for the two days in question.

What is the chance the bank has made a balls up... is it possible?

Highly unlikely if the details were correct.

Theoretically, if a payment gets lost the originating bank must provide the payer with some reference (ARN ?) that has to be passed to the payee and their bank for tracking.

rb10

1) Double and triple-check the sort code and account number showing on your Natwest online banking. Ensure they are the same as those on the email from the plumber.

2) If the payment was made correctly, ask Natwest to 'trace' the payment. Given that customer service is not Natwest's strong point (to put it nicely), they may well fob you off and say that's not possible (a bit like they did before, telling you it could take two days for the transfer to go through). If that's the case, just make a complaint to Natwest (that's normally the only way to get Natwest to actually do something).

This will almost certainly show that the money was credited to the plumber's account. There are two likely options here - the plumber is trying you on, or they don't know how to read their bank statement.

mickym

Just double and tripled checked the details the tradesman sent to me and what I sent it to and they match.


I asked them to check the details themselves a few times now too and they say they match.

Its quite an accusation to make that they are pulling a fast one, so happy for advice on how to handle it.

Id like to think they they aren't.

Will get to the bank first in person thing in the morning to ask their advice.