When is a letter box not a letter box?

Spanishomelette

KxMx wrote: »

I'm glad you got this sorted out to your satisfaction, and you too can learn from it in the future.

Issues like these are reasons why I beefed up my emergency plans in terms of finances-£50 odd cash (built up over several weeks by merely putting in £1 here, £5 scratchcard win there) in the house not to be touched, and slowly building up an electronic amount in a separate bank account with a separate bank- intended as hybrid emergency funds and to save up for particular purchases.

Thanks, KxMx. Good advice!

Spanishomelette

GingerFurball wrote: »

Why is it always people with desperate sob stories like "I need the money to feed my kids. WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" who are the ones who don't actually take 5 minutes to ensure that the money that they so desperately need actually gets credited to their account?

Using my children as an "excuse" would never even cross my consciousness, GingerFurball. It was a genuine problem, and one that I hoped Halifax could help me with by setting up a temporary overdraft until the cheques had cleared. I was asking them to help me as it was their mistake (not just my opinion, but also according to their complaints department). As I said originally, unfortunately I was ill and could not get to the bank on the Saturday morning myself when the branch was open, so I did what I thought sufficient to ensure the cheques were credited to my account in time.

ICan'tStandIt

Spanishomelette wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who took the time to agree, tell me I'm completely bonkers or give advice. I received an email from Lloyds today, who handle Halifax's complaints (thanks ICan'tStandIt!), asking me to ring. I have just phoned and spoken to an extremely pleasant and apologetic gentleman, who said that my complaint has been upheld. The branch manager will be asked to ensure that the mailbox is checked at least once a day, because leaving it unchecked for 4 days is absolutely unacceptable to Halifax. I complained because I found myself in a very difficult financial situation, for which I felt Halifax was partly to blame. I expected, at best, an apology for Halifax's lack of care and the extreme rudeness of their branch manager, which I would have been more than happy to accept. However, as a completely unexpected bonus they are making a payment as a "goodwill gesture" into my bank account.

I had a feeling that they would be on the case pretty fast once your complaint was formalised. It's all about figures and statistics at the end of the day and the fewer complaints that go on the books the better, so resolving a complaint within two working days and not having to include it on the figures makes their service look better than it actually is.


I'm glad you got it sorted and hope that the D&I (distress and inconvenience) payment from that Halifax made up for their poor service and the branch manager's bad attitude.

Caladan

I am surprised by how many people are suggesting this was OPs fault. Hand delivered post may not be in the T&Cs, but it stands to reason that a consumer could and should expect it to be looked at in a timely manner, otherwise what's the point in having the letter box in the first place? A single working days delay could be reasonable, but four?

This whole scenario looks like the branch trying to wrangle out of its mistake through poor excuses and OP has rightly been compensated for this.

I should add a caveat though - The branch manager probably had no authority to grant you a temporary overdraft (or lending of any sort) as you had already failed it's lending assessment (and who knows, the cheques may have been returned unpaid) so they shouldn't be faulted for not providing something they aren't allowed to provide.

I'd also note that in my experience, Halifax/Lloyds staff have been professional and caring. Don't judge the company by a single action (although we all naturally do )

noh

The last time I deposited a cheque in the letterbox of a high street branch was in 1988. Alliance and Leicester claimed they hadn't received it and it took me several weeks to get it reissued.

mgdavid

Caladan wrote: »

I am surprised by how many people are suggesting this was OPs fault. Hand delivered post may not be in the T&Cs, but it stands to reason that a consumer could and should expect it to be looked at in a timely manner, otherwise what's the point in having the letter box in the first place? .........)

no; it stands to reason that the letterbox is an anachronism and a feature of the building from times past. A bit like filing cabinets and hole punches. Or fax machines.

masonic

mgdavid wrote: »

no; it stands to reason that the letterbox is an anachronism and a feature of the building from times past. A bit like filing cabinets and hole punches. Or fax machines.

So you think letterboxes are no longer in widespread use? What planet are you on?

If the bank wasn't using it they should have either sealed it shut, removed it (replaced the door), or put up a notice to that effect.

seven-day-weekend

Very rarely use cheques these days, but I have in the past posted them to the branch with a request to pay it into my account, they have always done so. (NB, they have gone through the normal post, not pushed through the letterbox). I too think if they have a letterbox, then they should check it.

planteria

Spanishomelette wrote: »

...they don't empty their mail box every day because the postman brings the post into the branch...

i was told exactly the same by Barclays, who 'lost' a cheque for 12 days:doh:

mgdavid

masonic wrote: »

So you think letterboxes are no longer in widespread use? What planet are you on?

If the bank wasn't using it they should have either sealed it shut, removed it (replaced the door), or put up a notice to that effect.

times are a'changin'.
Rather than attempt to tell the bank what it should do (fat lot of good that will do) I prefer to spot the trends and changes, avoiding the issues that seem to affect others.