Beware-nat west cheque clearing times

stclair

peteri wrote: »

If you are paying a cheque into a Nat West current account, beware they are now enforcing the 6 day clearance rule BEFORE you can withdraw against it. I've paid cheques in regularly over last couple of years, and have been available to withdraw in 2 days, i.e. pay in Monday, withdraw Wednesday - No More. When i queried why they hadn't told anybody, basically it is within their own T&Cs already, so no need to inform anybody, just enforcing what was already there. Apparently it's OK with them to move the goalposts without telling anyone. Consequently,a cheque i wrote on the same day i paid my cheque in, has already come out of my account 2 days later, but i can't withdraw my money for a further 4 days. Is this the new way to recover their PPI and packaged bank account costs i wonder? Little wonder when it comes to reputations Banks are up there with the Payday Lenders and Estate Agents.

I paid by cheque at a retailer and the funds left my account within two days. Why?

Some large retailers, by special arrangement, may pay cheques directly into their bank's clearing centre rather than into their branch at the end of the day, effectively by-passing part of the clearing cycle. Alternatively, if both the customer and the retailer hold accounts at the same bank branch the cheque would not have to pass through the central cheque clearing. It is always important that you make sure you have sufficient funds in your account before writing a cheque.

kingstreet

stclair wrote: »

Imagine the uproar when people stop getting their wages on a Saturday when it shouldn't be credited until Monday.

Does that mean Monday's DDs will no longer be used to offset Saturday's cleared balance then?

stclair

kingstreet wrote: »

Does that mean Monday's DDs will no longer be used to offset Saturday's cleared balance then?

Yes a change is being implemented soon.

Ballard

When I first started in banking 30 years ago I was told that it was illegal to issue a cheque unless you had enough cleared funds in your account on the day that you put pen to paper. That might or might not be true as the manager was reprimanding a member of staff (no, it wasn't me!) for issuing a cheque the day before payday.

Regardless of the legality of it you were using the clearing cycle to your advantage and then moaning about the banks doing the same.

Archi_Bald

I don't think there is a law against writing a cheque that might bounce but it can be described as careless, and it can get quite expensive.

peteri

Ballard wrote: »

When I first started in banking 30 years ago I was told that it was illegal to issue a cheque unless you had enough cleared funds in your account on the day that you put pen to paper. That might or might not be true as the manager was reprimanding a member of staff (no, it wasn't me!) for issuing a cheque the day before payday.

Regardless of the legality of it you were using the clearing cycle to your advantage and then moaning about the banks doing the same.

Considering this is supposed to be a consumer website, interesting to note most of the replies i have got have been employed in the Banking Industry! I will reiterate, again, the main point of the post. I am not complaining about the official regulations, but the fact that it has become standard practice to circumvent these by the Banks, and it is a bit rich to train customers into accepting these amendments as the norm, and then go back to formal T&Cs. For the bankers amongst you, this is what we consumers call "Customer Service" - or rather lack of it!!

Ballard how am i using the clearing system to my advantage? I wait 6 days, the other cheque is drawn against my account in 2? Had i known of the change, then of course wouldn't even have wrote the cheque. I do apologise for actually trying to inform other Nat West customers of something the vast majority won't be aware of. Next time i'll not bother.

shortcrust

I don't work in the banking industry!:)

It was a nice bonus that cheques cleared earlier than the T&Cs stated, but it wasn't something I would ever have relied on. Are things still operating within the T&Cs? If so, there aren't really grounds for complaint.

peteri

shortcrust wrote: »

I don't work in the banking industry!:)

It was a nice bonus that cheques cleared earlier than the T&Cs stated, but it wasn't something I would ever have relied on. Are things still operating within the T&Cs? If so, there aren't really grounds for complaint.

OMG! Seriously?

"I am not complaining about the official regulations, but the fact that it has become standard practice to circumvent these by the Banks, and it is a bit rich to train customers into accepting these amendments as the norm, and then go back to formal T&Cs".

If your payday was supposed to be the 28th of the month, and for several years your Company paid you 3 days early, then decided to go back to the 28th but didn't tell you until the morning of the 25th, would you consider that to be reasonable behaviour as well?

shortcrust

peteri wrote: »

OMG! Seriously?

"I am not complaining about the official regulations, but the fact that it has become standard practice to circumvent these by the Banks, and it is a bit rich to train customers into accepting these amendments as the norm, and then go back to formal T&Cs".

If your payday was supposed to be the 28th of the month, and for several years your Company paid you 3 days early, then decided to go back to the 28th but didn't tell you until the morning of the 25th, would you consider that to be reasonable behaviour as well?

Yes, seriously. You're not a dog and you haven't been 'trained'. Things have happened earlier than expected and that's been super, but that's never been guaranteed or promised. Their clearance times have always been really easy to find and you should plan according to those if it's important.

peteri

First and Last thread from me. Just tried to make people aware of something, obviously not appreciated so Bye, its been great.