Barclays didn't cancel standing order

AJC25

Good morning all, hope you can offer some advice.

My mum recently moved out of a rented property after the landlord gave her notice due to selling the house.
She moved out on 13th May and is currently staying with her sister until she finds somewhere else to live.
She cancelled the standing order with Barclays around 2 weeks ago (or so she thought). She spoke with an advisor who didn't speak very good English but he assured her it had been cancelled.
Yesterday, after being paid the standing order has gone out again to the landlord. This is for £570.
I've spoken to the landlord on the phone who wasn't very impressed with the state of the house after my mum leaving and has said he's well within his rights to keep it as he's spent £5000 this week refurbishing the house.
My question is, surely the bank are at fault for allowing the standing order to go out again after my mum cancelled it. Isn't it an unauthorised transaction? Also, surely the phone call will have been recorded.
There's a bit of history with the landlord as my mum didn't really take care of the house and he lived across the road. Is he within his rights to not pay this money back?
She was planning on using that money as a deposit on a new place.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

EachPenny

You're asking two questions there really,
1) Should Barclays have made the payment?
2) Can the landlord keep it?

You might be better off asking the second one on the House Buying, Renting and Selling board as there will be more knowledgeable people there, although they may visit this board from time to time.

For the first question, can your mum prove that she cancelled the standing order? It was for a large amount going to someone she was in conflict with, and it sounds like she wasn't 100% sure the CSA she spoke to knew what they were doing. Did she ask for confirmation in writing, or check online banking to confirm the SO had been cancelled?

meer53

There should be a recording of any call made to cancel the SO, if Barclays didn't cancel it when asked to, they should refund the money as it's their error.

AJC25

Thanks for the advice, I'll post in that section too.
I don't think she has proof but she knows when she rang. She doesn't have online banking as she doesn't have a PC/Laptop, she just presumed her instruction had been auctioned. I've advised her to call the bank again today and make a complaint.

GDB2222

You have posted exactly the same question twice! You now have two threads running on exactly the same problem.

AJC25

GDB2222 wrote: »

You have posted exactly the same question twice! You now have two threads running on exactly the same problem.

Because I was told before that I may get a better response in the other section??

Chalkius

If you've asked your bank clearly to cancel a standing order, they tell you it's done, and they don't do it, then it's their mistake and they should really compensate you for that. As you've said you've asked her to do, get your mum to make a complaint, they'll be able to listen to the call anyway, and they should be able to get that sorted. Sounds clear cut enough to be honest.

Not sure about the rules about the landlord though, he doesn't have to send the money back but I don't know if you've got legal grounds to act against him, not sure on the laws there.

Flobberchops

1) Get your mother to raise a complaint about the S/O. One of the first things they're likely to ask is for her to simply ask the recipient to return it, so make sure she stresses this isn't an option. I gather she gave the cancellation order over the phone? This plays to her advantage as this should be recorded. The bank can't simply recall the payment at this stage but if you can get them to concede that it was their fault and that your mother has suffered a financial loss they ought to pay up.

2) Pretty sure your landlord can't seize the money as per the tenancy agreement this wasn't a due payment and therefore should be treated as any other accidental deposit into his account: not his money and it would be considered an offence if he went on to spend it, (as I understand the law). Landlords aren't at liberty to impose their own ad hoc fines and penalties on tenants; any damages must be taken from the deposit which is held with a third party and the onus on the landlord to prove the damage isn't reasonable wear and tear. Enforcing that may be very difficult though. The Small Claims Court may be an option but this is a tedious process, it'll cost your mother fees to make a claim and these can't be recouped if her claim isn't successful. Another option may be to contact the receiving bank directly and inform them that you made an accidental payment, if they care sufficiently they may be convinced to put a freeze on the account. Probably worth approaching the CAB too. Oh, and I suppose I forgot the first option: contact the landlord and try to charm/threaten them into returning the money.