Money “lost” after switching

Fool69

Hello,

I switched bank accounts from BoS to RBS using the switch guarantee. I had a pending payment in the BoS account to the great north run, but was unsuccessful in the ballot so then never took the funds and lifted the hold they had on the payment. So what should have happened is they released it back to BoS and BoS send it to RBS. However this has not happened and I’ve had different answers each time I’ve called each bank. RBS initially said speak to their switching team. Then they said oh it’ll be in your account in 3-5 days. Then they said no it’s not their switching team who would know it’s BoS. BoS also seem as clueless one day it’s “it’ll be transferred automatically” then it’s nah we can’t tell you that as we don’t have access to your account now or they said today you cannot get a pending card payment back so it’ll be with the company. Great north run say this isn’t the case as all they did was lift the hold. I’m truly at a total loss. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. Anyone got any advice?

p00hsticks

The GNR people just put a 'hold' on your money - like an authorisation ?

So your 'available' balance went down but you actual balance did not ?

If that is the case then you're not going to see any money credited to your account - just the available balance going back up to match your actual balance..... You sound like you are expecting to see additional money in your account and I don't think that;s going to happen

Fool69

Yes well what I mean is the available balance hasn’t gone back up. I’m not expecting a credit from them. The problem is the hold was lifted in the midst of my switch. Whilst I understand it won’t be a credit my available balance should have gone up by the amount which it has not done.

colsten

This is the first time I hear of any company putting "a hold" on any money in a current account. How is this supposed to work? What were the dates involved in your "hold"?

Fool69

It does work. It goes into your pending payments. If you’re successful in the ballot they take the money if not they lift the hold and funds are released. It just hasn’t worked this time as I’ve been in the midst of changing accounts at the time.

p00hsticks

colsten wrote: »

This is the first time I hear of any company putting "a hold" on any money in a current account. How is this supposed to work? What were the dates involved in your "hold"?

I'm assuming it's basically getting an authorisation for the amount but not proceeding with the transaction straight away (if at all).

Another example often quoted is ASDA home delivery - they basically get a transaction authorised at the point the order is made, which ensure that the customer has the money available in their account - the 'available balance ' is reduced accordingly, but the money isn't taken.

The merchant can then complete the transaction at a later date (in ASDA's case, when the groceries are delivered).If the transaction isn't completed within a particular time period then the hold is released and the money becomes available again.

jonesMUFCforever

OP check your last BoS statement - did this payment get debited to your account?
Then check your first RBS statement - did this transaction go through?

If the answer is no then there is nothing to refund is there?

If the transaction did get through your first port of call to get a refund would be the retailer or in this case the organisers of the Great North Run

jonnygee2

So what should have happened is they released it back to BoS and BoS send it to RBS. However this has not happened and I’ve had different answers each time I’ve called each bank. RBS initially said speak to their switching team. Then they said oh it’ll be in your account in 3-5 days. Then they said no it’s not their switching team who would know it’s BoS. BoS also seem as clueless one day it’s “it’ll be transferred automatically” then it’s nah we can’t tell you that as we don’t have access to your account now or they said today you cannot get a pending card payment back so it’ll be with the company.

Terrible service all round here!

Firstly, let's go through some things they said which don't look right.

Then they said oh it’ll be in your account in 3-5 days.

Incorrect. Auth reversals should be credited instantly.

we don’t have access to your account now

The frontline staff might not have access if they have poorly designed systems, but someone at BoS certainly has access to your account records.

they said today you cannot get a pending card payment back so it’ll be with the company

False - if GNR never 'presented' (settled) the transaction, which it sounds like they didn't, there is no way they can have the money.


So - onto your actual problem. First - the money is almost certainly with BoS. A pending payment is held in a ringfenced part of your account by the bank. It sounds like the money was ringfenced, but when GNR reversed the authorisation (basically when they told BoS to stop ringfencing the funds), this message wasn't actioned. And now, a mixture of (probably) laziness and incompetence is stopping the BoS from finding the ledger of your ringfenced account, matching up transactions, and manually reversing the auth (this should be a simple process, but for some reason the fact your account is closed is making it difficult for them).

I would put in a complaint against BoS as a starting point in this scenario, as I would say there's a 95% chance they are the ones with your money.

General_Grant

Fool69 wrote: »

Yes well what I mean is the available balance hasn’t gone back up. I’m not expecting a credit from them. The problem is the hold was lifted in the midst of my switch. Whilst I understand it won’t be a credit my available balance should have gone up by the amount which it has not done.

Well, is the available balance the correct figure?

Is it the actual balance on your account, plus any agreed overdraft, less any pending payments?

Maybe the Great North Run "hold" amount was never transferred.

Terry_Towelling

If the 'cleared balance' in the new RBS account is correct, but the 'available balance' is down by the value of the 'pending' transaction that would suggest BOS transferred the account correctly and that any ring-fenced cash is not still being physically held by BOS.

Presumably the problem stems from the fact that the debit card used to make the original Authorisation request, had been blocked by BOS by the time the auth reversal was processed. Nothing surprises me about how badly designed a lot of these systems are (and it's not Halifax this time) and clearly a bank should have the capacity to handle and process an auth reversal after blocking a card, but I suspect BOS has failed to make such provision.

So, if the retailer did process an auth reversal, it will have likely hit BOS systems, failed to find a valid card to match with and never reached the ring-fenced part of the associated BOS bank account.

So, if RBS has the physical cash involved and a record of the 'pending' transaction (does it show as 'pending' in your RBS account, OP?) it will now be a case of waiting for their systems to hold that 'pending' amount until it is matched with a clearing message (which it won't be) or until it has remained uncleared for whatever time period RBS has set in their systems. Two weeks doesn't seem outlandish - despite being annoying.

So, OP, perhaps your question to RBS should be 'how long do they wait before dropping an unmatched pending transaction'? If their answer is less than the time since you switched, it's time to formalise a complaint or that portion of your cleared balance may remain 'unreachable' indefinitely.

18cc

Yes agree with above - pending transactions 'time out' after a period - couple of weeks sounds about right.