Standing Order/Faster Payment

SevenOfNine

If a bank receive a written request to start a regular Standing Order only 3-4 days before the first payment due date, is it usual for them to choose to make the first payment by Faster Payment rather than miss the first Standing Order date?

colsten

The bank will process the SO as an SO on the start date of the SO. An SO generally does need to be set up 2 working days before it can be executed. Some banks only need 1 working day. If you request a start date that is earlier than the bank can execute the SO, you will be given the earliest possible date. You can then accept that date, choose a later date, or abandon the SO. In no case can you set up an SO with a start date that is earlier than the bank can execute the SO.

Why are you asking about written requests - are you not using online / mobile banking to set up your SO?

SevenOfNine

Thanks colsten. It was a fraudulent pro-forma type request posted to a branch 30 miles away, with a damned fine copy of the a/c owners signature (but absolutely NO chance it was actually her), differences pretty minor so I can't blame anyone for not quite noticing.

The bank have subsequently confirmed faster pay was used so the first SO payment would not be 'missed'.

By doing that the security text "a regular payment has been set up" did not arrive quite in time to stop what the bank had turned into a FP! Fraud dept claimed the money had not yet 'arrived' with the intended recipient (though 16 hours had passed from text to blocking) & it was returned to the a/c.

A formal complaint was raised & I've seen a full copy of this pro-forma mandate including all the intended recipients info, listed as the a/c holders "landlord", his name, bank Monzo, sort code & a/c number.

Though the whole thing has been sorted out (& a new a/c will be opened shortly given that someone, somewhere could give this another try), it smacks of an intentionally late SO request, that without the banks assistance of switching the first payment to FP would have more easily failed rather than almost succeeding! I think the first payment, paid like that, was actually all the fraud recipient intended to get.

I've come to the (perhaps wrong) conclusion that the timing of all this ties 'nicely' in with the writing of 3 cheques by the a/c holder. All 3 to close family members in December, none of whom are responsible for the fraud attempt BUT, what does a cheque have on it. A/c sort code, a/c number & a lovely signature specimen.

One of the cheques was put into the pay-in machine in the local branch, it failed twice to complete the task & issue the mini photocopy, so was considered by the staff as 'out of order' & a cashier was used instead. So who fixes out of order machines, were jammed copies in there? Might it be the banks clearing facility?