Switched bank accounts, payment sent to old account

callum103

Hi all, 
I switched my bank account to HSBC in January using the switch service. Everything went smoothly apart from a payment was made to my old account with Natwest and it did not auto-forward as I suspected. The payment sat pending for a few days and then processed. When we contacted Natwest they said it was likely sitting in a suspense account and a trace must be made. I believe my friend who sent the payment set up a trace within a week of this happening and they found it however Natwest have not sent the payment back to him. Its been almost two months and we have heard nothing. When he contacts his bank they just give him the same canned response of "no timescale can be given for the payment to be sent back". I am starting to think this payment will never return and what my next steps should be. Any help would be appreciated. Its quite a high amount as well £460 so a fair amount to lose out on. Anyone with similar experiences?

 I should also mention that I put in a complaint to HSBC about the switch service not being set up correctly but they won't take any responsibility and I have since taken it to the Financial Ombudsman but not sure if that will get anywhere.

Thanks

eskbanker

Not saying that mistakes can't and don't happen, but my understanding is that the CASS redirection is handled by a centralised engine such that payments don't typically get as far as the original bank itself but are intercepted further upstream - what actual evidence have you seen of the events outlined above, i.e. is it possible that your friend is being a bit creative with the truth?

callum103

eskbanker said:

Not saying that mistakes can't and don't happen, but my understanding is that the CASS redirection is handled by a centralised engine such that payments don't typically get as far as the original bank itself but are intercepted further upstream - what actual evidence have you seen of the events outlined above, i.e. is it possible that your friend is being a bit creative with the truth?

do you know I did think that, he is my lodger and the payment is a rent payment. He is being pretty shady about the whole thing, ie not phoning the bank when I ask him too and generally putting it off. Thing is, how would I prove it?

eskbanker

callum103 said:

eskbanker said:

Not saying that mistakes can't and don't happen, but my understanding is that the CASS redirection is handled by a centralised engine such that payments don't typically get as far as the original bank itself but are intercepted further upstream - what actual evidence have you seen of the events outlined above, i.e. is it possible that your friend is being a bit creative with the truth?

do you know I did think that, he is my lodger and the payment is a rent payment. He is being pretty shady about the whole thing, ie not phoning the bank when I ask him too and generally putting it off. Thing is, how would I prove it?

You shouldn't need to get involved in proving anything - as he's under the same roof, you'd presumably have informed him to pay his rent to your new account rather than simply relying on the switching system safety net?  If so, just tell him he still owes you the money and don't be swayed by his unlikely excuses about a payment going astray, that's his problem not yours, the only thing that counts for you is that you haven't received his payment and it's still due....

Thrugelmir

callum103 said:

eskbanker said:

Not saying that mistakes can't and don't happen, but my understanding is that the CASS redirection is handled by a centralised engine such that payments don't typically get as far as the original bank itself but are intercepted further upstream - what actual evidence have you seen of the events outlined above, i.e. is it possible that your friend is being a bit creative with the truth?

do you know I did think that, he is my lodger and the payment is a rent payment. He is being pretty shady about the whole thing, ie not phoning the bank when I ask him too and generally putting it off. Thing is, how would I prove it?

Sounds like a scam. He still owes you the money. 

Voyager2002

Oddly enough, I had a parallel experience. I switched from NatWest to M & S bank (effectively part of HSBC) and then had a large payment sent to my NatWest account. I asked about it in branch (they didn't know anything) and generally worried, but when I checked my M & S account it had gone straight there without any issues.

Anyway, you were NatWest's customer so they should be able to tell you whether the payment was indeed held by them in a suspense account, and why it was returned (if it was, and when) rather than paid into your new account.

badger09

callum103 said:

eskbanker said:

Not saying that mistakes can't and don't happen, but my understanding is that the CASS redirection is handled by a centralised engine such that payments don't typically get as far as the original bank itself but are intercepted further upstream - what actual evidence have you seen of the events outlined above, i.e. is it possible that your friend is being a bit creative with the truth?

do you know I did think that, he is my lodger and the payment is a rent payment. He is being pretty shady about the whole thing, ie not phoning the bank when I ask him too and generally putting it off. Thing is, how would I prove it?

You don't have to prove anything.

Ask your friend/lodger to show you evidence that the payment was made, including date and destination account

jonesMUFCforever

Easy to find out if he is lying - tell him (not ask) that you require to see his bank statement - he can do this online or on his phone.
If he refuses give him a black bin liner and an hour or so to clear off.