A cheque sent due to Sainsbury's Bank 'not taking into account my financial situation'?

Manthy71

Hi all,
I am new to this and have never posted on a forum so apologies if I make any mistakes.
I just wanted to ask for advice/opinions. 
Yesterday I had a cheque sent to my by Sainsbury's bank for £186 regarding a 10,000 loan I had in early 2013 (ish).  It was a time of real financial struggle for me due to sudden death of partner and having a 1 year old to care for.  Eventually I had to go into debt management with Step Change 2014.  I have since paid everything off and I'm finally clear of  it all.  
I'm confused as to why this cheque has been sent and if I should cash it. 

The wording is 'We're writing to you because we noticed that from 15/05/2014 to 31/01/2017 we didn't fully take into account your financial situation and should have managed your account differently.  We are very sorry about this.'  

They seem very keen for me to cash it soon and have also found my new address (loan was taken out in old one).  I feel a bit suspicious as to whether I should cash it (obviously welcome just before Christmas) or whether I might be entitled to more compensation and they are hoping when I cash this I won't be able to pursue a larger claim.  I suppose I'm thinking this might be similar to a PPI claim, but have tried to google it and not be able to shed any light.   
Has anyone had similar or could anyone give any advice?
Thanks so much
Sam 

[Deleted User]

It's standard. It's just redress of an erroneous charge.

There's no more to be had, so up to you if you cash it or bin it.

jonesMUFCforever

Pay it in and enjoy your Christmas bonus.
All lenders have been reviewing old accounts and found not to have treated customers as they should - it should not be thought as a PPI claim - that ship has sailed.

Manthy71

Thank you both for your advice.  I'm happy to cash this now for a bit of extra Christmas joy.   

samijoe7

Hi Manthy71,
Did you cash the cheque? Was there any repercussions? I've received the exact same letter today with a cheque and am a bit suspicious to.

macman

How can cashing a cheque be 'suspicious'? Worse case, it bounces.

Herzlos

macman said:

How can cashing a cheque be 'suspicious'? Worse case, it bounces.

It could be treated as "full and final settlement", depending on what's in the letter. The concern is that they'd be entitled to more and doing themselves out of that larger amount for cashing it.

[Deleted User]

Herzlos said:

macman said:

How can cashing a cheque be 'suspicious'? Worse case, it bounces.

It could be treated as "full and final settlement", depending on what's in the letter. The concern is that they'd be entitled to more and doing themselves out of that larger amount for cashing it.

Refunds like this are set to follow a protocol defined by the regulator, it's not a compo / go away amount like £25 or £100, it's a specific amount so would be tied to perhaps not freezing interest or something like that. It's not a deal to negotiate, they accept or don't, they won't get more money by refusing the cheque and asking for more. If anything, if they had debts written off as part of the debt plan the bank could (and may already have) offset any refund against unpaid debts so it's a bonus to get anything.

DCFC79

samijoe7 said:

Hi Manthy71,
Did you cash the cheque? Was there any repercussions? I've received the exact same letter today with a cheque and am a bit suspicious to.

Just cash it is my advice.

macman

The phrases 'gift horse' and 'in the mouth' do come to mind...