Bank Mis-processes Solicitor's Payment for Sale

cpx2

Hi,
I sold my house at the end of last year. I gave my solicitor my M&S Bank details.
A couple of weeks ago, the money had not arrived. I took this up with my solicitor and they confirmed that they had made the payment and they confirmed with their bank (Lloyds) the payment had cleared and the details were correct.
It took a while to get hold of someone at M&S - they put me on hold a few times and other times dropped the line. Eventually I found someone who would deal with this and they advised me that it had been paid into an overseas account and they were trying to recover the money. I found this all a bit worrying as this is my life savings.
I have a couple of questions.
I found it a little odd that they should make a point that the payment had been made (mistakenly) into an overseas account. Someone has suggested that they are saying this so that they can claim they did not have to follow Confirmation of Payee rules. I wonder whether I can ask for documentary evidence of the mis-payment to check whether they are being honest?
Also, given that they have had clear and correct instructions to pay, and so it is M&S who have made a mistake, I cannot see why it matters who they paid the money to. Surely, in law they owe me the money and so should pay me straight away. Or are there special rules for banks?
Finally, I wonder whether it should be me chasing the bank or my solicitor chasing them - as the contract for payment was between Lloyds and M&S and only indirectly involves me.
Be good to get a better understanding of my legal situation. Seems really odd that the bank can make such an obvious mistake and not be responsible for fixing it - especially as it is such a large sum of money.

dimbo61

So you actually spoke in person yourself to your solicitor and confirmed with him/her the sort code, account number and name on account ?
There are so many stories of crooks sending fake emails from solicitors or clients asking them to change the payment details !
Good luck I hope your money arrives soon 

greatcrested

Not really a property issue - this is a banking issue.

Assuming you are 100% sure that the solicitor used the correct sort/ac numbers I woud raise a formal complaint with M&S.

If that works, I would also be asking for lost interest and compensation for your anxiety. Banks tend to give one-off paymets when they make errors.

If it fails, escalate to the ombudsman.

Meanwhile, keep a detailed record of every converstation you have with the bank: date, time, name of adviser/manager, what was said etc.

And ask the solicitors to do likewise, though if Lloyds sent it to the correct M&S sort/ac numbers there's little they can do.

davidmcn

If the bank are talking to you about it, it sounds like they've acknowledged it is your money and that they've c0cked up, so nothing to do with your solicitor - though sounds a bit odd. If they've plonked it in the wrong account, that's their problem - you're entitled to the money and any lost interest (and arguably consequential losses if you've missed payments out etc). 

HobgoblinBT

Ask the solicitor to send you a copy of the payment data that they should be able to get from their internet banking.  Then check this against your own bank account data and a copy of your payment instruction.   Ask your solicitor to request their bank to recall the payment and supply them with revised instructions as appropriate.  The payment query needs to be originated at the initial originating bank, not your bank.  Expect the amount returned to be less than sent, especially if sent abroad as the overseas bank and any agent bank will likely charge a fee, as well as a differential if appropriate if the money has been converted to and from a foreign currency. 

I know that this is not what you hoped to hear but having dealt with many such enquiries from the bank’s perspective it is a likely outcome.  Now, as to who is liable for the loss is between you and your solicitor if they input the payment, or possibly their bank in the unlikely event that the solicitor gave the bank a written instruction.

Hope that helps.

cpx2

dimbo61 - thanks for the reply. Yes, the solicitors have been good. I not only talked to them but they have shared by email their bank's confirmation of the instructions.

cpx2

@greatcrested - thanks for the reply. WRT "Not really a property issue - this is a banking issue." Apologies if this is the wrong forum, but I wasn't sure where it should go.
We have started the formal complaints process. And are being careful to document things. Thanks for confirming this is a good thing to do.
One issue here is that M&S keeps on saying that they are trying to get the money back from the account they paid it into by mistake. But that seems to me a mis-reading of the situation. If they accidentally give some money to someone else, that doesn't absolve them of responsibility to pay us, given that all the instructions were correct.
WRT "And ask the solicitors to do likewise, though if Lloyds sent it to the correct M&S sort/ac numbers there's little they can do."
Is this right? The other issue is that while the solicitor has been good, they have not (yet) asked their bank to raise the issue with M&S. I'd have thought that this is the correct thing for them to do as it is the paying bank's instructions that have not been followed.
We are chasing these as we want this fixed asap - so we know the money is safe.

cpx2

@davidmcn - thanks for the reply. Yes, exactly, We can't understand why they keep suggesting that the only way we will be repaid is if they get the money back. They have been careful to not admit they made a mistake, but it is plain that they have.

cpx2

@HobgoblinBT- thanks for the reply. 
WRT "Ask the solicitor to send you a copy of the payment data that they should be able to get from their internet banking. " We have done this and everything checks out.
WRT "The payment query needs to be originated at the initial originating bank, not your bank. " Yes, this is what we think too. We'll ask the solicitor to ask their bank to raise the query.

Thrugelmir

Doesn't make sense. M&S are a UK based bank.  Not possible for funds received to be deposited in an "overseas" account. 

AdrianC

Thrugelmir said:

Doesn't make sense. M&S are a UK based bank.  Not possible for funds received to be deposited "overseas".  

There's something very odd about it, that's for sure.

Money transferred from UK Bank A to sort/account at UK Bank B.
Money arrives at UK Bank B.
Money does not get credited into sort/account given, but to a completely different account at a different bank in a different country...?

I'm wondering what drip-fed info we have yet to come...