Admitted human banking error but they still want us to pay?

wyl8

My dad turns 87 at the weekend and has always gone to the bank with cash to pay the bills.
He went last month to Natwest to pay his Natwest credit card where the counter staff stamped his paper bill and wrote down the full amount paid. They call 2 days later to say that there has been a mistake on the part of the cashier and that my dad has underpaid by £70 and so his credit card will not be paid in full. 
I go in to find out how that could have happened and state that if any interest is incurred on the bill due to it being not paid in full they would be liable for it. After investigating the cashier who took the money from my dad admitted human error and that she did not count the money properly when my dad handed it over. They have CCTV "evidence" that he did not pay enough but refuse to let me see it due to "security" and also apparently she has written evidence that it was my dad that under paid. They have offered a gesture of good will of paying any interest due on the card being not paid in full but say that the under payment of £70 will need to be paid on the next statement. She says that the manager has reviewed the incident and is happy with their investigations of what has happened and their offer of good will.
I have started a complaints procedure but don't know what can be done if they are essentially saying that they a satisfied with what's happened!
Surely if they have accepted human error fault they should pay the £70 discrepancy, especially when the cashier actually wrote the full amount paid on his statement. 
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

elsien

So your dad didn’t count the money himself before handing it over to check he was paying the correct amount? 

Regardless of his age, if he’s able to manage his own financial affairs this is his mistake as well. 

Or is there a dispute about how much money was actually paid? 

You can’t see the CCTV because it’s not your account and you’re not the one making the complaint.  GDPR. If your dad made the request, however,  he may have more success.

wyl8

My dad says he paid it in full and counted out the money. I am making the complaint as I have POA on his account as he doesn't speak fluent English.

martinbainbridge1975

wyl8 said:

My dad says he paid it in full and counted out the money. I am making the complaint as I have POA on his account as he doesn't speak fluent English.

You may need to provide the POA documentation if you have not already. The route to go down may be to submit a SAR - I would be dubious to see if the cctv was good enough to identify the bank notes.

What is puzzling me here is why it took 2 days to contact you re the discrepancy - having worked in a bank I suspect the cashiers till would not have balanced that day. Back in the day we had to fill out a slip and write on what notes were paid in and the amounts if there was a mix, so any discrepancy could be easily located

Chrysalis

I wouldnt consider it enough either, if there is evidence to support the money hasnt been stolen, then they can show it you.

They are saying both your dad and the cashier happen to miscount it and then it took this amount of time to track down the problem.

Does the paper bill stamp count as a receipt? if it does in my opinion you not liable.  They need to eat up the cost.

However be aware refusing to pay it outright may result in something on the credit file, so I would pay under duress (if not fixed by due date) and fight for it to be reimbursed.

WYSPECIAL

Chrysalis said:

Does the paper bill stamp count as a receipt? if it does in my opinion you not liable.  They need to eat up the cost.

However be aware refusing to pay it outright may result in something on the credit file, so I would pay under duress (if not fixed by due date) and fight for it to be reimbursed.

I’d agree with pointing out that you have a receipt. If it had been a withdrawal would they hand the money over or point out you had a receipt and should have counted it properly?

I don’t imagine an 87 year old will be too worried about credit files if they already have a credit card they can use.

Flugelhorn

How did they both miscount it? - seems odd that they are pinning the discrepancy on that transaction  - £70 cash seems a really odd amount to miscount

Keep_pedalling

Aren’t you at all worried about an elderly man carrying large amounts of cash to the bank every month (and presumably withdrawing it from another bank somewhere else) 

For his safety you really need to get him to move over to paying by electronic transfer. 

retiredbanker1

What would your thinking be if your dad had overpaid by £70 - would you want that money back? Of course you would - so the bank wants its £70 back - not sure really why all the fuss here. They have agreed to cancel next month's interest so your father will not be out of pocket.

Altior

This is nonsense tbf. If your Dad has proof that they accepted the full payment, that is the end of it. Need to follow the complaints process to the fullest as it sounds like you are doing. the bank has to prove that it was short, not the other way around. Even then, they are on a very weak footing. 

I've managed cash handling for many years in the past as a finance manager, not in banking but the principles would be the same and we turned over £millions in cash. They have cashed up the till, found it is 70 short, then carried out an investigation. Have pinpointed that transaction as the most likely cause of the shortfall, but equally a cashier (or someone else) could have had it away. 

It is inconceivable that a banking cashier would have accepted the payment without counting it out. At least in my experience. 

elsien

Altior said:

This is nonsense tbf. If your Dad has proof that they accepted the full payment, that is the end of it. Need to follow the complaints process to the fullest as it sounds like you are doing. the bank has to prove that it was short, not the other way around. Even then, they are on a very weak footing. 

I've managed cash handling for many years in the past as a finance manager, not in banking but the principles would be the same and we turned over £millions in cash. They have cashed up the till, found it is 70 short, then carried out an investigation. Have pinpointed that transaction as the most likely cause of the shortfall, but equally a cashier (or someone else) could have had it away. 

It is inconceivable that a banking cashier would have accepted the payment without counting it out. At least in my experience. 

No it's not. One of my staff accepted twice as much money as they should have done once at the post office counter. They were very grateful when I took it back as their tills hadn't tallied but they had no clue where it had gone. In that instance both my staff member and the cashier were at fault.