Solicitor provided incorrect bank details - chaps payment missing

jr92897

Hi guys, just after some advice if anyone can offer anything:

I'm in the middle of buying a flat and nearing completion. The solicitors advised early on in the transaction (beginning October '24) that their bank account details can be found only in their T&C letter, and there's a disclaimer at the bottom of every email that says these details will never change. I made a test payment of £1 last Thursday using these details and phoned solicitors on Friday morning who confirmed the money had been received. I then transferred £60k via CHAPS in the branch later that day. I inform them of this and they ask me to confirm the details to which the payment was sent. They then tell me that these are incorrect and that they had to change banks in November!!!

Friday night, I spotted the £1 test payment had gone back into my account that afternoon so I assume the account numbers have not been re-allocated yet and the account just doesn't exist.  Meanwhile, the CHAPS payment is nowhere to be seen and I am panicking because this is my life savings and then some. I phoned my bank who said the payment *should* be returned but they can't give any indication as to when.  They have opened an investigation of some sort and are trying to recall the money. The solicitors are denying that they told me the money had been received, despite showing them the phone call to them that I made on Friday. I find it difficult to believe a law firm don't record their calls but they won't even acknowledge that this isn't my mistake. 

If I'm panicking over nothing, what would a normal timescale be for the CHAPS payment to be returned? 

Is there anything more I can do?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks 

NameUnavailable

How long is a piece of string?

I'd have expected it might take at least a few working days to be bounced back.

Hoenir

jr92897 said:

The solicitors advised early on in the transaction (beginning October '24) that their bank account details can be found only in their T&C letter, and there's a disclaimer at the bottom of every email that says these details will never change.

Still worth confirming some months later. Organisations like individuals do change banks on occassions. 

The money will be returned as the receiving account will be closed. 

tacpot12

Once the money is back and the transaction completed, I would raise a formal complaint with them over their handling of this. You have done everything correctly, and they would appear to have messed up. You have the T&Cs letter as evidence of their advice to you of the bank account numbers that needed to the used, plus the emails footters saying that these never change. I would be asking for a discount on their costs for giving you a heart-attack! 

GDB2222

Unfortunately, if you ask whether they have received £1, it’s far too easy for someone to say yes without actually checking. Next time, transfer an odd amount (£1.73, say) and ask them to tell you the amount received. 

Of course, it’s easy to be wise after the event, unfortunately. Obviously, if the solicitors misled you, they are liable for your losses, eg if completion is delayed because the money has gone missing. 

The late completion arrangement in the contract gives you two weeks to complete, and it’s highly likely that your £60k will be returned to your account in time to make that date. However, you will be liable for the costs of the entire chain, although I would expect that your solicitors will end up paying. 

AskAsk

tacpot12 said:

Once the money is back and the transaction completed, I would raise a formal complaint with them over their handling of this. You have done everything correctly, and they would appear to have messed up. You have the T&Cs letter as evidence of their advice to you of the bank account numbers that needed to the used, plus the emails footters saying that these never change. I would be asking for a discount on their costs for giving you a heart-attack! 

very shoddy and should definitely make a complaint.  i always call the solicitors and check their bank details before i make a payment, just in case someone has changed the bank details on their letter!  which is not impossible.

OP - we made the mistake of sending a large amount to a mortgage account that was closed!  and it took more than a week for it to come back.  it was nerve wrecking but it does take a while for them to send it back from a closed account when it is a large amount.

Claddagh_Noir

I really hope this gets sorted for you in a  timely manner.  I mirror what others have said whereby you should raise a complaint, usually at the time of paying the deposit,  at your stage in the property buying process, it is the height for scammers to try and divert the deposit money. 

The solicitors should have been on the ball here and sent correspondence on an official letterhead stating that the bank details have changed.  It was a good idea of yours by making a test payment of £1.00.  Hopefully your bank allows you to verify the bank account when you have to pay 'again.'

I am sorry to add insult to injury but you may get correspondence from the solicitors saying that they hope you are happy with their service and may ask you to write a review or testimonial once you have finally completed!

Section62

Claddagh_Noir said:

...
The solicitors should have been on the ball here and sent correspondence on an official letterhead stating that the bank details have changed.  It was a good idea of yours by making a test payment of £1.00.  Hopefully your bank allows you to verify the bank account when you have to pay 'again.'
...

Given letterheads can be faked, I think the solicitor should have gone further and had a one-to-one conversation with the client (in addition to a letter) to make sure they were aware the bank details had been changed prior to the payment being made.  Not necessarily face-to-face, and it could have been as part of other communications, but it needed more than just a letter in the post or an email etc.

As per GDB2222's post, the idea of making a test payment is good, but better to pick an arbitrary amount rather than £1 so the payment can be positively identified among all the other £1 test payments.

Mr.Generous

jr you have done everything right, and more than some would do to make sure payment went to the right account. The solicitors have messed up, and they should compensate for this. I'm sure your payment will come back but I'd guess about a week too. When it comes back don't expect any actual contact, It'll just appear in your account.

Slinky

I'm trying to remember when I messed up and missed a digit off a payment reference once. Sent £20K over, which isn't like me, I normally do a small test payment. I think it may have been a Friday. I phoned my bank almost immediately as I realised my mistake but they were unable to recall the payment. I think it took until Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week before it came back.

saajan_12

The money will come back, evidenced by the fact that the £1 did. Unfortunately there's no telling how long, as it would have gone into a big pile of payments that have gone wrong and wait for someone at the bank to manually figure it out. 

The more likely issue is really whether it'll be back in time for your completion. Have you exchanged? If not, then hold off until the money is back.  If yes, then you have to wait, and retain any evidence you have of the original bank details etc to try to claim from the solicitors if you suffer any costs from delayed completion as a result. You'd have a good case but given the bank details were from a mailing 5 months ago (even with their disclaimer) and there's limited proof of exactly what was said in a phone call, I wouldn't say its a slam dunk. So you still need to minimise costs.