Abbey - clears a stopped chq

tishunt

Any advice greatly received.

I stopped a chq in December and Abbey confirmed it was stopped with immediate effect. I was amazed then to discover the same chq clearing my account at the begining of Jan 08. My call to their "customer" services resulting in them advising me that due to an error they had not stopped the chq and the only way for me to reclaim the money would be to contact the payee. (Unfortunately, I didn't have the contact details and have no idea on how to contact them now) Thus thy would provide me wih a copy of the chq, free of charge, which have the bank details where the chq was banked and I was advised " I could contact the bank and ask them for contact details". Amazed I stood my ground and eventually via the complaints dept I was offered the refund of the chq and the same amount as a good will gesture to be credited in 5-7 days. 19 days on and still no cr appeared. After contacting the dept I was told they would process the cr again and it should appear in 5-7 days.
Although I accepted this I also asked for acknowledgment to be put in writing and was told they have no facility to issue an written communication by any means (leter, email, fax etc etc). Flabergasted I asked what acknowledgment do I get that the complaint has been rec'd and resolved - in short none except the note on my account and if I want a print out of that I need to visit my local branch.
Doing so only resulted in being told they are not able to disclose the details on my account and I should contact "customer" services.
What has happended to "Customer Service" - all I wanted was a simple acknowledgment of my complaint and their offer.
After all, I only have their word that the information is written on the screen and no back up that they have offered the goodwill gesture.
How do you get written confirmation?
I only hope the cr appears on the account (I am not too worried about the goodwill gesture I just want MY MONEY back)

robpw2

sounds like hsbc my partner wrote them a letter .. they refuse to accept the letter because the signature doesnt match that from 10 years ago when he set up the account

tishunt

Thanks for your reply.
At least they checked the signature.
I tried something with Abbey recently - I wrote a direct debit form out and signed it Mickey Mouse and yes they did set it up and the answer I got when I asked do they not check signatures "Do really expect us to check every document with a signature? We rely on trust and the fact that people would only complete a DD form if they actually wanted or need to set one up"

Never mind about Fraud or identity theft - we should just trust everyone!!

missile

Time to switch your account to a proper bank?

exil

From the experience Jeremy Clarkson had it seems all banks "work" this way.

olly300

tishunt wrote: »

ture.
How do you get written confirmation?
I only hope the cr appears on the account (I am not too worried about the goodwill gesture I just want MY MONEY back)

A polite letter mentioning the problems of their customer service dealing with the stopped cheque and that you may have to escalate the matter to the financial ombudsman if the situation is not resolved normally works. Send the letter by recorded delivery if possible.

If I ever complain verbally I always follow it up with an email or letter due to the fact so many companies don't believe in customer service.

mirabelle

Best thing to do here is to write to Diane Wright column in Sunday Times, Money Section.

Her column deals with lots of complaints against Abby and you may well come out of it with compensation.

tishunt

Many thanks for all your replies.
I shall be writing to them as this is the latest event in a whole string during the past year. Mirabelle, I will write to sunday Times as well.
I have tried changing my bank account many times during the past year but Abbey have managed to block it someway. The result is always the same "unsuitable credit history" when asked we are told to contact our current bank - nothing appears on our credit report. It's a mystery!!!

I will not be phased and will continue to fight my corner and demand what is rightfully mine!!

Thank you again to everyone.

missile

tishunt wrote: »

I have tried changing my bank account many times during the past year but Abbey have managed to block it someway. The result is always the same "unsuitable credit history" when asked we are told to contact our current bank - nothing appears on our credit report. It's a mystery!!!.

I find this hard to believe. How can Abbey prevent you opening a new account at a.n.other bank? Why can't you just walk in and deposit some money?