Foreign cheque delay

[SA Gold]

Morning,

This time last year i paid in a cheque that was in Canadian Dollars. Few days later, credited to account. Great.
Done the same thing last week and there has been no sign of it. Called the bank who advised it can 6-8 weeks to credit my account. I asked why the last one (from the same place) took a few days and they said foreign cheques can be collected in 2 ways. Bank transferred me to the foreign transaction centre who advised it was down to the person on the counter who determined which way the cheque is collected as they filled the form in, so to take it up with the local branch.
I am annoyed because firstly i need that cheque to get on with house stuff (still living out of bedroom and kitchen) and secondly if its down to the person in the branch how my money is collected, why they didnt ask me/advise me about it.
Do you think its worth a letter in to complain? What hasn't helped is getting p1$$ed about the call centre this morning too.

[julian]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Sorry to hear it. Do complain to the bank or at least ask for a formal reason for the delay.

Not only does it depend on the counter staff it depends on the banks involved. I cannot see how it will take 6-8 weeks unless the Canadian Bank is a one branch private bank.

The cheque would go from the local bank to the clearing centre, from there the foreign exchange dept will place it on the foreign exchange list for payment against the foreign banks account and then will normally clear if the account is in credit. However, if your bank does not have a foreign account dept. it will clear through a larger bank with a foreign dept. The foreign dept. will arrange to clear via the bank overseas, but if the paying bank does not have an account with your bank, or is too small to have an overseas dept then there will be several intermediaries which may only clear (pay) cheques on a monthly basis.

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Hi Julian,
I think i will drop them a letter mate. It seems crazy that the person behind the counter can basically choose if i get my cheque within a few days, or a few weeks. If it was some type of system that made a decision based on all the variables you explained, then i guess that is just how (crap) the banks are, but for the person in the branch to decide (on what basis i wonder?!) and not advise accordingly, just seems wrong to me.

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

ive just got the paperwork out and there is a line on the form stating the bank collect the funds by agreement and credit account upon receiving by default, tick the box to collect by collection. the f***ing odiot in the bank put a cross on this. i think ill type a letter up and post to see if anyone thinks i am going along the right lines.

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Morning,
I was thinking of sending this. Any feedback appreciated

Dear Sir,
On 10th March I deposited a cheque in <branch>. The Gentleman completed the paperwork, asked if i had deposited a foreign cheque before, advised it would be sent to the foreign cheque centre which would take a few days where it would be dealt with and provided me with a signed copy.
A week later my account had not been credited so i called the telephone banking service. Initially i spoke with a lady who wasn't sure how long it would take to clear and transferred me to an option-based system. I selected option 2 from memory, the call was eventually answered although i got disconnected.
I called the telephone banking service back and spoke with a Gentleman who advised he could speak to the foreign cheque centre on my behalf who later advised the cheque could take 6-8 weeks to clear and was provided with an estimate of 7th April.
I explained i paid a cheque from the same source this time last year in to a <branch X> and it cleared in a few days so unsure of such a long delay this time. The Gentleman advised there were two ways foreign cheques are collected and i could speak with the foreign cheque team directly. I was promptly put through to <name> who explained the way a foreign cheque is collected is determined by the operator filling in the form at the branch.
I have checked the paperwork and noted that by default your banking group credits the account by negotiation and to place a tick in the box to obtain by collection. The operator in the bank had ticked this without advising me.
The delay in receiving the funds in to my account are:
Overdraft (and possible exceeded overdraft limit).
I was going to clear a credit card balance although will now incur interest due.
Urgent work to my home has been cancelled.

If i was advised the cheque would take 6-8 weeks to clear, i would have challenged the operator as i had no such problem this time last year when using <branch x>
I look forward to your reply and how you can help with the inconvenience and costs i have occured as the result of what i thought was straight forward, daily task for a large bank.

Yours sincerely
SA Gold

[Pixie]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

If i was advised the cheque would take 6-8 weeks to clear, i would have challenged the operator as i had no such problem this time last year when using <branch x>
I look forward to your reply and how you can help with the inconvenience and costs i have incurred as the result of what i thought was straight forward, daily task for a large bank.

Yours sincerely
SA Gold

I know absolutely nothing about banking foreign cheques but that letter looks okay to me apart from the lower case "i" when it should be "I" and the verb is incurred not occurred (can't you tell I'm a teacher )

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

I know absolutely nothing about banking foreign cheques but that letter looks okay to me apart from the lower case "i" when it should be "I" and the verb is incurred not occurred (can't you tell I'm a teacher )

Thank you for posting Pixie (and corrections!), appreciated. I never knew you were/are a teacher, but do now. So will try to keep my whatsits dotted and t's crossed.

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Evening,
Lloyds have written back to say sorry about the way the cheque was processed and to call them to discuss as writing means they wont meet complaint timelines (?!) and an extended overdraft might be an option.
I was thinking of writing back to see what i can squeeze out of them for the ball ache of this. Any suggestions?
Cheers

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Hi Julian,
I think i will drop them a letter mate.

I'm sure you'll find Julian is anything but male - MATE

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

I'm sure you'll find Julian is anything but male - MATE

just noticed the avatar!

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

just noticed the avatar!

Profile -> About (tab) - scroll down

haha

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

[julian]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Is 'mate' gender specific?
I could be ambidextrous, a wolf in sheep's clothing or just little me.

Have you been paid yet?

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Is 'mate' gender specific?
I could be ambidextrous, a wolf in sheep's clothing or just little me.

Have you been paid yet?

Mate generally refers to blokes

have I been paid? What's paid - swearing at me again

[SA Gold]

Re: Foreign cheque delay

Sorry about the confusion on my behalf Julian! No, the cheque still hasnt gone through. Any suggestions on what i should try and get for this debacle?
Many thanks,
SA