I HATE BANKS!!!

[garethsm]

Ok so picture the scene... I get a buyer for my Audi TT - one of the dealerships gives me good money for it, I accept, they arrange to collect it asap (Today) and give me a cheque as payment.

Plan to collect my shiny blue TVR Chimaera on the Thursday, which allows me 48 hours to clear the cheque (should be no problem if I pay the £15 for 24 hour clearance - even gives a little bit of breathing space) so that I can go in Thursday morning and raise the banker's draft. Ideal because the guy I'm buying the Chim from is off on a 3-week holiday at 8.15 on Thursday night... so it's Thursday, or three weeks from now.

So I go into the bank, cheque for £24,000 in hand, and ask for express clearance....

"Sorry sir, you've missed the deadline, the cut-off is 3.00 for express." Look at watch... 3.15... breathe... bloody late bus - that's why i hate public transport... breathe... it's okay, that's what the extra day was for. So I reply "Ok, I'd still like to do it so it'll clear on Thursday." "Sorry sir, I can't guarantee it'll clear by Thursday because of Easter. I can risk it if you want but it might cost £15 and still take a week."

So now I'm holding my breath, with everything crossed, hoping to God that it DOES clear on Thursday. Otherwise I've got no hope, as no-one I know has the resources to even lend me £17,600 for a few days, so I have no contingency plan either.

Why oh why is nothing ever easy??? WHY OH WHY ARE BANKS SO SH!TE?!?! :'(

[simon gray]

How about returning to the Audi dealer with the cheque and ask instead for either cash or a bankers draft made payable to the Chim owner?

[ATG]

You could always threaten to close your account and move to another bank unless they ensure the transaction clears. They seem to fold pretty quickly to that threat.

[icamm]

You sometimes find that the funds are credited to your account anyway and then removed if the cheque bounces. So you maybe in luck even if the cheque hasn't actually cleared.

[judas]

They won't raise a banker's draft on uncleared funds though

[adove]

Get shirty with 'em. Reminds me of last summer, sat in the office at David Geralds... holding a bankers draft that the gumbies at the building soc forgot to SIGN!!!
Poor guy was sooooo reluctant to let the car go, understandably, and we had travelled from Leeds by train to pick the car up...
The solution: get on the blower and calmly bollock them into submission. We eventually got a promisory draft or some such document faxed over and this was on a Saturday. If the money needs to be moved, there are ways of doing it. Don't put up with some jobsworth who doesn't know the meaning of customer service :i'llgetoffmysoapboxnow:

[agent006]

ATG said: You could always threaten to close your account and move to another bank unless they ensure the transaction clears. They seem to fold pretty quickly to that threat.

Last time i threatened this, the cashier just said, "OK, would you like the blance in cash or a cheque" and promptly closed the account.

[wedg1e]

Aye, banking's not been the same since I left....

Don't panic mate: it'll be fine.... :calmingsmiley:

Ian

[anonymous-user]

I've worked the other side of the counter, and can appreciate both sides of the arguement.

I've had many a person threaten to close their accounts, and my manager on occasions called their bluff, the customers would usually say "I'll do it another time."

The thing is banks are so tied up in procedure, I worked for a converted Building Society and if a customer had drawn a cheque from a branch, given it to someone who paid it in to the same branch.
It would still take 5 days to clear.
Why it had to go around the clearing system I don't know.
Sometimes we would encash them, but we had to be 100% sure that this cheque was legitimate, and would have to be in special circumstances.

The thing is aswell, some of the smaller Banks and Building societies don't have their own clearing system "in house."
The cheques,would be forwarded off to a third party administrator at the end of the day, who would then do the processing.

The thing is you get someone come in wanting to clear a cheque straight away, which you as a cashier/Supervisor are not allowed/supposed to do.
Do you risk of a disciplinary if you Cash this cheque straight away, or risk Pi%%ing off a customer?

Then every other bu99er that comes in will then want their's cashed aswell.

I'm just glad I got out of High Street banking, Poorly paid, understaffed, sales driven, don't be to hard on them.

Lee

[garethsm]

I'm just going to have to pray... and then if it's not cleared, kick up a fuss. They screwed me around in January when a cheque i tried to express-clear was stolen from the post office - had to get the cheque cancelled and reissued... still dealing with the messy backlog it caused now. Hopefully that will give me a little leverage...

I think I might cry if I have to wait until mid-May for my Chim...

[garethsm]

Just had a call from the customer research centre at my bank asking 'a few short questions about the service received during my last visit'. Needless to say the distinctly unhelpful woman that served me will be getting some feedback from her boss!

I've decided that I'm not going to leave the bank without my draft tomorrow, even if it means robbing the place! Watch this space...

[loadofcods]

I entirely sympathise with you, I'm having the same problem transfering money from GB to Sweden to pay for my latest V8, a Chevy van, 3 working days they say, PAH! Its now the 4th day and counting!
I wish you Good Luck!

[steve-p]

Why can't you just get them to do a direct transfer between bank accounts? I've done that before (e.g. when I sold a Jag to Racing Green). It can be done in minutes during banking hours. There is a fee, but it isn't much.

[RichardR]

steve-p said: Why can't you just get them to do a direct transfer between bank accounts? I've done that before (e.g. when I sold a Jag to Racing Green). It can be done in minutes during banking hours. There is a fee, but it isn't much.

That's a CHAPS transfer isn't it? About £20 - £30 IIRC.

[jvaughan]

Well.. how did it go ? did it clear ? did you get the car ??

[garethsm]

See for yourself...

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=36092&f=8&h=0

(as if the grin isn't a giveaway!!)

[richard sails]

Remember, the manager can do what he likes, make sure that he knows that you are legitimate and the complain nicely but loudly, if they know they will not be out of pocket than they will fold quickly, be polite but stubborn...