Electronic Payment Reliability

R

roker

Registered User
Messages
2,045
How reliable is an electronic transfer? Can we get it wrong with their long IBAN or BIC number?
I have just had my confidence shaken. The UK pensions mistakenly sent my £200 heating allowance to my previously closed bank account in Jan. The bank twice told me it had bounce back to the payee, the payee (pensions) told me twice they have not received it. So where is my £200 ?
I have written the Financial Ombudsman, so far no response. So my inclination now is do it the old fashioned way with cash or cheque, it's more reliable
 
Last edited:
roker said:
How reliable is an electronic transfer?
Click to expand...

Highly reliable. Far more reliable than cash or cheques. That said, things can go wrong very occasionally.

roker said:
Can we get it wrong with their long BIC number?
Click to expand...

In most cases, BIC is no longer needed. Just IBAN.

roker said:
I have just had my confidence shaken. The UK pensions mistakenly sent my £200 heating allowance to my previously closed bank account in Jan. The bank twice told me it had bounce back to the payee, the payee (pensions) told me twice they have not received it. So where is my £200 ?
Click to expand...

As your bank for a copy of the SEPA (or SWIFT) message that was sent back to the returning bank. Then send the message to the pension authority proving that the money was returned. It is then there problem to sort it out with their bank.
 
roker said:
Highly reliable as long as you do not make a mistake with the number
Click to expand...
There are 2 separate check sums in an Irish IBAN

You've a better chance* of being struck by lightening and winning the lotto on the same day than giving someone else's account.

(*Not exact odds, but it's extremely unlikely)
 
HAd you informed the pensions authority of a change in bank account details? If so then the problem is theirs resolve. If not then all the upfront checks of IBAN and BIC would indicate a valid destination as they are based on checksum algoritms and not the existance or status of the account. If the account is closed, then the money should go to a holding account with notification issued to the sending bank.

I think the question has arisen before but do banks routinely re-use bank accounts?
 
I didn't want to complicate things but to explain, the pensions had been told, and my pension was going into my new bank account. OK for months, it would appear the pensions heating allowance department same address different department is working from a different database. How could anyone know that?
 
Thanks mathepac, I have done what youy said and sent a copy of the transaction to the Pension. The only option left now is to contact the UK financial regulator
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top