‘Bank refused to accept cheque – it was in Welsh’
AGUITARIST has told of her “frustration” after a bank rejected a cheque she paid in – because it was written in Welsh.
Sally Barker was given it as payment for her appearance at last week’s Llyn Guitar Festival at Plas Glyn y Weddw at Llanbedrog near Pwllheli.
But when Sally, who finished joint second in BBC talent contest The Voice in 2014, took it to her branch of Lloyds Bank in Leicestershire it was rejected.
The musician, who was given the cheque by organiser Gwyn Jones, said: “I deposited it in the machine at the bank and it was accepted and I went home.
“About 90 minutes later I got a call from the branch and was told they couldn’t accept it because it was written in a foreign language. The official told me I would need to call in and pick it up.
“I have tried to contact Lloyds Bank but it is very difficult. This is causing me inconvenience and I feel frustrated for the Welsh language because it is the language of Wales and officially recognised.”
Sally blamed the poor training received by bank staff in failing to recognise the cheque was written in Welsh.
Drawn on an HSBC account, Mr Jones wrote the cheque in Welsh.
“As I always do. I live in Wales and work through the medium of Welsh. This is the first time a cheque from Plas Glyn y Weddw has been refused,” he said.
A Lloyds Bank spokesman said: “We do accept cheques written in Gaelic and Welsh subject to meeting a small number of criteria in place to reduce the risk of fraud and money laundering.
“Lloyds Bank customers can also pay in cheques using the mobile banking app, including those written in Welsh.”
It is the second time in a week Welsh has been described as a foreign lan- guage by one of the major High Street banks.
Last week HSBC refused to accept an email from poet and singer Geraint Lovgreen which was written in Welsh.
Mr Lovgreen, who lives in Caernarfon, wrote to the bank to advise them of his new address but call centre staff asked him to write in English.
Mr Jones plans to raise the matter with the Welsh Language Commissioner.
A spokeswoman for Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws said: “Unlike public sector organisations, there are no legal duties on banks to provide services in Welsh. But, our understanding is that most banks have processes in place to verify cheques that have been written in Welsh.
“When we hear about situations like these, we contact the senior officers of the banks to find out what has gone wrong and to try to resolve the situation.”