How did my £3,454 cheque with Halifax vanish into thin air?

I WENT into my Halifax branch and asked for a cheque for €4,000 to be raised and paid to a third party.

The cheque was never received and the money — £3,454 — has not been credited back to my account.

The branch manager cannot explain where the money is. He said it must be something to do with the international branch of Halifax.

M. C., Surrey.

Halifax apologises for the amount of time it has taken for you to get your money back. You requested a bank draft in euros on January 30.

Halifax says the cheque was processed as normal, but it can’t account for the delay in it reaching the intended recipient. it also cannot account for the delay when, assuming it to be lost, you asked for a refund to be paid on february 11.

Halifax says it should have offered you the opportunity to send the money via an international money transfer, which would have avoided complications.

in the following weeks you were given conflicting information about when the money would be returned to your account.

a Halifax spokesman says: ‘We are extremely sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused, and for the length of time it took to reunite Mrs C with her money.’

You have been paid £200 by way of apology. IN OCTOBER 2018, my partner of 30 years passed away quite suddenly, just before his 70th birthday. We had been living together and he supported me financially. He had kept his own property in the event that I passed away first.

He had a pension from BT and nominated me to be the beneficiary upon his death. BT is asking for proof of joint accounts and copies of utility bills in his name. But they are all in my name.

I have provided them with copies of bills he paid for improvements to my property. He also paid the deposit on my property in January 1997, and the balance of the mortgage in November 1998.

We were both divorced and had not remarried. BT appears reluctant to honour his wishes and wants more proof of joint accounts.

M. D., Great Maplestead, Essex. i’M afraid that i have drawn a blank, but your letter serves as a warning to others in a similar position. Pension trustees do not have to act on instructions given to them.

BT Pensions wants evidence that you were financially reliant on your partner. To me this sounds like a demand from the 1950s.

Surely evidence of a 30-year relationship and a statement of wishes from your partner should suffice? a BT Pension Scheme spokesman says: ‘When a scheme member dies and is not married or in a civil partnership, a pension can be paid to a “nominated dependant” identified by the member in writing.’

But here’s the nub: ‘Nomination does not guarantee the payment of the pension as, under the scheme rules, the trustees must be satisfied that, at the date of the nomination and at the time of the member’s death, the nominated person was financially dependent on the member.’

The trustees have a legal obligation to ask for evidence of financial dependency. This may include joint utility bills, mortgage statements, bank statements or council tax bills.

a spokesman says: ‘Mrs d was unable to provide evidence that she was wholly or partially financially dependent on our member. as a result the trustees have declined the application.’

if you can dig up further evidence to show you were financially dependent, it will refer the decision back to the discretions committee for review.

The difficulty for you is not just the absurd idea that you need to be financially dependent on your partner, but also that BT Pensions can request proof of this dependence at the time of nomination and now. The nomination was made in 1998, and financial institutions have no obligation to keep records for this length of time.

The rules of many pension schemes mean that if you are not married or in a civil partnership, the trustees have the discretion to not award a widow’s pension.

Those in a similar position should take note. ON MARCH 16, I tried to withdraw £40 from a cash machine at Sainsbury’s.

As I went to take the money it went back into the machine. I complained to the store but was told I had to contact my bank.

On March 19 the money was refunded, but on March 31 it was taken out of my account again.

Quite apart from losing the money, it is the insinuation that I am lying that upsets me. I don’t know where to turn now.

V. G., Birkenhead, Merseyside. i deCided to bypass your bank and go straight to Sainsbury’s Bank, which operates the machine. The bank told me it was sympathetic to your complaint and has sent £40 to HSBC, which has refunded it to your account.