Lloyds cashpoint displays balance

I stood at my bank’s cashpoint on my local high street and was looking for the “cash with receipt” choice but it only showed “cash with on-screen balance”. I needed some cash, so proceeded with my transaction.

I found I was looking at my balance illuminated in large numbers for anyone walking by to see. I then read the warning printed on the machine about hiding your pin number.

After collecting my cash I stepped away from the machine and decided to go into the branch and tell the staff that, if Lloyds was so concerned about the privacy of its customers, it should not illuminate its customers’ balances on the screen in this way.

Lloyds Bank staff were simply not interested. JOHN HAYLES, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

There was also a problem over the lack of an option for a paper receipt even though a member of staff found there was paper in the machine.

You spoke to the complaints centre but were told that, because you were the only person who had complained, nothing would be done.

The bank tells me that it introduced the option to withdraw cash with the available balance showing to save customers time.

It said that it appeared there was a “functionality issue” with this particular machine regarding obtaining a receipt.

The bank now told me that work was under way to remove the “on-screen balance” from the cash withdrawal option for Lloyds Bank cashpoints.

This will mean that customers can withdraw cash without the need for the balance to be displayed or a receipt printed.

It acknowledges that you had a poor experience and says that feedback has been passed to the relevant colleagues to ensure future queries are handled better. It has credited your account with £50 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused. still unusable and guests were coming.

Your letters went unanswered and, apparently, information was not passed between the underwriters and the insurer.

You had bought the insurance via the AA and under its banner. When I approached it, it described the delays as “dismaying”. It told me that it would ensure the claim was promptly met.

I understood the remedial works on the bath would be carried out expeditiously. This didn’t happen. Instead, you received an email that concluded that the AA was “closing the file”.

With more pressing from me, a ponderous and unnecessarily long (albeit apologetic) letter eventually arrived.

The insurer was still refusing to cover the cost of the shower door, and a month on from its promises to me the work on the bath was no further forward.

A £100 goodwill payment was offered. AA now paid for the shower door in recognition of the delays and sent a further £200 to cover the policy excess.

But that was not the end of the story, alas.

When eventually the bath was taken out by the contractor, tiles were damaged. Replacements are no longer available and new ones, once sourced, will have to be put in for the entire bathroom.

The cost of this to the insurer could well be about £3,000, including labour. All because of a hole in the bath.

Brokers like AA insurance are supposed to be there for claimants if things go wrong. Here it seems that actions have failed to match up to promises.