Why did Lloyds hold on to my £700?

Ms C.N. writes: We were due to fly to Florida with Virgin Holidays, but this was cancelled due to the pandemic. Virgin refunded the holiday cost some months ago, but the initial deposit of £700 is still owed. Virgin says it returned the money to my Lloyds account, but Lloyds says it has not received it.

AFTER I contacted Virgin, staff there called you to say that the missing £700 had been sent to Lloyds but had bounced back.

And Lloyds said that so much time had passed since you paid the deposit in 2019 that the refund had not been recognised when it was returned.

Apparently the system does not cope well if more than 365 days separate the original payment and the refund. Virgin has sent the payment again, so you now have your £700.

Lloyds says it could have done better at handling your repeated enquiries about the missing money – and has therefore added £75 to the total by way of saying sorry.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.