Ungodly row over cheques

D. W. writes: I served in the RAF for 30 years, then in the Church for 25 years. My wife and I found a house to retire to, but it needed redecoration, so we transferred money online from our Santander savings account to our joint account to pay tradesmen.

Unfortunately, we exceeded the online transfer limit, resulting in a long phone call to establish our credentials before the money was moved. A couple of days later we transferred another £250, and Santander blocked the account. I did not discover this until a week later when a cheque I issued was rejected, marked ‘account blocked’, which I found extremely embarrassing. I CAN only imagine what went through the head of the man who was working on your home, who found that a cheque from a clergyman had bounced. If you can’t trust a dog collar, where can you put your trust?

But your story gets worse. Santander apologised for not warning you before blocking your account. It offered £30 compensation and promised the account was unblocked.

But two days later, another cheque bounced, and again it was a payment to someone working on your house.

Convincing one irritated decorator that it was all a mix-up must have been bad enough, but telling the same tale to a second victim, who will surely have talked with the first – that must have been worth hearing.

Santander upped its compensation to £35, which I thought was miserly.

The bank told me ‘human error’ was to blame. An official said: ‘We have apologised to Rev. W. for the inconvenience and embarrassment caused.’ And you have now accepted £100 as a goodwill gesture.