A real bank robbery
Wired cash is never seen again
Dear John: I have a situation I need your advice on.
On July 2, I went to my local Chase bank to transfer $20,000 to my stepson in England. Alot of money for me. A lifeline for him.
His bank in England is Halifax PLC. He provided the bank’s SWIFT code (routing numbers) and his account number. Chase uses Lloyds Bank as its intermediary to turn dollars into British pounds. Halifax and Lloyds share a close relationship.
I called Chase on July 3 and was told to wait until July 10 for completion of the transfer.
I called then and was told the name and account number didn’t match. Mystepson took a picture of his account number and name. I instructed that the moneybereturned to me.
The best information I can get is that Lloyds released the money into the wrong account. I call constantly for updates. I can’t understand why Lloyds would release money if there was a discrepancy.
Second, why is Chase still politely asking Lloyds for money back? Lastly, why am I, the customer, doing all the chasing of this money?
I made a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Is my next step a complaint with Financial Ombudsman Service and the FBI? This highly regulated industry is still leaving its customers holding the bag. Very sad to me.
I would appreciate any help you could offer.
My husband was 54 years old when he passed in June of this year. His last wish was for me to send his son and daughter $20,000 each, as they needed financial help desperately.
I work part time as a Special Ed Aid for the Smithtown (LI) school district. My annual salary is $13,500. This lost wire transfer has gutted me. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks. P.M. Dear P.M. First, I’m sorry to hear about your husband. Second, I’m sorry that the problems with this money are making the grieving worse.
I can understand your frustration, especially since I’ve been working to fix this problem for nearly two months, and it’s ticking me off.
I’ve made some progress. Chase worked quickly and diligently after I contacted my source there, and the bank found out that — as you said — the routing number was wrong and the money went to someone else instead of your son.
Lloyds has the money. And Chase has sent Lloyds a so-called “hold harmless” letter that gets Lloyds off the hook for the mistake.
Well, I’m not going to give Lloyds a hold-harmless letter. I contacted the bank more than a week ago and have heard nothing back. And the bank’s behavior in this matter is disgraceful.
I can’t see how anyone would do business with a bank that won’t quickly and honestly correct its mistakes.
So, until the money is returned to P.M. I’m going to keep up the pressure. Lloyds Bank, quite succinctly, stinks. Don’t do business with it.
The next $20,000 that gets lost and not returned might be yours.