Bank apologises for losing original cheque, which led to overdraft charges and an 'incorrect marker' being put on account
I paid a cheque for �2,000 from a Santander account into my current account at the Soho Square branch of Barclays. A week later I received a letter informing me I had exceeded my overdraft, and was charged �22. So I arranged a CHAPS payment from my Santander account to my Barclays account for �2,000 (at an additional cost of �25). I also wrote to Barclays informing them that they must have lost my original cheque, and that I had since had to cancel it. Barclays said they could find no evidence of the cheque ever having been deposited at the Soho Square branch, but agreed to defer the overdraft fee of �22.
A couple of weeks later I received a letter from Barclays informing me that I had again exceeded my overdraft ? another charge of �22 ? so I paid a cheque for �1,500 into my current account, again at the Soho Square branch. The next day I checked my balance online and noticed that my account had been credited both with �1,500 and �2,000. I also noticed that two cheques had been returned unpaid (one for �40 to Virgin Money, and one for �28.17 to my vet).
Next, I tried to pay a cheque for �3,750 into my current account at the same branch of Barclays, only to find I was unable to withdraw any funds. Barclays told me my account had been frozen because it reserves the right, from time to time, to freeze client accounts when fraud is suspected. What is going on? BM, London
For once, this isn't a Santander problem. Barclays admitted it lost your original cheque and agreed to refund the charges, but when you deposited the cheque for �3,750 an "incorrect marker" was placed on your account, which prevented you from accessing the available funds while waiting for the cheque to clear.
"As soon as this matter was brought to our attention it was corrected," a Barclays spokesman said. "We have apologised to BM for the error and offered �150 as a gesture of goodwill to cover the charges incurred and for the inconvenience caused. To expedite payments to Barclays, we have suggested that it may be beneficial to BM to use the online banking facilities offered by the two other banks he uses rather than issue cheques, which take time to clear."
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/mar/12/barclays-cheque-account-frozen
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