Dread of paying in a large cheque

I try to get money transferred in electronically if possible. Otherwise, a cheque has got to clear before the money can be transferred elsewhere.

On a couple of occasions I've had a phone call from my bank saying "We've noticed that a large amount is about to arrive in your current account. Do you want any help to decide how to invest it?"

No I DIDN'T - it was already earmarked! But I hope that my response was reasonably polite, nevertheless.

In message , Yellow writes

I always found that if I replied that "Yes, I know exactly where it's going to go as soon as the cheque is cleared" they just smiled and processed it.

They just asked me if "I had plans for the money". I said Yes, end of conversation.

What's the problem

tim

Had I just been asked that question all would have been as cool as a cucumber but I wasn't - "what are you going to be using it for?" is impertinent.

In message , Yellow wrote

When I transfer money through my current account it is the cue for RBS making cold calls and leaving messages on my answerphone asking me to contact them about my account.

They've got to ask, otherwise other people will accuse them of not telling them the bleeding obvious. When I've done it and was asked:how long will you be leaving this in that account, I said "About 5 minutes if I've timed it right," and we both smiled.

In article , Alan writes

They'll stop that if you ask them to.

In the o/p's position I have asked them to tick the, "don't ask the account holder any (stupid) questions" box, yes, they do get popups of scripted questions related to account balances when they access your account (unless opted out).

If you're bored you could ask them the best rate they can do, and then announce that you were planning to get 47% in gilt-edged Zimbabwe securities, but you might give their 0.5% offer some thought...

Theo

I guess all their employees are instructed to sell you lots of other products while they have you "trapped" at the counter.

The Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band had this problem pegged over 40 years ago:

Mrs Betty Pench was playing the trombone when she heard a knock on the door. "I wonder who that is at eleven o'clock in the morning" she thought but cautiously opened the door, and instead of the turbanned ruffian she had expected she found a very nice young man. "Mrs. Pench, you've won the car contest. Would you like a Triumph Spitfire or 3,000 in cash?" He smiled. Mrs. Pench took the money. "What will you do with it all; not that it's any of my business," he giggled. "I think I'll become an alcoholic," said Betty. [from 'Rhinocratic Oaths', on 'The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse']

Everywhere's at it. How often do you hear: "do you need any phone top ups or stamps"!

tim

I see those investments in degree courses in the bleeding obvious are paying off.

I take a deep breath before going into the Nationwide to pay in anything. This is the sort of thing where I would be tempted to pay it into the ATM just before opening time so that it would get processed that day but without the need to speak to a salesperson. OTOH I would also be reluctant to trust a large deposit to an ATM so a difficult descision.

I also object to being asked why I am withdrawing larger sums. "Because I want to spend it!"

I was once asked by a cashier at RBS where my cheque for £100k had come from "because of money laundering regulations" I was so surprised I just showed her the accompanying letter from the solicitors who dealt with the sale of the property it came from. I don't know if they do have a legal right to demand information before accepting a deposit, however as I assume any request for info is part of a sales ploy I avoid saying anything useful.

(As an aside RBS made such a mess of sending out new debit cards at that time, I made numerous phoncalls and faxes, that the quickest way to get the cash out was to write a cheque to open a postal account with the Yorkshire BS (no questions asked). Wait for the cheque to clear and the account open and Yorkshire to send me a book and a LINK card and PIN. And yes during some of those phone calls the man at RBS said "oh you have a lot of money in there, would you like to open a savings account" just after he had lied about posting the cards out!)

Maybe you should ask them what THEY are planning to do with your money. Tell them you need to know because you're worried they might lose it on a non-performing loan and the government might not be able to bail them out.

Chris

I also object to being asked why I am withdrawing larger sums. "Because I want to spend it!"

I was once asked by a cashier at RBS where my cheque for 100k had come from "because of money laundering regulations" I was so surprised I just showed her the accompanying letter from the solicitors who dealt with the sale of the property it came from. I don't know if they do have a legal right to demand information before accepting a deposit, however as I assume any request for info is part of a sales ploy I avoid saying anything useful.

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Under MLR It's not the job of a bank cashier to ask where the money has come from, merely to report it to some government body, who will investigate if they think it necessary

tim

I kid you not - the man at the post office, where I had gone to buy stamps, tried to get me to have their credit card.

I didn't get any questions at Alliance and Leicester but I thought the person behind the counter was being especially nice to me as though I was more important than the regular customers.

After I left I promptly went into Barclays and opened an ISA with a £5K cheque from my A+L chequebook. I only put that much money in so it could all be drawn on one cheque to open my new ISA.

Nowadays, my bank has a letterbox machine inside (outside would be better) where you can pay in cheques without speaking to anyone, though they do look disappointed when there's no queue and you use it nonetheless (because the cheque and paying-in slip are all in the envelope in your hand). It wouldn't stop the 'phone calls, though.

Contacting you is arguably preferable to the old days where banks just ignored you as long as you were in credit. Consequently, a sizeable sum just accrued in my current account earning no interest for many years. It wasn't until they started sending advertising literature about deposit accounts through the post that I opened one (by post). Before that I think I'd have had to take time off work and make an appointment to see one of those people with a terrifying reputation called a bank manager, so I never got a round toit.

Chris

So does my branch of Nationwide. It works well.

Robert