Where Can I go to contact someone from the Royal Bank of Scotland who can do something?

In message , System Prompt writes

Whats all this 'wiring' business. 'Wiring' doesnt mean anything in UK banking. Tell us what do you 'really' mean, what you have actually done and what you are trying to do and we can see if we can help. Try to use normal terms like 'bank giro credit', chaps, bacs, etc.,

Electronic funds transfer AKA Telex transfer. It is an electronic transfer that is slower than an automated bank machine withdrawal but it quicker and more secure than sending it by mule train.

Normally it takes 1 day but 1-2 days are added to delivery times in order to grant a margin of delay.

In a nutshell a clerk at one bank enters the bank sort code, the account number, address of the receiving bank and the fund amount as well as denomination.

Once the keystrokes are completed the transaction shouldn't be longer than 30 seconds. Imagine it as a way of faxing money.

So in June 2003 I sent some money into my account and requested that the bank send a third party authorization form so that I could add them to the account and the relatives could withdraw it from the bank directly.

The Royal Bank of Scotland never sent the forms out and my relatives went in, in person to pick the forms up. The forms were couriered over but with the 2 - 3 day courier time each way they were unable to receive the forms prior to departure.

So............

I called the bank asked them what they needed to "wire" me the money.

Answer? "Just a letter signed by yourself, but it must be the original as a fax will not do".

So...............

Not wanting any delay's I photocopied my passport, my wife's passport hand wrote on the back our request, signed, had my wife sign, included a copy of an old (1997) statement of the account to be debited and a voided cheque of the account to be credited. And couriered it over. Should be good enough right?

WRONG ! I get this:

"Before we can authorize your payment, please could you supply a letter of introduction for your self, from a solicitor. This letter should confirm your name, address, DOB and signature. Please could you forward to us enclosing a copy of your passport signed "certified true copy of original" by the solicitor."

I think to myself "this is madness" but I take a morning off get the documents from our safety deposit box go to a new solicitor as our estate solicitor is on holidays and have the requested forms drawn up and sent over (again by courier). (now this is 3 times by courier at about £20 per delivery PLUS the cost of the solicitor.

I track the package and it is received by the branch on the 11th of August wherein I call and confirm that the payment has been sent as the relatives are getting quite frustrated being on vacation without money. I was assured that it was sent out, not to worry. 3 days roll by and nothing.... I contact the branch again and get the response that it may take until August 26th !

If they had couriered me the money at the time of the initial request it would have been received by the 8th. I am asking for a resolution to this problem at the branch and I am being stone walled. I am seriously doubting if the money has even been sent yet. (but they did confirm that my account has been debited) They got that much right.

Suggestions? Contacts? Thanks in advance.

Stephen

With regards to the money laundering rules this should pose no question. It is going from one account that I have had for 15 years to another account that I've had for 9 years documented by current passports and correspondence sent by them and received by me. Hardly a fly by night stealth maneuver I'm thinking. In addition the amount falls below the new international standard of $10,000.00 US by about a third.

With regards to confusion on my part on the wiring; If it is, then it is confusion that is shared by HSBC, Citi Group and ING.

Perhaps you could explain to me what the term is that would be recognized by my rural English bank tellers for a financial transaction that is time critical if the term "wire" is no longer used. It worked the last few times that I electronically sent money from that account.

The previous wire transfers had been completed successfully from the same branch a few years ago and it seems as if the collective intelligence and learning from the previous transactions of the branch has vanished since my last "wire" transfer.

What I have learned from this experience so far is that if I want reliable accountable banking practices I'll have to steer clear of the UK based banks. This banking practice experienced so far is utter nonsense.

Stephen

Does anyone have suggestions on who to contact, or how to contact someone that can do something in a timely manner?

In message , System Prompt writes

Good, but I stand by my previous statement having read your other posting. I detect form your terminology, i.e. tellers, that you are not from UK or possibly even in UK.

The terminology we use is CHAPS for intra UK same day value transfers. That woman was more used than I to your use of the word 'wire'.

When you used your UK account had you left it dormant for some time, or were you accessing it from abroad? If so then latest money laundering rules in UK would have triggered the response you got, especially by RBS who were recently fined a lot of dosh for not properly following these loony laws.

Depends what you mean by "we". CHAPS is a banker's buzzword. Normal people (bank customers) don't use it (and most don't even know it). We say wire, send, or transfer, and we don't care how the money gets there, just *that* it does, the PDQer the better.

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

'We' do, do 'we'?

I've only ever heard the word 'wire' used in this context in american films.

Yes, somehow "I rang my parents to ask them to CHAPS me some more money" just doesn't sound right. Hey, that reminds me of that silly number puzzle SEND+MORE=MONEY where each digit is encoded by a letter and you have to work out which letter stands for which digit.

I'm sure I've heard it in British films too, but they would have been of a certain vintage, from an era when people still used to send telegrams. Before your time, eh, sonny?

That's me going out of my way trying to make you feel young.

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

It worked!! Thanks!

It surprised me that you hadn't heard the term wire. When I would walk into the local branch to conduct the transaction the staff referred to the transaction as wire which I had thought was a universal term.

What does the term CHAPS stand for? That is a term I've yet to hear in any context outside of the equestrian world or when talking of the upper lip of a dog.

When I called the head office something miraculous happened. The money arrived within an hour ! Amazing that eh?

Stephen

PS My wife and I have a home in England as well as here in Canada. Hence the frequent transfer of money between countries.

Similar but different. Telegrams were charged by word, not by character, so there was a certainamount of runningtogether of words to get the countdown.

Ahh, makes sense, in that light.

Not any connectino to the "publishers clearing house sweepstakes" is it? ;-) (seemed to operate on about the same time frame in this case Stephen.

In message , System Prompt writes

Your local branch is in canada? Hence their use of the word 'wire'.

You will care when you get charged 25 quid for a 100 quid CHAPS transfer! A few years ago I had exactly that problem with a unit trust company, I asked them to sell some units and pay the money into my bank account, and indeed they chose CHAPS, although they grudgingly refunded the charge when I complained. Since then I always specify BACS.

(I agree with John, I would never talk about wiring money - maybe it's a Scottish thing ...)

All those anti-money laundering precautions are some savage backwardness.

Perhaps when I come over to London I should just bring all funds in cash or traveller's checks (or cheques). Are travellers checks even negotiable in the United Kingdom??

Is cash still King, or is that only applicable in America?

"Stephen Burke" wrote in news:6%81b.208$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfep4-glfd.server.ntli.net:

There used to be a commercial here for American Express. It showed a couple of British tourists on holiday in the US, lurking furtively outside a bank which was closed. A cop challenged them and they stammered "We were hoping to exchange these", and showed him the traveller's cheques they had. He said "These are *American Express* traveler's checks, you don't *need* a bank". "Oh," they said, and were on their way. "You folks have a nice day, now", said the cop, predictably.

It's certainly not like that over here. You *will* need a bank or money changing bureau to turn your TCs into cash, but should have no trouble doing so. There will be a fee to pay, though. You'll probably find your existing credit cards more convenient, if you can manage them at a distance, i.e. pay them every month from your home bank account.