I have had a complaint with NatWest since May, after it lost £10,000 of my dad’s money.
He transferred the cash out of his Isa and into an old NatWest Isa of my own. The transfer didn’t go through, but the money wasn’t returned to his account, either.
I have been complaining to NatWest since then but am getting nowhere. I have sent a letter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but it seems very slow, too.
The first bank person who dealt with the complaint has left. He sent a resolution letter to say a cheque for £10,000 was in the post to my dad, who has dementia, back in June, but, needless to say, it hasn’t turned up. I am at my wits’ end.
KA, by email
This has not, by its own admission, been NatWest’s finest hour, but I am happy to report this has finally been resolved.
These cases can be hard to conclude where payments go missing between different banks; however, in this case, both accounts were with the same institution, so there really was no excuse.
After I raised the issue, the bank moved quickly to fix it. The £10,000 has been found and returned to your father’s account.
The bank has apologised for the time you spent trying to resolve this, and has duly upped the compensation already paid from £250 to a generous £750. It has also paid £175 to cover the interest lost, and the two cheques it sent out have been cancelled.
It seems that NatWest Isas become inactive after one tax year has passed, which doesn’t seem a very long time. You are just mightily relieved the matter is at an end.
And finally …
EH writes in praise of retailer Argos, which has prevented a child’s slide ending up in landfill. “We bought it for my daughter, then aged around two, during lockdown. It has had plenty of use, but a small plastic component wore out, rendering it unsafe. On the Argos website you can search for spares, sent out via Click Spares, at no cost. The part is no doubt valued at pennies, but how refreshing not to have to throw the whole thing away!” Well done Argos, more of this please.
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