Natwest lost my business mandate - please help.

[xtian]

I'm about to start the reclaim process for both my business and personal accounts with NatWest so have read with interest the advice and differences between the two.

 

An interesting situation has arisen in the last week or so, that my business manager is requesting I sign a new mandate. The catalyst to this request is that I went ape when they bounced two cheques (one to my biggest supplier, the other to my accountant) - simply returning them with the reason "not signed in accordance with mandate". My supplier & accountant have incurred charges - and more frustratingly the supplier has now requested that we pre pay for goods for "a while" to satisfy their accounts dept. As such, the actions of NatWest will affect cash flow, credibility with partners as well as directly costing us time and effort to resolve a problem that in fact they created. I should add - there were sufficient cleared funds in the account.

 

In the last 5 years, whilst there have been two signatories on the account - virtually all of the transactions (by cheque, phone or fax) have been initiated by me. I can still call the Natwest phone banking - and they are quite happy to acknowledge over the phone that my profile on their phone banking system is fine - but that despite requests for them to produce the original mandates 18months ago (verbally) and again 12 months ago (again verbally) they have clearly lost them.

 

Interestingly (NatWest) when challenged by the other signatory on our account as to how this could happen - they had no answer. It was even suggested by my partner that in reality - despite this issue being raised a year ago - they had continued to let me undertake transactions through the account when in actual fact they have nothing in place to prove my authority. A year ago, it was suggested I needed to go back to my branch with a bunch of ID and re-sign the mandates. I refused on the basis I had already done so a few years earlier - and that it was their responsibility to find the documentation and correct the discrepancies between systems.. I heard nothing more - so assumed it had been sorted. Moreover I take exception to the fact that they tried to put the responsibility back on me - and thought nothing of the time, inconvenience and stress of dealing with the matter.

 

Could anybody advise me on a suitable course of action that would establish and prove that they have in fact lost the mandates? We don't actually owe any money on that account, and the charges have probably not reached more than £200 over five years... but as I said to the advisor... "so one of your systems say's it ok to talk to me, but the one that you use to clear payments in missing vital data. (i.e. the mandate). Despite my requests, you've failed to satisfy me that you have taken due care of some of the most important records you hold on my behalf - and you're unable to produce them upon my instruction. You have mislaid my signature, national insurance record, driving licence and passport records that supported the mandate - and your answer is that I should spend my time coming to you.. to give you the same information again."

 

I'd also be interested to know if anyone else has experienced the same problem.. and whether their is any mileage in pursuing the matter. My gut instinct tells me to close the account - but as it stands I don't have the authority to do that - and I'm hacked off that their actions have impacted a business relationship - and will directly affect our cash flow as a result.

 

Any thoughts, gratefully received.

 

Cheers

 

[elsinore]

Hello xtian, welcome to CAG.

 

Two initial reactions:

 

• Your story suggests that, so far, all contacts with the bank in this matter have been verbal. If so, then I think you should be putting your complaint in writing. It should be sent to the most senior business manager at the branch, to give them the opportunity to put right, at branch level, their mistake. That manager will know, from the nature and tone of your letter, that the complaint will be escalated to a higher level if he/she fails to sort it. It sounds like you want your bank to offer you some form of redress for their mistake. An apology would be nice but I suspect that something more tangible would be appropriate! Your post contains all the points which you would want to include in a complaint to your bank. It just needs editing into a letter.

• Your accountant, who has access to your confidential accounting records, could perhaps write to your supplier, confirming that the situation arose from the banks mistake. That might reassure the supplier and allow them to relax their stance on credit.

Els:)