U.K Banks

[soi two 1]

Hi,

 

I would be grateful if anyone could give me some advice.

 

Basically what happened is this year I made an ATM withdrawal at a bank in Pattaya. Half an hour later I realised I had lost my card. So I went back to my hotel and contacted the Bank of Scotland and cancelled it straight away.

 

This was on the 30th of August, 2004. When I got home I looked through my bank statements and saw that this transaction had apparently gone through on the 30th of August and then appeared in my October statement dated 31 Aug 2004 with the same amount as I had withdrawn. To my mind it looked like the same transaction had gone through twice. I contacted my bank and they didn't really have much of a clue at the branch. At first the branch staff said as my account had been suspended that the withdrawal had gone through twice. What my bank are trying to tell me now is that, if you make a withdrawal in Thailand the money comes out your UK account two days later. So they are saying that the money shown on my statement for the 30th was withdrawn on the 28th. I asked to see the time of the withdrawal to see if it was the same withdrawal but the bank tell me that as the withdrawal was in Thailand they don't have that information. Surely if it is using an electronic banking system they must know ? So two questions really -

 

1. Is this time delay of two days correct for a withdrawal made in Thailand to clear from your UK account ?

 

2. Are banks in the UK unable to tell what time of day a withdrawal is made in Thailand at an ATM ?

 

My gut feeling is that the bank are 'winging it' and hoping I won't pursue this. Any advice would be very welcome.

[RICHERTS 0]

I bank with First Direct and would say that on average it is 2 days after the withdrawal that it appears on statement some times a little lon ger. Has never appeared on same day.

 

Ric

[Eneukman 1]

I've just checked my Nationwide Building Society statement and it would appear that the withdrawal goes through two days after it was actually made. The last withdrawal I made went through on 30th November but it was actually made on the 28th, the day I left.

 

It would seem that the transaction through your account on 30th August was made 2 days earlier on the 28th and that the one through your account in October dated 31st August was the one you made before losing your card.

 

The Bank of Scotland should be able to check on when you actually made the withdrawal but the branch staff don't have a fucking clue about anything nowadays apart from selling you insurance or a mortgage! And it's 10 times worse since the cunts at the Halifax took them over.

 

Alan

[Soi7 1]

Not Sure about about UK but when I use My ATM card issued in Califorina I can go into a Internet shop 5 minutes later and it has already been Posted.

[kuranda_bagman 135]

In October 2004 I made a 10,000 baht cash withdrawl via an ATM in Pattaya and it took four days before it appeared on my statement via internet banking and that was after checking my account every day.

[soi two 1]

Thanks for the information everyone.

 

In the light of what you've said I suspect that the bank may in fact be correct with the 31st August transaction going through in October.

 

The only nagging doubt I have about this being the same transaction is the fact that on my statements there is a Thai baht conversion rate to three decimal points meaning that every withdrawal has a slightly different amount in sterling (a couple of pence). Which in this case is the same. Also the fact that on my October statement it doesn't tell you the name of the bank I withdrew the money from, nor is there a VISA debit charge for using the card abroad.

 

Its not a great deal of money but I'm asking them nicely at the bank if they could provide me with a bit more information !

 

Thanks again.

[cottesloe 0]

Hi BOS2,

 

I agree with the previous posts about you not getting anywhere at the branch - you have to be so persistent!!! to get anywhere.

 

You can check GBP/THB rates over the days in question on many FX sites.

 

It seems that something is wrong if the rate was exactly the same a few days apart. Possible but not that probable. That coupled with no charge for the transaction - then at the very least you are owed an explanation ...

 

Bad luck about losing the card and good luck with the bank!

 

Cheers,

 

C

[soi two 1]

Well I've got a bit more information from the bank now. It would appear that they are correct. As there are different authorisation codes from VISA for the different withdrawals, they must be different transactions.

 

I think I dropped my bank card in the bank (Kasikornbank, in Big C) after taking the money out. I know people talk about Thailand being dodgy for credit card fraud. But someone handed my card in to the bank and I was actually able to get it back by showing my passport. Which I thought was quite nice.

 

Thanks again,

 

Barbarian !

[Eneukman 1]

Glad to hear that you got the problem sorted, BOS2. Regarding the exchange rate one possible explanation for the rates being the same could be due to 30th August being a UK bank holiday.

 

Alan

[rkt 0]

How about this, in July last year i made a withdrawal of 60£ from my local atm in the UK,i with drew my card and walked off and left the money ( dumb fucker ) 50 yds down the road i entered a pet shop and realised what i had done, on returning to the atm, no money!!, i entered the bank ( Royal Bank Of Scotland ) and told the cashier, she shruged her shoulders with no interest and said some one must have took it.

 

Two weeks later when relating this story to a friend i was informed that if the money is'nt taken within a certain period of time ie 30 seconds, the atm machine retrieves the money. The next day i went back to my branch and explained to the cashier what i had been told, my friend was correct, after checking my bank statements times and dates etc, two weeks later my account was recredited the 60£.

 

[Eneukman 1]

Ray,

 

I did something similar but in the supermarket when getting some cash back. Fortunately, I remembered that I hadn't received the money just after I left so I was able to go back to the cashier and retrieve my hard earned cash.

 

Alan