Missing Cheque

[Troydave]

I represent an unincorporated association. The association set up a Savings bank account ( not a current account) in its own name with the Staffordshire BS which required 2 signatures for withdrawals. This account was transferred upon merger to The Portland and then upon merger to Nationwide.

Nationwide closed the account without providing any notice, transferred the balance to a holding account and then sent a cheque to one of our signatories ( who was unable to withdraw money without a second signatory) 17 months later by standard post which never arrived nor was the cheque ever expected.

Several years later our association went into a local Nationwide branch and were told the account had been closed.
All deposits into the account had been made in the name of our association and we would have expected the closure cheque to have been made in the name of our organisation.

Nationwide now claim they closed the account as it was Dormant though the last deposit was only made 17 months earlier so clearly never Dormant.

Nationwide are unable to verify if the cheque had been intercepted in the post by others and claim they have discharged their liability by sending a cheque which was only written out with the signatories partial name.

Nationwide have closed around 70,000 club/ societies accounts in recent years.
If yours was one of them could you please confirm if payment was made in the name of your association or to a signatory.

Our instructions when outing the account were that all communications were sent to our Treasurer ( a different signatory than was sent the cheque) and both The Staffordshire and The Portland sent windfall cheques to our Treasurer.
The signatory that was sent the cheque never received any communication from any of the societies in 20 years.

 

[numbersrule]

Are Nationwide saying the cheque was cashed?
You make it sound like Nationwide believe they have paid the association all their dues, but please explain how they have evidenced this.
This sounds like something for one of the Newspaper Investigators - try contacting the Consumer Champion at Money Mail or some such?

 

[eteb3]

Have you been in touch with NCVO and similar organisations too?

Is it possible Nationwide sent the cheque to one of the trustees? Legally they sometimes / usually own the funds in an unincorporated association, even if they’re not signatories on the account.

 

[Troydave]

Are Nationwide saying the cheque was cashed?
You make it sound like Nationwide believe they have paid the association all their dues, but please explain how they have evidenced this.
This sounds like something for one of the Newspaper Investigators - try contacting the Consumer Champion at Money Mail or some such?

Nationwide can only say the cheque is not on there list of uncashed cheques. They oddly no longer retain the list of cashed cheques for the same period of time. Apart from that nothing except as they have recorded they wrote a cheque it’s enough for them to say there has been no errors on there part.

 

[Troydave]

Have you been in touch with NCVO and similar organisations too?

Is it possible Nationwide sent the cheque to one of the trustees? Legally they sometimes / usually own the funds in an unincorporated association, even if they’re not signatories on the account.

There are no trustees. The passbook lists four names , the association itself plus 3 signatories. The first signatory was the treasurer who received all other communications, the cheque supposedly sent to the last named who had never received communication in the past from any of the societies involved.
I intend to speak with NCVO , are there any other similar organisations that you feel may assist?

 

[Newchodge]

Nationwide can only say the cheque is not on there list of uncashed cheques. They oddly no longer retain the list of cashed cheques for the same period of time. Apart from that nothing except as they have recorded they wrote a cheque it’s enough for them to say there has been no errors on there part.

It may be enough for them to say that there have been no errors. That is not evidence of anything except their hopes.

 

[japancool]

It may be enough for them to say that there have been no errors. That is not evidence of anything except their hopes.

That's what the Post Office said...