Bank fees

[franglaisaccounts]

Hi

Does anyone know how much a bank is supposed to charge for account information regarding where cheques went to? I'm currently investigating for a client a number of cheques which were cashed for large amounts and she has no idea by whom! Apparently the bank (HSBC) wants to charge 60 pounds per cheque that it reveals the beneficiary of, which I find extremely steep - is this normal?

Thanks

Rachel

 

[KM-Tiger]

Doesn't seem outrageous. It's not information that can be retrieved from a Statement, so probably involves a special search of records.

 

[Alice3537]

Would that info have to be disclosed under a DPA request?? If so, do that!!

(I don't know whether it would and it's not up to me to check, but that would certainly save one hell of a lot of money if it was!)

 

[Alice3537]

OK...Cheques have little stubs where the author writes what the cheque is for and to whom. It takes less than 20 seconds and the stubs are meant to be held on record with accounts...does your client have these?

I kind of assumed they didn't keep a record!

Mind you, if they did, the statement would show the cheque number and make it easy.

BUT that would also make franglaisaccounts a not very good accountant! :redface:

A check on the cheque numbers versus what the client 'says' was their last cheque book would show whether one had been 'lost in the post' - if that were the case, I would expect to see a number of cheques presented in a short space of time and probably presented through different branches of a bank/different bank accounts.

 

[franglaisaccounts]

erm thanks for your comments!

to explain further, my customer is disabled so relies on others to fill in her cheque book. The stubs have been left extremely vague and I dont trust the explanations given since they were not filled in by my client herself. I suspect that her carers have been stealing money but obviously need to prove this through having the bank verify who actually cashed the mysterious cheques.

I obviously have a list of cheque numbers, dates, amounts etc, along with dodgy cash transfers. I just didnt want my client to be hit for more costs since she already seems to have lost a lot from people "helping" her manage her money.

Alice, I dont understand why me asking advice regarding bank fees makes me a bad accountant? I didnt see that to be a particularly helpful or constructive comment. Perhaps I didnt explain the situation clearly enough in the first place.

Rachel

 

[franglaisaccounts]

ps I'm performing an audit of her last 7 years financial activity.

 

[lesliedocherty]

Hi Fran,

£60 is steep for each cheque, they must be able to retrieve it in a more cost effective manner.

If it helps, i am with HSBC and i got the info re 1 missing cheque for free last october.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Apparently the bank (HSBC) wants to charge 60 pounds per cheque that it reveals the beneficiary of, which I find extremely steep - is this normal?

Every bank I know offers full Internet access to all your cleared cheques, both front and back. Those same banks charge no fees at all, either for that service or for most others. Indeed, it's becoming a trend for banks to pay you interest on the balance in your current account.

60 pounds per check seems outrageous to me. Of course, if all the banks do it, you're faced with a local cartel, which is very anti-competitive. It didn't ought to be long before an upstart bank tears down this policy. In other words, I'd spend a little time shopping around.

 

[Alice3537]

Alice, I dont understand why me asking advice regarding bank fees makes me a bad accountant? I didnt see that to be a particularly helpful or constructive comment. Perhaps I didnt explain the situation clearly enough in the first place.

As quoted in my post, I was responding to IP2's comment regarding cheque stubs being filled out (and I took his meaning to be that they were filled out with the correct details by the owner of the chequebook). Really, I was pointing out that an accountant had most likely explored that route and dismissed it as not being valid. I think that IP2's response means that he also understood what I was saying.

I agree with you that we did not understand, from your first post, what was involved - had we done, the following exchange would not have taken place and you would not be misconstruing my remark!

As far as fees go, it used to be possible (and I'm sure it still is) for HSBC staff members to over-ride fees for duplicate statements, cheuq info etc - a mere click on the computer would do that. It was also possible to negotiate a 'price' which was done when someone needed a number of printouts etc. So, it could be an idea for your client (if they are mobile) to go into the branch and have a chat about the situation. I take it the client doesn't have anyone acting as power of attorney?

 

[Yusuf-Partnership]

erm thanks for your comments!

to explain further, my customer is disabled so relies on others to fill in her cheque book. The stubs have been left extremely vague and I dont trust the explanations given since they were not filled in by my client herself. I suspect that her carers have been stealing money but obviously need to prove this through having the bank verify who actually cashed the mysterious cheques.

I obviously have a list of cheque numbers, dates, amounts etc, along with dodgy cash transfers. I just didnt want my client to be hit for more costs since she already seems to have lost a lot from people "helping" her manage her money.

Alice, I dont understand why me asking advice regarding bank fees makes me a bad accountant? I didnt see that to be a particularly helpful or constructive comment. Perhaps I didnt explain the situation clearly enough in the first place.

Rachel

Request all the information in one DPA (Data Protection Act) request.

Make sure the client whose Data it is agrees to it and signs the request. Explain what has happened and that the client is disabled.

The charge should be £10 by law.

If the bank tries to get funny contact the Information Commissioners Office.

£60 per cheque is ridiculous when a mere £10 gets you every bit of info they have on the account.

 

[franglaisaccounts]

Thanks very much Yusuf for your reply. I'll be escorting her to the bank again next week, so I'll be armed with this info you've just provided me with. I did think that 60 gbp was far too steep and there must be a way of avoiding these ridiculous charges.

Thanks again!
Rachel