Frustrated by Santander cheque confusion

In February 2010 I deposited £10,000 into a two-year fixed-rate Isa with Alliance & Leicester (later to become Santander). In mid January 2012, I received a letter from Santander informing me that the Isa would mature on 1 February 2012, as I was expecting. The financial options which were offered upon maturity were poor and I decided to inform Santander that I wished the full original deposit plus interest gained to be made payable to me by cheque. A series of phone calls followed in which I was repeatedly assured I would get the cheque but it failed to arrive. Eventually, in mid-March, I received the cheque and paid it in. A mini-statement the next day showed it had been credited to my account along with a £95 sum, which I later learnt was compensation for distress and inconvenience. Then, unbelievably, I received a letter saying the cheque had been stopped with a copy of the returned cheque in it. AH, Brighton What a debacle. Without revealing every detail of your sorry saga here, we can safely say that, from what you have sent us, and what Santander has confirmed, there was a series of delays and miscommunication on the part of the bank that led to delays in getting you your money. First, there were delays in sending you a cheque as you noted. Then a cheque was sent that you never received, so Santander issued another one. You received the first one and paid it in, not realising that it had been cancelled and a second one sent out. You have now paid this in and Santander has apologised, saying: "Unfortunately, combinations of delays in AH receiving the first cheque and the fact that it wasn't cancelled when the second cheque was issued have been contributing factors." It has apologised and given you a goodwill payment of £123 (in addition to the £95 that you had already received). This sum includes lost interest during the delay. We have advised you to accept. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Bachelor & Brignall, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number