LOST €2,500 from my BOI account!!

Carol Anne BOI customer

Hi,
[snipped]  I scheduled a transfer of €2,500 on 1st February 2019 from my BOI account to my TSB account via Bank of Ireland online banking website.  I got back a confirmation saying transaction successful.  However the €2,500 never transferred to my TSB account.  This is due to a failure of the Bank of Ireland online banking website.  Bank of Ireland have not refunded the €2,500 to my bank account and are refusing to give any commitment in regards to the refund of it.
Today is now the 13th February 2019 and BOI are still unaware of the whereabouts of the €2,500 that they transferred out of my bank account with a failed transaction which did not meet its destination.
The service from Bank of Ireland has been completely unprofessional.  The team leader in BOI 365 contact centre, in BOI Kilkenny, hung up the phone on me, when I asked for a time line in which the matter would be resolved.  Customer Complaints rang me today to say that they had no update and gave no guarantee that BOI would return the €2,500 to me that the BOI online banking website has mislaid.  I never thought that such a fiasco could happen.  Literally senior managers in BOI are scratching their heads in bewilderment because they do not know where the BOI website has put my €2,500 to.  I have transferred money to the same TSB account successfully on previous occassions.  The situation is so stressful for me.  The unprofessional attitude and lack of empathy from BOI staff just makes the matter worse.  [snipped]  After 13 days my €2,500 is nowhere to be found and BOI will have not refunded me for the failure of the transaction on their online banking website. 

2nd Row Donkey

Have BOI flat out refused to refund you or is the issue still under investigation?

spurious

I would advise you to remove the people's names from your post.

How do you know BofI lost it and not PTSB?

Carol Anne BOI customer

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Have BOI flat out refused to refund you or is the issue still under investigation?

They say that they are investigating it, but have not given commitment to return the money after 13 days now.  The manager in BOI Contact Centre in Tallagh said that as far as BOI was concerned the transaction is successful because the €2,500 left my BOI account.  I told him that that is ridiculous, a transaction is only successful if it reaches its destination bank account, hence it was a failed transaction caused by BOI online banking.  [snipped]

I would advise that you remove peoples names from both of your posts...

This is a public forum......

frogstar

Mistakes happen. They have to investigate as it could be an issue sue with tsb, from my experience in my job it will either be in a boi suspense account or a tsb one. I know it's frustrating waiting as it's a large sum to you but it will get sorted.

Doesn't mean that the system is broken. No need to scaremonger, the system did its job, its just stuck somewhere. Have you also double checked the bic and IBAN are correct? I know you say you transferred before, is it set up to remember details?

Also have you contacted tsb? You have proof it left boi, tsb should also be able to investigate the file it was sent through to confirm if it was received, returned, rejected?

FutureGuy

I’ll be honest. You sound like a very difficult person to have to deal based on your post. You are making some very serious accusations here and you have no idea what has happened and who is to blame. It may have nothing to do with BOI.

It could be the other bank. You could have been scammed. BOI are right not to say they’ll put it back.

amcalester

Did you check that you’ve set up the TSB account number correctly?

Carol Anne BOI customer

frogstar wrote: »

Mistakes happen. They have to investigate as it could be an issue sue with tsb, from my experience in my job it will either be in a boi suspense account or a tsb one. I know it's frustrating waiting as it's a large sum to you but it will get sorted.

Doesn't mean that the system is broken. No need to scaremonger, the system did its job, its just stuck somewhere. Have you also double checked the bic and IBAN are correct? I know you say you transferred before, is it set up to remember details?

Also have you contacted tsb? You have prove it left boi, tsb should also be able to investigate the file it was sent through to confirm if it was received, returned, rejected?

Its a Payee that I have setup in online banking, so have transferred to that account before successfully.  Have given TSB the proof of payment from BOI and they said that they have not received it.  They said that they have checked holding accounts, rejected accounts etc and they do not have it.

2nd Row Donkey

Conservatively, BOI 365 probably do 100,000 transactions a day.

If there's an error with 10 of those that's still a 0.001% error rate.

These things happen, and it sucks but it will get sorted out.

Carol Anne BOI customer

amcalester wrote: »

Did you check that you’ve set up the TSB account number correctly?

Yes, Its a Payee that I have setup in online banking, so have transferred to that account before successfully.  Have given TSB the proof of payment from BOI and they said that they have not received it.  They said that they have checked holding accounts, rejected accounts etc and they do not have it.

Carol Anne BOI customer

spurious wrote: »

I would advise you to remove the people's names from your post.

How do you know BofI lost it and not PTSB?

 
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Well I did the transaction on BOI online banking website and the transaction came back as transaction successful.  It should not have come back as transaction successful if the money was not transferred to the destination bank account.  So either way, BOI is at fault.[/font]

Carol Anne BOI customer

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Conservatively, BOI 365 probably do 100,000 transactions a day.

If there's an error  with 10 of those that's still a 0.001% error rate.

These things happen, and it sucks but it will get sorted out.

Thank you.  Hopefully it will get sorted.  Its been 13 days now, so has been extremely stressful.  Its made more stressful by BOI not communicating with me and the team leader who hung up the phone on me.  I mean €2,500 is a lot of money and it has caused me a lot of sleepless nights.  BOI have refused to give me any documentation in writing on the matter, even when I asked them to post out their process in regard to the matter.

Carol Anne BOI customer

amcalester wrote: »

Did you check that you’ve set up the TSB account number correctly?

Yes, its set up as a payee on BOI online banking, so is correct.  Have transferred to it successfully before.  

amcalester

What was the money for and where did it come from?

Anything suspicious about it that maybe why BOI aren’t communicating with you?

dartboardio

I highly doubt a bank such as BOI 'lost' your money.

Have you even been talking with TSB?

You will get your money.. Delayed and annoying but not lost

Carol Anne BOI customer

FutureGuy wrote: »

I’ll be honest. You sound like a very difficult person to have to deal based on your post. You are making some very serious accusations here and you have no idea what has happened and who is to blame. It may have nothing to do with   BOI.

It could be the other bank. You could have been scammed. BOI are right not to say they’ll put it back.

Well I did the transaction on BOI online banking website and the transaction came back as transaction successful.  It should not have come back as transaction successful if the money was not transferred to the destination bank account.  So either way, BOI is at fault.  BOI have been very difficult to deal with.  They are not updating me on matters refusing to provide me with any documentation on the matter.  Even when I asked on the phone today for them to post out their process in regards to complaints procedures they refused.  And a team leader hanging up the phone when I asked for a timeline on when they would get back to me is very unprofessional.  BOI have been very difficult to deal with.

dartboardio

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

 
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Well I did the transaction on BOI online banking website and the transaction came back as transaction successful.  It should not have come back as transaction successful if the money was not transferred to the destination bank account.  So either way, BOI is at fault.[/font]

Ah hang on now. Transaction successful came up because you had the sufficient funds in your account. It basically meant 'sent successfully' just like when i transfer to my aib account but it takes a day to show.

Yes its annoying but have a little more faith in your bank who has probably not let you down before. Im sure its just an error

I work in a call centre and would imagine the only reason they hung up on you is if you were aggressive or swearing (which by the tone and pace of your post.. Sounds likely)

Id say the scenario is actually that they are in the middle of finding out what happened and you are ringing them every few hours instead of waiting for the response? Id also imagine they gave you a rough timeframe for them to have an answer maybe a couple of working days.

Freaking out at the people on the other end of the phone will get you nowhere

Carol Anne BOI customer

amcalester wrote: »

What was the money for and where did it come from?

Anything suspicious about it that maybe why BOI aren’t communicating with you?

No, they said they just can't track down the money.  Both banks said they don't have it.  It's just a transfer from my own BOI account to my own TSB account, so nothing suspicious

Carol Anne BOI customer

dartboardio wrote: »

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

 
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Well I did the transaction on BOI online banking website and the transaction came back as transaction successful.  It should not have come back as transaction successful if the money was not transferred to the destination bank account.  So either way, BOI is at fault.[/font]

Ah hang on now. Transaction successful came up because you had the sufficient funds in your account. It basically meant 'sent successfully' just like when i transfer to my aib account but it takes a day to show.

Yes its annoying but have a little more faith in your bank who has probably not let you down before. Im sure its just an error

I work in a call centre and would imagine the only reason they hung up on you is if you were aggressive or swearing (which by the tone and pace of your post.. Sounds likely)

Id say the scenario is actually that they are in the middle of finding out what happened and you are ringing them every few hours instead of waiting for the response? Id also imagine they gave you a rough timeframe for them to have an answer maybe a couple of working days.

Freaking out at the people on the other end of the phone will get you nowhere

No, I asked when they would get back to me.  Was polite in asking.   But she just kept saying she didn't know and hung up.  Her manager did apologise for her behaviour, but she never apologised.  She should have just explained the process, but kept saying she didn't know when they would get back to me.  I just wanted a timeline.

bmm

I would not use this computer for any further financial transactions just in case you have malware/viruses on it. Bring the computer to someone you trust to run some malware etc checking/cleaning.  I'm surprised this has not been mentioned here.

amcalester

Then write a letter to their complaints department, leave out all the histrionics, explain that you made the transfer and the money hasn’t arrived and you would like it investigated.

They should already have logged a complaint for you but better to send a letter in case they don’t.

There are time limits to how long banks can take to resolve complaints so this will apply some pressure.

Stay off the phones because, and I don’t mean to be insulting, you come across as difficult so it’s best to communicate in writing.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Here you go OP, a step by step guide on how to get your issue resolved:

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/how-to-complain/complaints-about-financial-services-providers/

BOI is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Carol Anne BOI customer

amcalester wrote: »

Then write a letter to their complaints department, leave out all the histrionics, explain that you made the transfer and the money hasn’t arrived and you would like it investigated.

They should already have logged a complaint for you but better to send a letter in case they don’t.

There are time limits to how long banks can take to resolve complaints so this will apply some pressure.

Stay off the phones because, and I don’t mean to be insulting, you come across as difficult so it’s best to communicate in writing.

They say they have logged the complaint.  I have sent an email also and requested the complaint number or an acknowledgement.  Although I havn't received a written response.  I'm only getting really frustrated with them now, have been patient for 13 days, so I don't think that's difficult.
I agree with you though, its best to communicate in writing.  Its just frustrating that they are not responding in writing. 

amcalester

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

They say they have logged the complaint.  I have sent an email also and requested the complaint number or an acknowledgement.  Although I havn't received a written response.  I'm only getting really frustrated with them now, have been patient for 13 days, so I don't think that's difficult.
I agree with you though, its best to communicate in writing.  Its just frustrating that they are not responding in writing. 

Fair enough 13 days is too long, you should have received written acknowledgment of the complaint within 5.

Read the CPCC link above and make sure BOI stick to the process, unfortunately you have to follow it through to the end before you can escalate to the ombudsman, and that can take 8 weeks.

Carol Anne BOI customer

Thanks a mill ProjectMoose, this is so helpful.  That's what I was looking for when I asked about timelines.  Looks like they have missed their obligation to acknowledge receipt of a complaint in writing in 5 days.

frogstar

bmm wrote: »

I would not use this computer for any further financial transactions just in case you have malware/viruses on it. Bring the computer to someone you trust to run some malware etc checking/cleaning.  I'm surprised this has not been mentioned here.

But if the bank has confirmed it has gone to the bic and IBAN as requested, I doubt a virus is to blame (so unlikely it has been redirected fraudulently) . Customer and bank can verify this very quickly

Xcellor

In fairness OP has lost 2500 and is frustrated. It's not a small amount of money. I'd be pissed off too.

Spook_ie

I know you reckon it's a saved IBAN from previous transactions but have you actually checked it?

Carol Anne BOI customer

Definitely not a computer virus.  But neither bank can track down the €2,500.  They said they have never seen it happen before.  They said if a transaction fails it will bounce back to the originating account by 10 days.  But is now 13 days and neither bank can track down the money.

Thanks Xcellor for understanding my frustration.  

micar

How about making another transfer payment , say €5 and see if it transfer occurs correctly. 

They can acknowlege a complaint by email. It does not have to be on writing.  They have 20 working days for the date the compaint is logged to get back you but this can be extended. 

You need to be aware that investigations take time, particularly IT issues. 

You probably feel that nothing is bring done but I suspect there is a lot happening in the background. This is a serious issue. The bank must have complete faith in their systems.  

Writing on an open forum like this is not really not way to go. 

frogstar

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

Definitely not a computer virus.  But neither bank can track down the €2,500.  They said they have never seen it happen before.  They said if a transaction fails it will bounce back to the originating account by 10 days.  But is now 13 days and neither bank can track down the money.

Thanks Xcellor for understanding my frustration.  

Has definitely happened before but maybe the customer service person hasnt seen it happen. It is quite common for payments to fail or have issues (could be an issue with a whole file rather than one payment)

Bank of Ireland have a payments team who deal solely in issues etc.. That would cover this but I would suspect they may not be dealing with the correct contact who is only saying its successful, which it may well be and issue with tsb) They should even be able to contact tsb if it's an issue on their side but its all about having the right contacts in the investigation team which is different to the service people you are dealing with

Have you confirmed the IBAN is actually correct? Have you checked that?

Sleeper12

I'm using BOI online for business and personal banking since it started around 20 years ago. Used correctly its totally safe.

It's not like bitcoin where your manager dies and no one can access your money. There is a record of it and its movements. You will get your money back.

dermiek

Hope you get sorted. From what I've read online, ask the BOI for a full copy of the payment message confirming all the details; BIC, IBAN, date time, etc. If it looks okay, bring it to the TSB. 

Make an official complaint to both banks, just to get it recorded. 

My own thoughts, talk to Bank of Ireland on Twitter. They should have reps online who may be able to help you in some way. 

best of luck.

Sleeper12

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote:

Its a Payee that I have setup in online banking, so have transferred to that account before successfully. Have given TSB the proof of payment from BOI and they said that they have not received it. They said that they have checked holding accounts, rejected accounts etc and they do not have it.

Why so quick to point the finger at BOI and not TSB?

20/20

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

Definitely not a computer virus.  But neither bank can track down the €2,500.  They said they have never seen it happen before.  They said if a transaction fails it will bounce back to the originating account by 10 days.  But is now 13 days and neither bank can track down the money.

Thanks Xcellor for understanding my frustration.  

How good are you at basic maths ? they mean 10 working days.
Today is only the eight maybe ninth day.  Stick it out for another day or two.
Then come back with your rant about a good bank.

Carol Anne BOI customer

20/20 wrote: »

How good are you at basic maths ? they mean 10 working days.
Today is only the eight maybe ninth day.  Stick it out for another day or two.
Then come back with your rant about a good bank.

No, the BOI manager said 10 days including weekends and he said that it is outside of it now with it being 13 days. I wouldn’t call them a good bank because they are not communicating with me.

20/20

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

No, the BOI manager said 10 days including weekends and he said that it is outside of it now with it being 13 days.  I wouldn’t call them a good bank because they are not communicating with me.

Are you sure you heard him correct with all the steam that may have been coming out of your ears ??
Banks do not count weekends as a working day.

Carol Anne BOI customer

BOI manager said that it won't be in my account by tomorrow, because they are unable to trace the €2,500, so either way that is 10 working days.
€2,500 is a significant amount of money.  It is a concern that a bank cannot track it down for such a long time.  I hope it dosn't happen to any other customer because it could mean someone missing a mortgage payment, bill payment etc.
I will let ye know tomorrow if I get any update from them.  It's just such a long time from 1st Feb for €2,500 to go untraceable.

klm1

€2500 is a lot of money to have lost. I can see why you are frustrated. Clearly anyone judging you here for being frustrated doesn't think this is a lot of money. If I transferred a large amount of money and it didn't show up, I would be livid. This may not be the case, but if it was for a mortgage payment or something similar, it could affect your credit rating. The flippant attitude of the bank would irritate me.

On a practical note, Have you physically visited either bank? It's very easy to be put off by phone/email, but face to face it's considerably tougher. It's not the first time this has happened in the history of either bank. Get an appointment with the bank manager. Whatever you do, Good Luck with it!

Carol Anne BOI customer

klm1 wrote: »

€2500 is a lot of money to have lost. I can see why you are frustrated. Clearly anyone judging you here for being frustrated doesn't think this is a lot of money. If I transferred a large amount of money and it didn't show up, I would be livid. This may not be the case, but if it was for a mortgage payment or something similar, it could affect your credit rating. The flippant attitude of the bank would irritate me.

On a practical note, Have you physically visited either bank? It's very easy to be put off by phone/email, but face to face it's considerably tougher. It's not the first time this has happened in the history of either bank. Get an appointment with the bank manager. Whatever you do, Good Luck with it!

Thanks very much klm1 for your understanding of the significance of the situation.  The transfer was for a mortgage payment and I told the BOI team leader that (the one who hung up the phone on me) but no empathy was shown.  It is the 365 call centres that I am dealing with, so they said that them buildings are not accessible to the public.

dartboardio

So you admitted it takes 13 days and were only on the 8th or 9th.

Very quick and unfair to penalize a bank like that if it turns out to be a rare IT error

Carol Anne BOI customer

No, today is now day 14,  or 10 working days.  They said it won't be in my bank account tomorrow because they can't trace it.
They said that the normal timeframe for an online transaction from one Irish bank to another is one working day.  Tomorrow will be 15 days or 11 working days and they said that it will not be in my account tomorrow.

rosiem

dartboardio wrote: »

So you admitted it takes 13 days and were only on the 8th or 9th.

Very quick and unfair to penalize a bank like that if it turns out to be a rare IT error

I don't understand the rage at the OP here the bank somewhere has messed up on the service they provide and failed to communicate efficiently with the customer.

I think it is unfair on the OP to not have access to a large sum of money and no idea when they will be able to either the sympathy here should not lie with the bank.

KingCong

rosiem wrote: »

dartboardio wrote: »

So you admitted it takes 13 days and were only on the 8th or 9th.

Very quick and unfair to penalize a bank like that if it turns out to be a rare IT error

I don't understand the rage at the OP here the bank somewhere has messed up on the service they provide and failed to communicate efficiently with the customer.

I think it is unfair on the OP to not have access to a large sum of money and no idea when they will be able to either the sympathy here should not lie with the bank.

Hear hear, I'd be livid in this situation, seems to be a lot of pro BOI commenters here who think as this is a rare occurrence that it is acceptable. It may be rare when looked at from the point of view of all the daily bank transactions, but for the individual customers it affects this could have a major impact, missing mortgage or loan repayments, ruining their credit reports etc. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck and can't just do another transfer while waiting weeks for the missing money to reappear.

Carol Anne BOI customer

Thank you so much KingCong, rosiem, klm1 and all the other posters who showed their understanding of the difficult situation I am in, with not having access to my €2,500 following a BOI online transaction on 1st February 2019.  
Also although I have lodged it as a formal complaint with BOI, they have not acknowledged that complaint in writing, although they are legally obliged to do so within 5 working days.  

klm1

Carol Anne BOI customer wrote: »

klm1 wrote: »

€2500 is a lot of money to have lost. I can see why you are frustrated. Clearly anyone judging you here for being frustrated doesn't think this is a lot of money. If I transferred a large amount of money and it didn't show up, I would be livid. This may not be the case, but if it was for a mortgage payment or something similar, it could affect your credit rating. The flippant attitude of the bank would irritate me.

On a practical note, Have you physically visited either bank? It's very easy to be put off by phone/email, but face to face it's considerably tougher. It's not the first time this has happened in the history of either bank. Get an appointment with the bank manager. Whatever you do, Good Luck with it!

Thanks very much klm1 for your understanding of the significance of the situation.  The transfer was for a mortgage payment and I told the BOI team leader that (the one who hung up the phone on me) but no empathy was shown.  It is the 365 call centres that I am dealing with, so they said that them buildings are not accessible to the public.

I understand that you're dealing with the 365 team, but your account is tied to a physical bank somewhere. I personally would call that bank and demand a meeting with the manager to explain the situation and look for a definitive plan to solve the issue.

Surely the bank has a responsibility to you and your money? If they are charged with transferring a large sum from your account to another of your accounts and the transfer doesn't happen, then it is their system that has failed. You should not be at a loss for that.

I really wish banks could be held more accountable, but it seems we have learned nothing in this country.

It's also noticeable that no-one from BOI has chimed in here to offer any assistance.

Bank of Ireland: Tara

Hi Carol Anne,

Thanks for reaching out to us here. We completely understand how upsetting it can be when something like this happens. We have been in touch with our colleagues and they have assured us this is being fully investigated.

Please be assured that our complaints team are obliged to meet all regulatory and compliance requirements when handling customer complaints.

On the day a customer contacts us with an expression of dissatisfaction we will log this on our complaints system and this is deemed as day one. We understand your complaint was raised with us on Monday 11th February. For the majority of complaints, we will acknowledge it in writing within five business days (weekends and bank holidays are not included) providing the outcome of the investigation. As your complaint relates to a payment service, the time frame allowed is between 15 and 35 business days. Please see quoted text from our Customer Complaints Process for more details on this:

"If your complaint relates to a payment service we will write to you addressing all points raised, within 15 business days of receipt of your complaint. In exceptional situations, if the answer cannot be given within 15 business days, we will write to you no later than 35 business days."

Rest assured as soon as our colleagues in the complaints department have an update in relation to your complaint they will be back in touch.

We can assure you and the Boards community that our systems are secure and safe to use for all of your banking needs. We’d really like to thank the Boards community for stepping in to help with reassurance and practical advice on this thread.

All the best,
Tara

Sleeper12

rosiem wrote:

I don't understand the rage at the OP here the bank somewhere has messed up on the service they provide and failed to communicate efficiently with the customer.

The rage I think is there because BOI has been singled out when it could equally have been TSB at fault. It may yet be BOI but no one including op knows that yet.

I understand that it's frustrating but it's not like the money won't be returned regardless of which bank is at fault. TSB won't use this as a black mark against credit rating as its a genuine case & might actually be their fault.

Carol Anne BOI customer

Hi Tara,

You excluded the 1st paragraph of the process stating that you "write to you within five working days giving you the name of the person dealing with your issue and letting you know when you can expect a full response".  
 

Investigation
Some issues are quite complex and we may not be able to solve the problem immediately. If so, we’ll write to you within five working days giving you the name of the person dealing with your issue and letting you know when you can expect a full response. As part of the investigation we may need to contact you to discuss the issue. We aim to settle matters as quickly and as fairly as possible. If we need to carry out a detailed investigation, we’ll keep you fully informed throughout the process.


Hence, please confirm that this letter will be in the post today?  Ye are legally obliged to provide it within five working days.  I have already requested it by email to 3 BOI staff but these emails have been ignored.  Interestingly, ye decide to provide details of my complaint on a public forum but 3 BOI staff ignore my emails when requesting letter in writing acknowledging my complaint and a complaint no.  Please provide me with my complaint no.


In fact the only correspondence I have in writing from BOI in relation to my complaint regarding €2,500 of my money that BOI online has mislaid and refuses to return is on a public Boards.ie forum!!!!!! Strange that ye can't reply to private emails or post an acknowledgement of complaint but ye can reply to a public forum.  That is complete breach of GDPR regulations. 


Also I would like to thank the boards forum for providing me with more information in regards to the complaints process etc that BOI have.  I mean a team leader in BOI hanging up the phone on a customer when questioned about timelines is appalling!!  The reality is BOI have lost €2,500 of my money for 14 days now!!

RossieMan

This is hilarious. OP you sound like a nightmare to deal with, perhaps stop with the demands and you might find people are more likely to help you.

Was the money being sent to another C/A? Or did you try and send it directly to a mortgage account?