Bank draft

Ksia

Hi

I have bank draft which I can not use abroad (even though I was told by my bank that it won't suppose to be a problem). Is there any possibility to cancel bank draft ? Or to send this funds from bank draft to another account in another EU country? I contacted bank but they were not helpful :(

Jim2007

You need to take it back to the bank that issued it to you, they will return the cash to your account and you can then transfer it where ever you wish.

Qrt

I reckon it needs to be brought to the issuing branch, some form filled out, then the amount credited to your account.

I think you can also just lodge it into your own account.

Ksia

Hi

The problem is that the account was closed straight after I got bank draft.

I contacted bank and they dont care. Well, customer service did not care.

So I am completly lost now what to do next.

Qrt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469185#Comment_121469185

Which bank is it? Bank drafts are drawn on separate accounts to customer accounts, which is why they’re guaranteed funds-wise.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469185#Comment_121469185

Who is the draft made payable to?

Ksia

It is Bank of Ireland.

Ksia

Hi. It is Bank draft payable to me. It was taken from my account then account was closed.

Jim2007

OK, so back to basics here...

You can't cash a cheque or a draft it must be sent for collection. That means it must be physically presented for payment at the bank upon which it has been drawn. Pretty much every bank in the EU/EEA/CH and most beyond that offers this service - You open an account with them, you hand over the draft and depending on their policy they may credit your account immediately with the amount (possibly not if you are a new customer) or they wait until after they have presented the draft for payment and received the payment from the bank upon which it is drawn. You will of course have to explain to them the source of the money and of they will charge you a substantial fee for doing so.

Given the current MLA laws and EU directive on the matter I very much doubt there is any other way for you to obtain payment for your draft.

Henry Ford III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121469904#Comment_121469904

Sounds a bit odd tbh. Why did you get a draft payable to yourself and then close the account?

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121470132#Comment_121470132

He says he's abroad. So I'm guessing he closed the account to emigrate and withdrew funds

Now can't cash his draft.

Personally I'd just leave my Irish account alone and close it when not needed / empty.

Ksia

Yes. I moved to another country. And I closed the account as it was advised per bank. I am angry at myself tgat I did not left it open, it would be so much easier now. I did not have an account in Euro in diffrent country yet.

They told me that I wont have any problems with this bank draft abroad but well it was not true. Many banks do not accept cheques from abroad. It is no annyoing.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121470261#Comment_121470261

Where did you move to and specifically which banks told you they do not have a service to present foreign checks for collection. I have worked for over three decades in European banking and I have never heard of any European bank refusing to accept a draft, even if you don't have an account in Euros, so I'd be very interested to hear the exact details.

Kalimah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121470596#Comment_121470596

Same here. I worked for B of I for 20 odd years in branch banking, and there was never an issue with sending or receiving foreign cheques for collection.

Ksia

Hi

It is Poland.I have tried so far mbank, Citibank handlowy, Pko bp, ING and couple more.

It is strange for me as well.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121470927#Comment_121470927

I'm at a loss to tell you what to do. I find it hard to imagine that Polish banks do not provide this service as it would be very difficult to offer customers a full service otherwise. It is possible that somehow there is a miss communication between you and the banks? There are an awful lot of Polish people working abroad so surely lots of Polish residents end up with foreign cheques they need to cash! Are you specifically asking them to send the draft for collection and they are say sorry we do not provide this service.

The only other things I can think of is that maybe the don't want to do this for new customers or there is some kind of MLA issue.

Qrt

found on here

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058195224/cancel-bank-draft

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121472676#Comment_121472676

Problem is the OP has closed his accounts in Ireland and left the country.

Qrt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121472759#Comment_121472759

The branch will have some reversal indemnity form to fill out, might involve sending it back to them my registered post. Tbh I’d recommend getting in touch with the branch directly and getting an email for the staff there.

Mrs OBumble

You need to find a local contact for advice. There must be some way to deal with this in Poland. Are there any Facebook groups for English-speaking immigrants (or expats :) ) in Poland? Someone there might be able to help.

Ksia

Hi

I have done it. They replied : manager told you that maybe it wont be possible in your country ( which they did not), and their answer was : you have to find some way. I was in shock.

I can fly to Ireland and take care of it I dont mind, but how to do this? If they could just cancel it, reopen my closed account, and then sent all this money to my account in Euro in Poland. But apparently they can not do this.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121474160#Comment_121474160

Like @Mrs OBumble says, I think you need to find someone in Poland that has done this. This is the standard way to close down your accounts - receive a draft drawn on the bank for the account balances. You can't be the first Polish citizen returning to Poland after working in Ireland who has done this.

I don't believe flying to Ireland on speculation that you can sort this out is a good idea. For a start you are getting no encouragement from the Irish bank that they are able to sort it out and as you are no longer resident in Ireland opening an account there is probably not going to fly either.

Two long shots you might check out:

• If you know someone with a long established relation with their Polish bank, see if their bank would be willing to do it for them. If so you could perhaps endorse the draft over to them.
• Same idea to see if a business owner could do it for you. Some times the services offered to business owners are different.

Qrt

It sounds like BOI issued you with a domestic draft (for Ireland and UK) rather than the foreign one they should have issued. I’d get this clarified.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121476937#Comment_121476937

Well we are definitely missing some detail here, but what... hopefully when the OP figures it out they'll comeback and let us know, so the next person won't have it so hard.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121476937#Comment_121476937

If you bought a sterling draft, it was always drawn on (i.e. payable by) a UK bank, I don't recall such a thing as a 'domestic' draft for Ireland and the UK. I assume the OP got a draft denominated in Euros, in which case it would have been drawn on Bank of Ireland in Dublin.

If you get one of these 'foreign' drafts you're talking about, where would it be drawn on?

NA

coylemj

Just remembered that in recent years, I got my drafts in EBS so probably haven't picked up a draft in a branch of BoI in a long time. EBS don't do drafts any more.

I sympathise with the OP's situation but the standard of customer-facing staff in BoI branches has gone through the floor in recent years.

NewbridgeIR

When the euro came in back in 2002, it was possible to buy a foreign euro draft drawn on a correspondent bank in whatever eurozone country you wanted.

Poland is not in the eurozone so BOI should not have issued that domestic euro draft without providing some sort of explanation to the customer (assuming he told them the full story).

JVince

Two realistic options.

Reopen the account here (or open new account here), lodge draft, await clearance (5,days) and then make transfer to Poland.

Or sign back of draft, give it to someone here you trust very well, allow 5 days, then they make transfer to you.

coylemj

Poster NewbridgeIR (post #28) above is correct, the OP should not have been sold a Euro draft when the intention was to lodge it in a bank in Poland. Did the OP make this clear to the staff member in BoI who sold him the Euro draft?

Inbranch or online, you can order a 'Foreign Currency Bank Draft' (to be collected in a branch nominated by you) in a range of different currencies....

https://form.bankofireland.com/bank-draft-request-form/

Ksia

Hi

I was told that if I have account also in Euro in Poland I could take this bank draft to Poland and use it over there.

So you think they could just reopen my closed bank account and put money back ?

Another question. Is it possible to go to bank with somebody else and put this bank draft which is on mine name to somebody else account? Or I have to put it only to account on mine name?

Thank you

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495270#Comment_121495270

• What exactly is the Polish bank telling you is wrong with the draft? Some of the comments on here relating to "domestic" drafts would seem to suggest that the Polish banks are unable to send your draft for collection.
• You need to ask the bank if it would be willing to reopen the account, but since you closed down the accounts and you no longer meet the criteria for the bank to do business with you, that may not be possible. So before travelling to Ireland, make sure they are will to do this for you.
• As I have pointed out before you cannot deposit a draft into any account, it must be sent for collection, although a bank make at their discretion grant credit against a draft. You could endorse the draft over to someone else and they could seen if their bank will accept it. But before you do, make absolutely sure they will accept it, because one you endorse it over to another person you loose the right to have it cashed at all.

amdublin

You cannot endorse a bank draft imo. It is not the same as a cheque

Ksia

The bank is telling that they are not accepting bank drafts or checks. Thats their rules. Apparently it changed last few years.

So endorse means give it to somebody?

amdublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121516055#Comment_121516055

Yes

But I do not think you can endorse a bank draft. You can endorse a cheque not a bank draft

My suggestion is you ring the branch where you got this bank draft from, explain the situation and ask for their suggestion.

Question: why did not just arrange an electronic transfer?

Qrt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121516081#Comment_121516081

I reckon the draft was produced so the account could be closed there and then. Branch transfers from BOI to other banks are still done manually, form filled out, sent off to be processed, it would take a few days for balance to be brought to zero. Bank draft would have meant it could be done there and then really. Really unfortunate situation for OP.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121516055#Comment_121516055

Sorry I forgot to come back to you on this. I checked this out with a former colleague of mine here in Switzerland and it’s bad news! It is practically impossible to get Polish banks to accept bank drafts and even if you do find one the is willing to accept it they will charge you an arm and a leg to do so.

The only idea he had was to see if you can open an account with a German bank close to the Polish border. Go there in person, open the account and lodge the draft to it. And once the funds clear do an electronic to your Polish bank.