A Delayed Bank Transfer: Email Exchange

Email 1: Customer to Bank

Subject: Account Transfer Delay, Reference No. 47821 From: Sarah Chen To: Meridian Financial Customer Services Date: 26 March

Dear Customer Services,

I am writing because I am very unhappy with how my account transfer request has been handled. I submitted it on 12 March, and the terms and conditions of my account state that inter-bank transfers should be completed within three to five business days. We are now on the fifteenth business day since I lodged the request, and the money has still not reached my destination account.

On 18 March I called your telephone helpline, and the representative I spoke to assured me that the transfer was being processed and would go through "within the next 48 hours." That deadline came and went. I have tried the helpline twice more since then, but on both occasions I was left on hold for a long time and never managed to reach an agent.

This delay is causing me real financial difficulty, because the money was meant to cover a business payment with a contractual deadline. I would therefore ask you to treat this as a priority: look into what has happened, tell me the current status of the transfer, and give me a clear explanation for the delay.

If the matter is not sorted out within 48 hours of you receiving this message, I will have no choice but to take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Yours sincerely, Sarah Chen

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Email 2: Bank to Customer

Subject: RE: Account Transfer Delay, Reference No. 47821 From: Meridian Financial Customer Services To: Sarah Chen Date: 27 March

Dear Ms Chen,

Thank you for getting in touch about your transfer. We are very sorry for the delay and for the trouble it has caused you.

After looking into it internally, we have found that the transfer was placed on an automated security hold, which was triggered by the size of the transaction. This measure is there to protect our customers, but we accept that we did not keep you properly informed while it was in place.

I am glad to confirm that the hold has now been lifted and that the funds will be transferred to your destination account by close of business today. As a gesture of goodwill, we have also applied a credit of £50 to your account. On top of that, we are reviewing how we notify customers about security holds, so that in future people are told promptly whenever a hold is placed on their account.

We value your custom and very much hope this is now resolved to your satisfaction.

Yours sincerely, Meridian Financial Customer Services Team