Anyone who works in a Bank please look here...

[jampots]

Puddytats dh has been wrongly accused of cashing company cheques. (see this thread .

Anyway can you all help by posting ideas which they can consider to prove that dh didnt do it. ie. security measures/processes within banks. Thanks

Jampots, I am overcome. I have no idea who you are but thankyou so much.

That fact that someone other than family has said 'falsly accused' has yet again started the tears.

Thankyou.

I really am going to bed now

DONT YOU KNOW WHO I AM?

I've always wanted to say that

Already posted on the original thread jampots.

The first thing that needs to be queried is why the bank cashed them in the first place. Alterations are not supposed to be accepted unless they are initialled or countersigned.

Counter staff do slip up but a decent data processing clerk should spot them.

Different security measures in place depending on the value of the cheques - the higher the value the more chance that this should have been spotted and queried when the cheques were presented at the bank.

I didn't work in that department but will try to speak to some ex-colleagues for more info.

I think it all boils down to how much the cheques are for - if they were for a smallish amount ( relative to the companys' size) then they would probably go through unchecked. the alterations could have been referred to the business's account manager,if the clerks were suspicious. If the signatures matched, and the chq amount was small, it would probably have been put through. Even more likely if the clerks knew the business account.
The bank can recall the chq and find out into which account the chqs were paid, and, the police can request details of the transactions on the receiving account, copies of the opening paperwork, etc. ID criteria are very strict nowaways thanks to money laundering criteria, but if it is a case of stolen identity, then presumably ID and account details will all correlate.

.

bump

puddytats - sorry missed this before.

I used to work in a large bank. At that time a cheque presented to an account after being paid in at another bank/branch only got checked if it was over 5K - I think it's more than that now. Alterations may not be spotted.

If a cheque is being 'cashed' ie exchanged for cash in hand, that can only usually happen at the branch where the cheque is drawn and by the account-holder. Any large amount or attempt to cash by a third party requires ID.

Haven't read the whole of the other thread but I'm right in thinking that an account has been opened in dh's name? I'm a bit unsure of what might have happened here because although ID has been given, the address was false, is that right? Most banks do a check on voters roll to check the address given exists and credit checks too. If the address is false then the check would have failed (that's why they ask if you've been at an address for over 3 years so they can check your previous history).

As milge says the bank can back-track the check to find out when/where it was paid in and where the funds have gone. The police can request all the account opening papers, copies of ID etc.

Sorry you are having to go through this

potty - my MIL changed her address to ours when she moved over to Spain and although her Bank maintain they've completely the appropriate checks they couldnt possibly have done as she doesnt appear on the electoral roll at my address. Her driving licence shows my address but a call through to DVLA and they said she doesnt have to hand it in 'til she reaches 70 and it expires.

If this is Lloyds Bank Puddytats is dealing with then I've already advised them aaginst accepting driving licences as proof of residence/id!

do we know what the current situation is?! Was following the other thread.

It is lloyds

Please find out what checks they made when opening hte account - IMO they are truly slack! Also puddytats, have you and dh considered eveyrone who knows stuff about you. I know this is unlikely and very hard to consider but please dont leave dh's boss out of hte picture (obviously you dont have to say anything) only you mentioned that she was a really good friend of yours. Im sorry if this offends you but no-one should be excluded in your quest to find the truth.

We have been advised to trust no one and we no longer feel like we can anyway

This was NatWest

Agree about cr@p checks, although if someone knows the system it can easily be beaten. I once opened an account for a bloke that turned out to be wanted across the North West for fraud - his ID was spot on, passed all the checks but it was all false

Puddytats - I'd be inclined to ask for sight of the account opening documentation - whilst its fairly easy to forge a signature its difficult to match handwriting throughout a form ( unless it was opened online!?!)

Puddytats
dh works for bank he says first need to identify where cheques were cashed and where dh was on those days.

were the cheques cashed(exchanged for cash over the counter) or paid into an account thru the normal clearing system?? if the cheques were paid into an account the enquiries should go down the line of account opening documentation etc.

presumably the bank has authority to cash cheques and only at specific branches, does dh have authority to cash cheques in the normal course of business as only a limited/specific individuals would be set up to access that facility
ask to see the copies of the id taken at the time of account opening passports etc
fundamentally how have the cheques been cashed without an arrangemnt with the branch being set up, nowadays with crossed cheques its difficult to do.

dh says theres an awful lot of proof needed... fingerprinting of cheques etc if thats a comfort.
hope it helps
thinking of you

Hi all

received one of the paying in slips from the bank today and surprisingly it has thrown up more questions!

The paying in slip was not signed, it had no stamp on it and there was no home branch name filled in. On the top of the paying is slip is 'cheque agreed by '.

In the amounts only the total was filled in, no cheques or cash amounts.

The cheque was in my maiden name but the account as opened several years after I was married and therefore in my married name (never in my maiden name).

Should this a) have been allowed to have been paid in in the first place?

b) Would my maiden name have been on the records and can a cheque be paid in based on it being a different name to that on the account?

IME puddytats, that paying in slip shouldn't have been accepted.

I know NatWest brought in new security rules some years ago and paying in slips should be pre-printed with the account number unless they are accepted at the home branch.

To pay in a cheque in a different name you would have to prove ownership of the cheque - by having the back of the cheque endorsed or by providing, for example, marriage certificate as proof of name change.

Not splitting the total into cash/cheques is quite normal.

.

puddy - the cheque shouldn't have been accepted if it wasn't in the same name, unless they had sight of documents to prove the previous name - that said if the marriage was sometime before I (as an ex Natwest staff member) wouldn't have accepted it. I would allow it for a few months after the marriage.

Not unusual for a slip not to be signed or for the cheques not to be listed individually but cheques and cash would normally be shown separately.

Presumably ** is a member of staff at the branch? Why isn't the slip stamped - sounds like the person who took the slip didn't want the responsibility of it. Is there anyway a member of staff at the bank could be involved at all?

I have paid cheques in my maiden name into our bank account, because one of the companies I worked freelance for refused to issue payments in my married name when I used my maiden name for work purposes. The account had been held in my maiden name before we married so they had all my old signatures etc on file - I was told that I would not have been allowed to pay the cheques in if this had not been the case. I used to have to take my marriage certificate in with me every time and sign the back of the cheque in both names in front of the cashier, and on more than one occasion when I went into a branch other than my local one they refused me and I had to go to the local branch to do it.

oops, hit post too soon...

What I wanted to say is, I used to get scrutinised very carefully and very often the cashier would go away and ask a superior for the OK. Sounds really odd to me that the bank let this go through.

I so hope you get this sorted out quickly - have followed your other thread and I can't believe what you are going through.

PT

The cheque- you said only the amount was on it does that mean that it wasnt written in words??

Sorry to be dim but I am confused

Is dh ok today- well as well as can be expected anyway

chin up the truth will unfold and the b@stards that have done this to you will not be smiling then

Message withdrawn

It has transpired that someone has been able to get access to our own account details and paid it into that. Not set up a different account, but actually our own account.

Am scared, fuming, astonished and shocked.

DH is coping better than me now!