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Money sent to a bank went missing

Adana transferred $5,000 from her credit card to her New Zealand bank account using a money transfer company. The money transfer company withdrew the funds from Adana’s credit card account, but the funds were not credited to her bank account.

When she complained to the money transfer company, they told her the payment had been sent to her bank. They encouraged Adana to speak with her bank. However, when Adana contacted her bank, they had no information they could give her about the transfer. They referred her back to the money transfer company.

Adana asked FSCL to help resolve the matter. She wanted the money transfer company to transfer the money to her bank account or to refund her credit card. She needed the funds urgently to support overseas family members with COVID-19.

 

Dispute

The money transfer company maintained that they had transferred the funds to Adana’s bank. They had not received any rejection of the transfer.

The money transfer company provided us with a copy of a SWIFT message which they said showed the funds were transferred to Adana’s bank. SWIFT is a global network used by many financial institutions to send and receive financial messages.

The money transfer company again encouraged Adana to contact her bank. They said they cannot control what happens once funds have been transferred to a recipient bank.

Adana did not accept the money transfer company’s position. She considered that the money transfer company was responsible for the money transfer and for the fact the funds had not reached her bank account.

 

Resolution

During our investigation, the money transfer company found out that Adana’s bank had rejected the transfer, but the money transfer company’s bank had not passed this information on. The money transfer company refunded Adana’s credit card.

However, this did not fully resolve the complaint. Adana asked for compensation for inconvenience for the hassle she had been through. The money transfer company offered Adana $1,000 as a goodwill gesture, which she accepted.

 

Insights for consumers

When a money transfer is delayed, consumers should follow up with their money transfer provider.

Under their terms and conditions, money transfer providers do not usually accept responsibility for delays with a money transfer once they have sent it. They cannot control what the recipient bank does with the transfer. However, money transfer providers should make reasonable efforts to trace delayed payments for consumers.