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November 14, 2003
Infallible banking
Towards the end of last month I ran out of money before I ran out of month. Now this may not seem that unusual - especially to me - but on this occassion it was. I had been carefully keeping a tally on all my outgoings and figured I should have had a fair bit left. Anyway, the usual advisory note arrived on the last day of the month in time for the matter to be addressed by my salary being deposited so it presented no urgent problem. However, it did make me look closely at the statement that arrived this week.
Bingo! Spotted the problem on page 1.
Earlier this month, moved by the advance of Anno Domine and the prompting of friends to attend (only for the second time in my life) a school reunion next year for all those who Matriculated with me (Its 40 years - you've GOT to be there!), I had signed up to join the Old Boys Association. Hell, it is 40 years, and all the people who really gave me uphill then have faired no better than I have or done worse.
So, off I go to the bank and request the transfer of the appropriate sum in SA Rand to the bank in SA. Simple.
Not quite. The bank read the Rand Amount as Pounds Sterling. With an exchange rate of £1 = SAR11, the OSA got a lot more money than they bargained on and I had a hole in my budget. OK, now try to reverse this!
Phone bank. Very helpful, if somewhat alarmed. Can't retreive from their end, I must contact recipient and ask them to send it back. No charges will accrue. Really? And who do they think is paying for this anyway?
So I contact the Old Selbornian Association (Look them up on the Selborne Schools sitewww.selborne.co.za) and they very kindly have agreed to send back the difference to my account. Guess what? Today the mail brings a letter from my esteemed bankers asking me to "contact them urgently about the transfer of funds to South Africa". The letter arrived this morning while I was at work. I get home in the evening. The bank does not work on a Saturday.
I guess it will be Monday before I can make any further progress with them. I wonder if I can persuade them to refund my original transfer costs? Worth a try!
Trust me, I'm a banker.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 14, 2003 08:19 PM