A parish church treasurer in Yorkshire has finally received nearly £5,500 from Lloyds Bank, more than four months after the account was closed. The money was transferred after repeated complaints about poor communications and lost documents.
Account closure and online problems
Last November, Lloyds Bank informed the treasurer that the church account was to be closed and that a new business account should be opened instead. This could only be done online, but a fault with the bank's system prevented the treasurer and local branch staff from completing the process.
At the branch staff's suggestion, the treasurer opened a new account with a different bank in early March. Since then, the treasurer had been trying in vain to get Lloyds to transfer the balance from the closed account.
Repeated delays and lost documents
The treasurer was repeatedly told to visit the local branch and repeatedly told that the money would arrive within weeks. At one point, the bank said it had lost the identity verification documents and had put the case at the bottom of the pile.
The congregation, which numbers 10 people in a village of 60 houses, had to borrow from parishioners to pay for essential repairs and to settle an electricity bill.
Complaint and resolution
After the treasurer questioned the bank's inertia, Lloyds sent a letter acknowledging poor and inconsistent communications and offering £400 in goodwill, plus £96 in lost interest. The letter did not mention the still-missing funds, prompting a further complaint and another apology from the bank.
The money was eventually transferred more than four months after the account was closed. A Lloyds spokesperson said: “We’re sorry the customer had such a difficult experience. We should have handled things better.”
