ali-cat Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Serves us right!! Should have known better - life's never that easy!! Last Friday Mark ordered the transfer of money from our Alliance & Leicester Euro account, to our French bank account, for the purchase of our new house. He called on Tuesday to confirm the transfer had been done & they said it hadn't, but would be done that day. He called again today & got excactly the same story. Not only has the money not been transfered - but they now say it will take up to 4 days to arrive in our account, even though it's an electronic transfer!! We sign on Monday!!! Our furniture arrives on Tuesday!!We're heading to the bank tomorrow morning to see if they will give us a bankers cheque - before our funds clear!! I don't fancy our chances, but what else can we do?!! The A&L have promised to send them a fax confirming the money is on it's way, but .................Anyone have lodgings for an early retired couple & 2 cats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Don't panic Ali C, when we bought our house the 'urgent' transfer from our UK bank took 12 days to arrive at the notaires. On the day of signing I obtained a fax from the bank explaining where the 'money' was (Paris), and three of us signed the paperwork. The fourth signature was done on the day it finally arrived.Banks earn interest on your money when it's in transit, so it's not in their interest to do it quickly. Our bank waved the charges after I complained, so thats worth a try.If you really do get stuck, we have lots of room.........................and lots of animals..........[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Dont worry Ali the same thing happened to me remenber............way back when I was buying mine , do you remenber how I was panicking. Its all falls into place in the final 5 mins. Hold on to your nerve girl your nearly there [:D]GoodLuck all my fingers crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miki Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 On our last purchase (here) the Iban transfer was 30 days late !!It finally got sorted out OK and we were awarded a very nice sum from the bank that completely mucked it all up ! Notaire was OK and the sellers were happy to wait (luckily!). We just kept them all in touch, including giving all parties, the pathetic and regular excuses from the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 So those are the reasons that a friend of mine drove down France with nearly €60,000 in his pocket, in new €500 notes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-cat Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Our worry is that we sign on Monday, are supposed to be given the keys - there & then - & our belongings are arriving on Tuesday! We don't worry about having to put off moving in - but our furniture will be sitting in the courtyard for days!! (Mark's guitars will, however, be brought back to the Gite - according to him!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ask the owners to lend you the keys for a couple of hours (if it comes to that ) you can then put the stuff inside and give the keys back until all is sorted . Im sure they will be reasonalble if told what is happening[:)]Dont worry all will work it self out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ford Anglia.Your pal was very lucky he didn't end up in clink. A German chap who eventually bought a house off us mucked us about so much with the deposit,that I said if it's not received by the Bank on Monday,forget it, we'll go with the other offer. He drove into France from Germany with a large amount of cash and tried to pay it into a branch of our bank. They wouldn't take it and gave him a very difficult time.He had to go back to his bank in Germany,pay the cash back in and get a bankers draft, then drive back into France and pay it in. Just in time. Mind you, as he designs traffic flow systems,I don't suppose he thinks the same as the rest of us, or with any urgency.Regards. 5 mins St.Malo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 But the gite owner cannot throw you out this time of year. You could become a dodgy tenant[6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verviale Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Iwill be very suprised if the money is not there by Monday, if you get the tel No of your banks international dept they will be able to tell you the exact position, they can tell if it has hit the account in France, it really is quick transfering money to France now provided the bank does it straight away.They will be able to give you the routing and the routing bank they use.You should not have had all this worry, it should have been done, you really need to make a huge complaint and get some compensation for all this worry the bank has failed as they often do and is not good enough.I would get your bank to fax the notaires bank nevertheless to confirm it has been sent.It is probably the fault of the branch you gave the instructions to, it probably sat in someones tray waiting for an aproval code and checks for money laundering, this all has to be signed off by someone, as usual lack of staff and incompetance, I really hope you do make a fuss about it.I hope everything turns out O.K and good luck with the signing and the start of an adventure that many of us on here, I am sure can relate to.Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ali-C the delay is almost certainly with the French correspondent banks, who have a notorious reputation in the international finance industry as being inefficient black holes.A & L like all British Banks hold their customers foreign currency deposits with correspondent banks in the jurisdiction of the currency and they would have instructed them to make a SWIFT electronic transfer on their behalf. Ask A & L who their correspondent bank is in France who are making the SWIFT payment. This will be a French bank such as Soc Gen, BNP or Credit Lyonais almost certainly in Paris. You can then give this information to your French bank, as it might help them trace the payment.Electronic transfers of money to France that originate externally are notoriously slow, because they are centrally monitored and cleared by the French authorities to whom the French Banks report and this causes delays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Similar thing happened to us too. Like Pads said, we explained the problem to the seller and they gave us the keys to the house early - before signing. Everything worked out fine in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pun Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Hi,we had the very same cock up as you but from a french bank and the notaire would not accept the banks cock up inspite of us owning a house already in france, he wanted the full amount (we were paying the full amount in cash for the second property) but he wanted the money in his account 3 days befor we signed .we ended up having to re-make the booking to both pay up and the signing.hope this hasnt put you off, but its how things worked out for us and that was last september.But now its like a million years ago and that one problem has been replaced by a mine field of new ones, "but it all makes life interesting and the end results all worth while.So dont give up, look forward to a new life, wiser and remember how lucky you are, theres always a good side to every thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 [quote user="Lori"]Similar thing happened to us too. Like Pads said, we explained the problem to the seller and they gave us the keys to the house early - before signing. Everything worked out fine in the end.[/quote]Me too! I had a worrying time for exactly the same reasons, UK bank mucking about. In the end they got the money transferred late by a couple of days bu t the notaire gave us the keys anyway (the house was empty) and we went back 2 days later to sign the final docs when the money had actually arrived. Don't know if the notaire was supposed to do this but very greatful he did. Got all bank charges (plus a bit) refunded too when I kicked up stink with UK bank.I'm sure you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 How are you doing, Ali-Cat, any better news this morning? One thing that you can rely on is that your sellers will not want to go through all this again for the sake of waiting a couple of days longer. You'll be OK. Bon courage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 [quote user="Gastines"]Ford Anglia.Your pal was very lucky he didn't end up in clink. A German chap who eventually bought a house off us mucked us about so much with the deposit,that I said if it's not received by the Bank on Monday,forget it, we'll go with the other offer. He drove into France from Germany with a large amount of cash and tried to pay it into a branch of our bank. They wouldn't take it and gave him a very difficult time.He had to go back to his bank in Germany,pay the cash back in and get a bankers draft, then drive back into France and pay it in. Just in time. Mind you, as he designs traffic flow systems,I don't suppose he thinks the same as the rest of us, or with any urgency.Regards. 5 mins St.Malo[/quote]Yes, he got a hard time trying to open an account[;-)] It got even harder, since he's the sort of guy who tries to think what can go wrong in any given situation, then what he can do to avoid it.This led to him having thought out all the questions the bank might ask, and also all the documentation they might ask FOR, and having the answers/documents to hand.Unfortunately for him the bank manager was even MORE suspicious at his instant answers[blink]It took over an hour to open the account, but all was sorted in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 One lesson I've learnt with Banks and Building Societies,if don't deal with your instructions as instructed,send them a bill for your phone calls/fax's wasted time and stress. I do and they invariably pay up. Last time I instructed the Halifax, by fax, to deal with a transaction, they took 16 days!! The excuse was when the fax arrived it was put on the desk of someone who was on a fortnights holiday!!!!! That excuse was sent by the Branch Manageress,orBranch Manager as they are now called. They ended up paying £200 extra. We earn nearly as much in compensation for all their errors and total incompetance as we do in interest. After all the interest rises for borrowers I await an increase for savers. I think it's called having your cake and eating it.Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I agree Gastines. After one catalogue of errors requiring daly attention from me over nearly 3 weeks I sent the bank an invoice for my time as well as cost of phone calls etc - they paid ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-cat Posted February 2, 2007 Author Share Posted February 2, 2007 Well - we have spent the last 6 hours running from the bank in Angouleme to the Immobilier in Jarnac (& Super U, in-between!) & still have no money (especially after shopping in Super U! [:$] )!!Needless to say the bank, even though they received confirmation, from the Alliance & Leicester, that the money was on the way, wouldn't issue a cheque for the house. We are still signing on Monday - but won't get the keys. We will be relying on the vendors lending us the keys, on Tuesday, so we can move our furniture in - but, because of insurance issues, this may not be possible.I've just phoned the A&L & there is a possibility that the money could be in our account on Monday - but they can't promise. [:@]We didn't actually intend to move into our new house until Friday or Saturday - but all this we could certainly have done without!! Thankfully we're not homeless (yet) & by Tuesday everything should be sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Ali, are there any of those 'rent a space' places anywhere near you ? Perhaps it would be a good idea to have a storage facility 'up your sleeve' just in case things don't work out regarding the furniture.Fingers crossed ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 [quote user="ali-cat"] Thankfully we're not homeless (yet) & by Tuesday everything should be sorted.[/quote]Sorry to hear about the problems you've had Ali, but there is no need for you to sleep out under a tarpaulin somewhere. Give me a call if you need somewhere to stay, you dope.[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I'm afraid that once it is has left your building society, they have no control over the money's passage to your french account. I don't know how you set up this transfer, I do know that just a fax is insufficient with my bank, they require written confirmation beforehand stating that a fax will be sent. And if I had done everything properly I would expect that they would send my money immediately or would be, as has been said, paying me some compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-cat Posted February 5, 2007 Author Share Posted February 5, 2007 Bank's just phoned!! The money's in!! Happy days!! [:D] [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Groovy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Thats great news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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