Bank advice wanted

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Kate
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Bank advice wanted

Post by Kate »

Received by email

Last October, we sent our bank, Crédit Agricole in Collioure, two
letters, each with an enclosed EUR 15 cheque from SNCF, requesting
deposit to our current account. By early February, we had other EUR
cheques that we wished to deposit. But as the two cheques sent in
October had not been shown as deposits on our monthly account statements
for October through January, we we feared another deposit mishap. So, on
12 February, we wrote the bank a query, asking why the two cheques had
not been deposited and asking if there was a specific routine that we
should follow for future deposits. Just to be on the safe side, we had
that letter revised and rewritten by my (native) French teacher, in
proper "bank language". To date, we have received no reply.

We think it's peculiar that a bank does not deposit cheques sent in by
post and doesn't reply to queries from customers. Is this general
practice in France or simply a singular case of an incompetent bank
branch? Do you have any advice as to what we might do? Should we, for
instance, change banks?

Michael
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rbg
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Post by rbg »

Unusual behaviour.
Were the cheques signed on the back by the depositor with the account number clearly marked on the back of the cheque?
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Post by mmbrady »

rbg wrote:Unusual behaviour.
Were the cheques signed on the back by the depositor with the account number clearly marked on the back of the cheque?
Yes, as is customary, at least in the five countries in which I have lived and been a bank customer.
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Post by thumbelina »

If you are able to speak French, perhaps the best solution would be to ring. I certainly have found with my bank, Societe Generale, that I get a much better response over the telephone.

Letters seem to have a mysterious habit of going missing (unfortunately, they don't accept that as an excuse when the shoe is on the other foot!!!)
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Post by mmbrady »

Good suggestion. But of the languages that run about our house, my wife Marianne's university French is best, yet she fears that her verbal command of bank terminology is insufficient. Moreover, telephoning from home (in Norway) is expensive, so we now opt for sending a registered letter and following up with a personal visit when next in the PO at Easter.
thumbelina
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Post by thumbelina »

Registered letter is the next best option, I agree.

Just had a thought though. Credit Agricole are one of the most forward thinking banks with regard to foreign customers.

Try this :


http://www.ca-sudmed.fr/Vitrine/ObjComm ... index.html


Concerned about offering the best service and advice to our English speaking customers, Crédit Agricole Sud Méditerranée as the largest bank in our area, has created an English Speaking Branch dedicated to you.

AGENCE en ligne
English Speaking Branch
30 rue Pierre Bretonneau
66832 PERPIGNAN

*OPENING HOURS :
Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
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Post by mmbrady »

Good suggestion again. We'll start with a registered letter and should that fail, keep contact with the English-speaking branch as a backup. We will report on the result(s).
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Post by rbg »

There is also

www.britline.com

set up for english speaking customers of CA.
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Post by mmbrady »

Thanks for the thought. But as French is one of the languages in which we manage, we'll persevere with it. As Voltaire remarked, 'le secret d'ennuyer est...de tout dire' (in 'Sept Discours en vers sur l'Homme, VI, page 174-175).
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