Bank lost my money -- Chase made a mistake and gave us a wrong bank account

[makomoulage]

New York

Hi,

I'm writing here because I'm desperate to find a solution to my problem.

My wife, kids and I have just moved from Australia to NY. We wanted to transfer money from HSBC Australia to our brand new Chase bank account.

As we were in the process of moving, we didn't have the documents with us so we went directly into a Chase branch and asked for our details (account number, swift code, etc...).

But the employee, from Chase, made a mistake and gave us a wrong bank account. So blindly, we called HSBC Australia, and made a transfer over the phone (phone banking)... to an unvalid account.

It's been more than a month now, and nobody can tell us where the money is, though it's been debited from our account in Australia.
HSBC can't find it. Chase neither.

We've called HSBC Australia so many times, and had so many appointments with a manager in Chase (they agree they've made a mistake, but just say "sorry").

My question is the following: is there anything I can legally do to get my money back ?

A transfer between Australia and US should have taken 10 working days. Because of this problem, I've missed the deadline for paying the school for my daughter, so she's not accepted there anymore. I also had to ask people around me to help me with the rent, security rent, deposit and fees for the agency when we were looking for a place to live in Brooklyn, so I own them quite a lot.

Thank you very much.

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that you can have your money back. In this regard you can have your account statement and know as to where the amount has gone. Generally Statement of Account will mention all the details of transactions for which your account is debited. As you have not received thus you may inform your bank that they should either credit your amount or must inform you as to where payment has been made. After obtaining details of the transaction then you may inform Chase bank to take necessary action in this regard.

AFF

[makomoulage]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

The account number that the Chase employee gave us is not a valid bank account. It just doesn't exist.
The money should have just bounced back to where it comes from, our HSBC australian account. But it didn't.

We've asked HSBC to investigate (they kindly accepted to waive the fees for this) but they said it's going to take up to 21 days, "with no garanty to find your money".
And this last bit is what scares me.

So, in one side, we have Chase who's sorry for what's happening.
In the other side, HSBC, which doesn't know where the money is, but say it's not with them. Could it be in an HSBC bank in New York ?
And in the middle, me and my family, first weeks in America, struggling to pay rent, food, and everything, because of this situation.

Of course, both sides say it's the other one's fault. They don't have the same language and rules. Swift code in one side, Fed Wire in the other one, there is no common tracking number that could be used to know where the money is (even the amount was actually converted from AUD to USD, and this changes all the time).

Thank you

[makomoulage]

Hi,

We just called HSBC, and once again, no news.
"We're waiting..."

Any idea of what I could do ? It's been 1 mounth and a half... it should have been back in my account in 4 to 5 days.

Thank you

[makomoulage]

Hi,

I've just had a call from our bank in Australia. They say they've tried to contact "the beneficiary bank" (JPMC Bank of New York, which I believe is a intermediary bank) 3 times, but never had any reply from them.

I asked to try again, and will ask Chase to read their emails... what can I do ?
I feel so lost, being between 2 banks that are accusing each other and not talking to each other directly.

Any help would be welcome, please.

Thank you.

[pretz]

This is a common occurrence, with intermediary banks. There seems to be no urgency shown by them, as you are not one of their customers. In my experience, you will receive your money back, but how long you will have to wait is another matter. Surely the chase employee who gave you the wrong details must accept some degree of liability, for giving you the wrong info????

[makomoulage]

Hi,

I've had my money back 2 weeks ago.
For people to whom it may happen, I'll explain what saved me.

For 6 weeks, I've been calling HSBC Australia every evening (with time shift, I ended up going to bed at 2am every night), going to Chase bank in Brooklyn 3 times a week (actually not myself, my wife did as I have a job).

Then, I decided to go to another branch, at lunch time, near where my office is, in Broadway.
I was lucky the person I talked to was working in a special department a long time ago, within Chase (like one of his first position in this bank). SO he knew who to call and what to do.
The day after, he called me to say he found the money.

Guess what !? It was in Chase's hand since the begining (I remember of Chase's Manager Assistant in Brooklyn saying that it can't be in Chase, and that HSBC was just incompetent).
The fund was actually in a Chase account, but in Australia.

A week later, I had my money back in HSBC and could do the transfer again to the US.

At Chase, nobody know what happened, and how they have lost track of the money, not even the guy who fixed it.

I'm now asking for compensation.

Thanks for who replied to my post.

[Jamessherwin]

You can get the debited transaction details and check the account number where it is transferred. Then either directly contact to the account holder or you can go to the manager who gave you wrong account number. Hope you will get your money soon.

[Arguendo]

I am very sorry for your troubles. Yes, certainly you can (and should) see the return of your money. Too much time has already elapsed. You know, I've seen similar issues where a simple letter from an attorney did the trick. Right or wrong, reality is they are taken more seriously. I think I would ask WORLD Law for a referral. They have lawyers all over the place -- at least worth a shot. Hope things go alright for you.

[lezunip]

JPM Chase in New York seems to have "lost" my transfer from Belgium to the US. The transfer was made in EUR using JPM Chase Bank in Frankfurt as intermediary. This is a sizable amount of money that is going to cover medical bills in the US... These will likely balloon because of Chase... Chase of course denies knowing where the money is - I have spoken to 3 people in their wires department so far and denial seems to be their standard position, not finding out the facts. I was wondering if user makomoulage could point me in the right direction in terms of getting this resolved. Thanks very much!