Dear Editor,
I would be grateful if you can permit me a small space in your newspaper to highlight an issue that I find extremely worrying.
Over the years it seems that our banking sector has been doing everything possible to lose customers and stress out the general public. From requesting mountains of documents and implementing unfriendly procedures which have resulted in long lines at most banks.
A close colleague of mine just returned from the bank and confided in me a tale that sounds like our banks have gone crazy. At the New Building Society Limited he was attempting to deposit a dividend cheque valued $3,000 that was received from Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited. The proceeds being dividends from shares held at RBL. He was unsuccessful in completing this seemingly uncomplicated transaction.
I now provide you the details as to why he was unable to complete the deposit. The cheque is written in the names of A and B (A being my friend and B being his father). He was attempting to deposit the cheque at NBS to an account in the names B & C (B being his father who is one of the payees of the cheque and C being his mother). The cheque was endorsed by both A and B (the payees) and both identifications were presented along with the cheque and the book for the account to facilitate the deposit.
Now bear in mind similar transactions have been completed in the past at the same NBS with little to no hassle, since dividend cheques have been similarly received from RBL over several years. The teller after referring the transaction to his superior indicated that the procedures have changed and the transaction could not be processed unless both persons whose names were on the cheque along with the other party on the account were present at the bank with their identification. Then the payees on the cheque would have to endorse the cheque and also indicate the decision to pay to the order of the parties on the bank account and then the parties on the account would also have to endorse the cheque accepting the deposit to their account.
Am I the only one that thinks this is absolutely madness? Where else in the world exists such a procedure for conducting a simple deposit of a cheque for $3,000?
Yours faithfully,
Marcus Perry
