Scotiabank: We can't comment on claims of $$ missing from accounts

SCOTIABANK Trinidad Ltd says it cannot comment on separate pre-action protocol letters from two of its customers alleging that funds have gone missing from their accounts.

In an e-mailed response on Wednesday, the bank said, “We cannot make any comments regarding ongoing investigations or customer information. We value our customers’ trust and are taking these matters very seriously.

“We are looking into the incidents and working towards resolving them expeditiously.”

On Monday and in April, attorneys for the two customers, led by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, complained that money had disappeared from their accounts.

One customer said he was told he did not have an account with the bank, although he had deposited a cheque in 2008, and the other was told her money had been deposited into someone else’s account.

The letters say in both instances the bank refused to reimburse them or give details of what went wrong.

Scotiabank was given 28 days to settle the complaints or face legal action at the High Court.

The April 28 letter said the client, a 74-year-old former Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) worker, deposited his gratuity cheque for $191,059.25 after opening an interest-bearing fixed-deposit account at the bank’s Couva branch.

The letter said whenever the client visited the bank, he was told the account was registered and earning interest.

However, sometime in 2022, he asked to make a withdrawal, but was told that there was no account registered under his name.

“Our client protested that the account was created in December 2008, and he gave the bank the cheque for his gratuity payment and those monies to be placed into an IBFD account. The officer had the temerity to accuse our client of lying as there was no record whatsoever of this money being deposited in the bank. He indicated that if such a deposit was made by our client, the cheque would have been cashed by the bank and appropriate entry and record would have been made of this transaction,” the letter said.

The man’s attorneys filed a freedom of information request for the disclosure of documents relating to the encashment of the cheque.

Three months later, the Comptroller of Accounts of the Treasury Division provided information that the cheque had been deposited into the man’s account at the bank’s Southern Main Road, Couva, branch on December 2, 2008.

In the other letter, sent on Monday, attorneys for the other customer said their client received a “Scotia Line” loan from the bank for $36,682 in July 2022. In November, the letter said she received an SMS message about access to her account.

She contacted the bank and was told there had been no suspicious activity in her account, but was advised to change her password. She asked for a hold to be put on the account so that she could change the password when she got home, but realised later that day that had not been done. When she got home from work she discovered $27,000 was missing from the account.

The letter to the bank said, “Our client was informed that the bank’s investigations revealed that the recipient of the funds was a one Mr (name called). Our client explained that she does not know anyone by the name...and hence she could not have possibly authorised or consented to the transfer of her monies to this unknown person.

“Therefore, our client urged that she would like to know the address and contact details for Mr (name called). The managers refused to give this information to our client.”