Cliftonensis

Yes that is the plan. Still makes me mad as hell! Added to which I got stitched up in a local shop that sold me the wrong pool pump and refuses to take it back Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Cliftonensis

Just to update this thread. The Carabinieri arrested one guy who paid a stolen cheque into his bank account. This only took 18 months and must have involved a single phone call to the bank!

He was due in court last week and we sat there for 5 hours while about 50 cases were each postponed (not one decission was made as far as I could tell). In the break the judge told us the guy and his lawyer had not turned up and asked why I was there. We told him the police had served papers on me to attend!.

The case was then posponed to June!!!

Now we have to try and get them to charge him in connection with the other cheque which he countersigned on the back and passed on - together with the person who banked the cheque. This is the one that the bank actually paid out
It's like Alice in Wonderland without the nice bits.

Lorna at Vicenza

Sounds like a never ending story.

Hope it does get resolved. Did the bank ever give you the money back?

Cliftonensis

No the bank did not respond in any way to my correspondence.

They have ignored a letter they signed for and a fax to the branch.

Cliftonensis

The saga continues. The bank still refuse to respond to my correspondence so I got a solicitor to deal with them for me.

They told him they were anxious to resole the matter (!!!!) - and offered half the money back. I have told him that I expect a full refund and he is contacting the director again.

His view is that I should accept an offer otherwise I have to go to conciliation and then before a judge and could end up paying the banks legal costs and it will be at least 4 months before any of that happens. I tried to explain the banking ombudsman service but he did not seem to understand what I was talking about - even with a translator.

So something is happening - just not very much.

dina1965

I can't find an english translation of the site - but try giving this address to your lawyer so that he at least knows the service exists. The problem with this service is that you don't actually need a lawyer. You pay eur 20 (which is reimbursed if you win). As for the offer of half the amount, I did say before that banks are scared of the ombudsman, but from personal experience I can confirm that they are terrified and kicked into immediate action by lawyers ! It can cost more than double the amount if they are forced to pay your legal fees as well.

http://www.arbitrobancariofinanziario.it/

Cliftonensis

Thanks for that. As I understand it I cannot get clobbered for their solicitors fees if I lost by going down this route. This is what my solicitor is warning me about but I think he is talking about going to arbitration and then before a judge. (He has just been appointed as a judge himself!).

Lorna at Vicenza

Bloody hell - this really is never ending.

I too think I would be like a dog with a bone about all of this.
The trouble with much of Italian red tape and bullshit ('scuse my language) is that 9 times out of 10 it is easier to just give up and count your losses.
More and more people in this country need to stand up for themselves and make themselves be counted.
Easier said than done but I applaud your perseverance. You've come so far so don't give up now. The bank is probably holding out thinking that you will eventually give up .............. like everybody else.

Stick to your guns and keep us informed. Fight for your money and I hope you get it all back ............ don't forget to ask for any interest ... but there's good luck and then there's Italy. I never gained a penny interest in my life here from a bank.

37100

Have I got this right? Your solicitor is a newly appointed judge and he's never heard of a Ombudsman. Have you tried dropping a hint about going to the local rag with your story? When did you last see a negative story in the papers about the way a bank operates? My guess is never. At the most, you get a reader's letter, complaints about charges, but never an article about their incompetence.

Lorna at Vicenza

yeah - ring up the local giornale. When I was seriously pissed off with the local primary school and its headmaster who wasn't following the new rules about subscription - I rang the Giornale Di Vicenza local news department never thinking they'd be seriously interested and never imagining they'd publish a story about a school head .............. but they did ... and they wrote quite a big piece about it.

(They never told me that they'd publish my full name in the article as well though. Good job not everybody in this village hates me and a lot of people at the time agreed with what I told the journalist.)

I'm pretty sure a bank is bigger news than a primary school.