Do not copy Citibank sort codes from deposit slips
Posted: Tue, 26 Feb 2008, 07:12:00, GMT | 10400 views
The Citibank sort code in the UK is 30-00-45. Please note that the sort code, most definitively, is NOT 30-00-00. This is a very near and dear topic to my heart, to the tune of about £6600. During the 2006-07 tax year, which was a partial year in the UK for me (we moved over in June), I was eligible to claim a tax refund for a portion of my salary, based on a complicated formula of the amount of taxes I paid to the US, to the UK, and combined with the number of days I worked physically outside of the UK (such as traveling to Shanghai). In any case, I was pretty happy when my tax filing showed that I had overpaid taxes by £6600 and was entitled to it as a refund! The HM Revenue and Customs form asked for my banks sort code (which is similar to a US bank's routing number)and my account number to which I wanted the overpayment refund deposited. I promptly took out my Citibank cheque book (yep, it's spelled like that), and looked for "sort code" and "account number" and naiively assumed that I was good to go. In early November 2007, I recevied a letter from the tax people at HM Revenue and Customs, basically saying that my tax form was reviewed, approved, and the deposit was being sent to sort code 30-00-00 and account number 123456789, per my instructions. Well, by this time, I had grown a bit more accustomed to UK sort codes and had become familiar enough with my own to realize that my sort code was not 30-00-00, but was actually 30-00-45. Drama! What to do? First, I was mad at the tax people, thinking that clearly they had made a mistake, because I certainly wouldn't have messed up on my own sort code. Can't they do ANYTHING right? It's the one thing they need to do for a job and seemingly, they can't even transcribe properly. I pulled the paperwork that I filed - in a fit of anger - and noticed a bit humbly I did write down 30-00-00. This confused me greatly until I took out the deposit slip from the cheque book and struggled to understand why the deposit slip showed 30-00-00 and not my actual sort code of 30-00-45. It made me more confused when I looked up the 30-00-00 sort code, only to find out that it is a valid sort code assigned to Lloyds Bank of London. This raised the possibility that my refund actually was sent through to someone else's account completely! I wrote a letter to explain the situation, and quickly received a reply in mid Novemeber 2007 that they would initiate a trace on the deposit, and once the money was tracked down, would re-deposit it to my proper sort code. Fast forward through the rest of November, December, January, and now into late February. No one could find my money. The Bank of England wasn't making much progress, Revenue and Customs said they were waiting on the Bank of England, and Citibank wouldn't initiate a trace unless I could give them the specific reference information that the Bank of England provided during the incorrect transfer (which I never could discover). I did learn that Citibank UK is not set up as an intermediary bank, which means that they can't process transactions without using a UK bank that can handle intermediate transactions - so they use Lloyd's as that intermediate bank. I've called the Revenue people every Friday without fail. They even assigned me a specific person to handle my case (a very nice woman, up in Scotland). It got to the point where I'd call, and a man would answer. As soon as I asked for Louise, he'd say "is this Terry?" We became great friends. A week ago my mobile rang, and it was Louise! She said that the money had been discovered and has been re-sent through to 30-00-45. "Before I press send, that is the correct sort code, yes?" For those who are looking for a complete list of sort codes, please visit the UK Sort Codes
In other news, work has been busy for me and Troy. We took holiday last Friday and went up to Edinburgh via the train from King's Cross. It's about a 4.5 hour ride and beautiful just watching the countryside pass by. We'll get a posting up soon with some nice pictures.
Troy also says that I cannot turn up at Easter Mass intoxicated. You see, I gave up alcohol for Lent and have noticed the rather significant number of times that I have had to forego a drink. Quite an interesting experience to force recognition of how much alcohol is consumed during the course of a normal week - none of it in a binge drinking mode, but just scattered throughout the week. Out for dinner? Let's start with a cocktail and then split a bottle of wine. After work hanging out with people? Maybe a pint or two downstairs. Swinging by someone's house to say hi? Just a quick beer. On a flight to Seattle? Of course I'll have that glass of champagne and then wine with my dinner. Bailey's Irish Cream after dinner? Yes sir, on the rocks. Anyway, Easter Sunday represents the first day again when I'll have a drink. My grand plan was to wake up and have a champagne mimosa or two with my Captain Crunch cereal (or Fruit Loops, I haven't decided). And after that course was through, move onto a Bloody Mary, with just a hint of spice (plus, the celerey is healthy, no?). By that time, it probably would be time to go to church, but Troy says that I'm really not allowed to attend church drunk. Luckily, there's always the Easter vigil Mass on Saturday night :)