Money writes: Abbey's word failed to match its bond

Money writes: Abbey's word failed to match its bond

We took all our money, £26,000, from the bank next door and put it into an Abbey with-profits bond. We did not receive any literature, but the adviser indicated a return of £31,200 after 10 years.

However, we don't get any interest from the bond and when we wanted to take some money out recently we were told we would lose £6,500 as a penalty if we did so.

ZMcG, Fareham

Abbey initially identified your account, but could find no paperwork. When this eventually turned up, Abbey admitted that it sold you and your husband an investment that was inappropriate because you did not want to take much risk and had not bought equity investments before. Abbey is returning your £26,000, plus £4,756 for interest you could have earned had your money been in a deposit account since 1999 instead of the with-profits bond.

The interest rate is based on the Bank of England base rate plus 1 per cent.

Pension that never was

I thought I had been contributing £55 a month to a Scottish Widows group personal pension through my previous employer. But the day before leaving the job I discovered.....continued below

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Since March, I have been phoning and emailing both my ex-employer and Scottish Widows without any response.

LM, Dronfield

Scottish Widows denies ever receiving your application and says it has been trying to sort this out with your former employer, a law firm, since last December, when your contributions first arrived.

The firm asked Scottish Widows in May to return your contributions and £216 has now been sent to them covering payments from December 2004 to last March. Your ex-employer should have sent this on to you by now.

If your money had been in a pension and, on leaving, you withdrew it because you had worked there only three months, you could be entitled to reasonable interest on top, but only if the scheme rules allow. Talk to the firm if you think it is worth the effort for a couple of pounds.

Overdrawn, overcharged

When I told my Abbey branch my new address, I was horrified to find that I was £60 overdrawn without authorisation. I thought my account was £30 in credit and that I had an authorised overdraft limit of £300. Apparently my overdraft facility had been cancelled because mail had been returned after my new debit card was delivered twice and no one was in to sign for it.

MW, London