A bank has apologised to a disabled children’s charity after 'losing' £1,700 of its vital funds – and have paid back the full amount after being contacted by The Chronicle.
Last week we reported that Christleton-based Children Today, who raise funds to buy disabled children vital specialist equipment, alleged that the Chester branch of Lloyds Bank misplaced 80 separate cheques that they had paid in after their annual Christmas appeal.
Fundraising manager Ruth Wilson said she had received a stamped receipt for the deposit she made in December last year, and thought no more of it until a few weeks later when she realised the money hadn’t gone into the charity’s bank account.
At the time, when Ruth questioned Lloyds Bank, they said they could find no trace of the cheques, donated by various people across the country, and that they were unable to help.
However, after we published the story, the bank have since apologised and have not only reimbursed the full amount, but also given Children Today an extra £500.
In a statement, a Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience we have caused to Children Today as a result of the missing cheques and for the time it has taken to resolve the problem.
“We will be reimbursing the customer for the full amount along with £500 for the upset caused.
“We recognise that we have fallen short of the extremely high standards of customer service that our customers expect, and we are looking into the cause of the problem as a matter of urgency.”
Ruth said the charity were ‘delighted’ with the development.
“This is great news,” she said. “The money will enable us to help more children with disabilities who are currently waiting for vital specialised equipment.”
