In September I transferred £5,000 from my Citibank savings account into what I thought was my ICICI HiSAVE account, but I got the last digit of the account number wrong and the money went elsewhere. Since then I have been trying to get the funds returned, but with little success.

I told Citibank and it said that it would place a trace on the funds. I contacted ICICI, which said that it would wait to hear from Citibank. Meanwhile, ICICI said that it would contact the beneficiary of my funds and ask for their authorisation to credit the monies into my HiSave account. Two weeks later still nothing. ICICI said that it was waiting to hear from the other account holder; Citibank said that it had sent the trace.

Just before Christmas Citibank said that it had spoken to ICICI and my funds had been found. However, ICICI said that it was still waiting to hear from the account holder, and if it was to go ahead without his permission, it would need confirmation from Citibank that my transaction was authentic.

I told ICICI that the funds should have been credited already. It asked what kind of trace had been sent. Citibank confirmed that it was a Telex trace, which ICICI said it is not capable of receiving. I then arranged a conference call between me, Citibank and ICICI, but we could get no sense out of this. Three months down the line and I am still none the wiser.

KLARAN O'CONNOR, Bristol

Troubleshooter was exhausted just reading your problem. A spokeswoman for ICICI admitted that this was “a comedy of errors”, which escalated because it did not notice the verification of your account details on correspondence from Citibank to ICICI. The money is now in your HiSAVE account, along with all of your backdated interest and an extra £100 for your troubles.

My parents, who are in their eighties, found an old Mansfield Co-operative Society Share Book belonging to my grandmother, Mrs G. Stacey, that had a total of £42.53 invested. The last date was February 5, 1973. There was nothing to say that this account was closed so I contacted the Co-op last year.

I finally received a letter last week stating that the account number is not listed and would be presumed closed without documentary evidence that it was still open after January 1992, as records did not go back any further. It is possible that this account was closed, but my mother does not recall this and the passbook is not stamped “account closed”. I thought that institutions must keep basic account records indefinitely - are there different rules for share accounts? It is only £40, but my grandmother worked very hard for every little penny.

JUNE BOOT, Nottingham

Mansfield Co-operative Society became part of the Co-operative Society in 1984, which was then taken over by the Co-op group in 1992. The British Bankers' Association and the Co-op think that confusion may have occurred when you contacted the group because the passbook is actually a membership book and does not relate to a bank account. You wrote again to Jane Smeaton, Treasury and Shares and Loans Administrator,

The Co-operative Group, 1st Floor, Old Bank Building, Hanover Street, Manchester M60 0AB, including the passbook. The Co-op then sent your mother a cheque for £106.

Banks must keep records indefinitely of dormant accounts that have a balance on them, but do not keep records of transactions on closed accounts. This means that if a dormant account had a balance on it, there will be a record of it.

Brian Capon, of the British Bankers' Association, says that old passbooks turn up even if the account has been closed, because not all customers cancelled their passbooks when banks converted from passbooks to statements in the 1970s. Some of these accounts were then closed or transferred by the customer, so the existence of a passbook does not necessarily mean that there is still money on the account.

In August last year my 18-year-old son, Robert, paid a cheque into his account using the quick-drop envelope system. On checking his statement, he found that instead of £204, he had been credited only £2.04. He contacted Barclays, but we are still waiting for a response. It seems that it cannot be bothered with only £204, but this is a lot of money to a first-year student.

PATRICIA PAYNE, Chichester

Barclays apologised for the six-month delay and admitted that it could have handled the problem better. It has now credited your son's account with the correct amount, plus an extra £50 to cover the interest that he missed out on.

To tell us your problems, visit timesonline.co.uk/troubleshooter, or write to Troubleshooter, Times Money, Times House, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TB

READERS TO THE RESCUE: BUSINESS CARDS

I run a small company with my son. We each use a Goldfish card in our own names for company purchases and have separate cards for private use. Our accountant says that we should have business cards instead, but HSBC charges £34 a card. I e-mailed the taxman, but have had no reply. I do not see why I should pay HSBC, nor why the taxman would treat a business card any differently. Any advice?

TERRY O'FARRELL, Windsor

“Get a new accountant,” comes the simple reply from Angela Williams, of Walton-on-Thames, who will receive a £25 John Lewis voucher. “While it is good practice to keep company and business records separate, there is no reason why you cannot reclaim from the company amounts paid on personal credit cards, using expenses claim forms and providing receipts.”

Ms Williams is correct. Revenue & Customs says: “HMRC does not have or express a preference on whether directors should use their own or company credit cards.”

For tax and national insurance purposes the two should produce the same result. The question is whether the cost of administration is greater than the bank charges. If directors use credit cards in their own name and incur expenses, they pay the bills themselves and claim reimbursement from the company.

A Revenue spokesman says: “We guess that company credit cards make the accountant's job easier because no claims for reimbursement means less administration.”

He adds that the employer should ask the Revenue for a dispensation permitting him to pay specified expenses without deduction of tax and removing the requirement to report them on form P11D.

Can you help? E-mail troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk with your answers to the following problem for chance to win a £25 John Lewis gift voucher.

“I am trying to sell some shares that are non-UK registered. I have tried a number of selling sources, all of which, without exception, do not want to know. Could you direct me to someone who may specialise in this area?”

IAN COLLINS, Hertfordshire