JB writes: I have been banking with Abbey since 1981. I recently applied for a credit card from Virgin, which told me it had information from Abbey’s records that I was deceased. I went to a local Abbey branch and was told they had sorted it out. The following month, as my debit card was about to expire, I called Abbey’s helpline to ask when I would receive the new one. I was told the new card was ready, but couldn’t be sent because I was dead. When I asked to be transferred to another department, they hung up.

I went once again to the local branch, where staff were able to tell me I’d died in October 2006, but they would, so to speak, resurrect me. I heard nothing more. How was I allowed to continue using an account if the bank thought I was dead? I am, by the way, very much alive.

Abbey has apologised, telling you that it is in the process of “one of the largest changes to our IT and processes ever seen in the UK”. In my experience, it has also thrown up the largest number of admin problems ever experienced by banking customers in Britain.

Abbey has now removed the “incorrect indicator” applied to your account through human error, and promised to write to the credit-reference agencies to tell them you are alive. It has offered no explanation as to how you were allowed to continue banking from beyond the grave, but has sent you £100 as goodwill.

The right to raid my account

SH writes: Twice in the past 12 months, Woolwich has withdrawn all funds from my current account to repay an outstanding loan — despite an agreed monthly repayment figure being in place. After numerous phone calls and letters, the bank claims it has “the right to do this”.

Yes, it does. I imagine you are not the only person to have found this out and as the credit crunch deepens, more will do so. People who have difficulty repaying loans may be able to arrange a special and more lenient repayment plan.

It’s vital, though, that they stick to the letter of these arrangements. Otherwise, as you have found out, banks have the right to “offset” — taking money from some other account you have with it, in order to meet those obligations.

There are some limits to this right — for example, a bank can’t help itself to money from a joint account, if the debt relates only to one individual.

Some banks might be more understanding than others, but it will depend on individual circumstances. Other people may find that failure to keep to some agreed plan kicks the management of their debt from the bank’s internal department to a much tougher, specialist debt-chasing agency or subsidiary.

Transfer delays ran up big losses

NW writes: I bank with Lloyds TSB’s Isle of Man offshore centre, and a few times a year request a transfer in euros to my account in Spain. The last payment, for €25,000 (£20,000), was made on February 13. A week later, the Spanish bank had still not received the funds, and it transpires it was delayed by Lloyds for a week. My March statement showed money leaving my IoM account on one day and the same sum being returned the following day. When the money finally went through a week later, this cost me an extra £334 due to changes in the exchange rate. This is the third time in three years that mistakes have been made.