'They just can't find it': Ontario couple shocked when $8,600 goes missing during bank transaction

An Ontario couple says they have been fighting with their bank for almost four months when $8,600 went missing when they tried to pay their credit card bill.

“They just claim the money is gone and they are sorry for our loss,” said Al Bamford, of Wiarton, Ont.

Bamford has an account with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and an American Express credit card with Scotiabank.

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In November, Bamford contacted RBC and said he wanted to pay off the balance on his American Express card with Scotiabank, which was $8,620.

Bamford said that because of his banking situation with RBC, it was suggested he pay off the bill using telephone banking and have an RBC employee facilitate the transfer.

"We sent it from RBC to pay off our credit card with Scotiabank of about $8,600,” said Bamford. “They couldn't do it over the internet or anything else because it was a high amount. It had to be done by an RBC employee and it was them that lost it.”

Since November there has been back and forth between the Bamfords, RBC and Scotiabank, but in the end RBC said the funds were gone.

“They just claim the money is lost and they are sorry for our loss,” said Bamford.

Bamford’s wife, Brenda, said it’s been a frustrating experience.

"We didn't do the transfer they did, they have to find it because how can we find it?” said Brenda Bamford.

Al Bamford added, “It's not like we've been hacked or scammed or anything else. It's been done by the bank and the bank has taken our money and lost it."

Duff Conacher with Democracy Watch has been outspoken on banking issues and while he was not speaking specifically about this case, Conacher recently told CTV News when money goes missing during bank transactions customers are often to blame.

"The bank says, ‘Customer it's your fault, you lost the money and you have to pay us back, because we are never going to lose money, because it's never our fault,’" said Conacher.

CTV News reached out to RBC and they agreed to investigate the Bamfords case.

It was then determined that the money was never sent to Scotiabank to pay the credit card bill. Instead, the money was accidentally sent to American Express directly, which did not apply the amount to the Bamfords bill.

In a statement to CTV News an RBC spokesperson said, “We reviewed the matter and can confirm that the issue our client experienced was the result of a processing error, which we are correcting. We are also communicating with our client directly to keep them informed and resolve their concerns.”

The $8,620 has been recovered and sent to the Bamfords, along with about $900 to cover interest and compensate them for the mistake.

“This is a great relief to get this money back and I can tell you I’m glad it’s been recovered,” said Al Bamford.

When transferring funds or paying bills, always take extra time to triple-check payee names and account numbers, as a typo or missing a single digit can lead to problems that aren't always easy to solve.