Missing AIB draft leaves family in limbo
The couple live in constant fear that someone will use this age-old philosophy to justify cashing in their bank draft worth €481,500 which was lost in the post last year.
The bank draft, which is like a form of cash because it is payable on demand to the bearer, does not expire for another five years.
So until early 2009 Laurence, who is almost 61, and his wife Annette, 58, will live under the constant threat of having their house repossessed by the bank. They also have to wait until that time depending of course on the fact that no one cashes in the draft in the meantime to finally be able to access their life savings of €157,800 frozen in a bank account.
"It's been a bloody mess," Mr Power said yesterday.
It all started when they decided to sell their home in Donnybrook, Dublin, to move nearer to their daughters and grandchildren, who live close to the village of Kesgrave in Suffolk, England.
To finalise the purchase of their new house, they were advised to send the money via bank draft because it would be easily cashed and would speed up the sale. They used the Royal Mail to send the bank draft and while they know it made it to Dublin, it hasn't been located since February 2003.
A spokesperson for Parcelforce, a subsidiary of the Royal Mail, said at the time the Powers should not have sent "cash" by post and refused to take responsibility for the loss.
It offered just stg£250 (€375) in compensation because it said the contents of the envelope were not disclosed prior to posting and it only guarantees the safety of items to a maximum value of stg£2,500 (€3,700).
AIB Bank, which issued the draft, theoretically stopped it. But since it is practically cash, it could not guarantee that it would not be cashed before its six-year expiry date and therefore could not refund the money. On the other hand, since the draft hasn't been cashed, the money is technically still in the bank's coffers.
As a result of this technical standoff, AIB paid for the bungalow the Powers planned to buy in Kesgrave. The Powers do not pay any mortgage or rent to the bank, since they technically had the money to buy the property outright.
They also have possession of the deeds because it was bought, theoretically, with their money, which is still in the bank. However, they have signed a document with AIB saying that if the bank draft is cashed in by persons other than themselves, the house becomes the bank's property.
"If crooks cash in that draft the bank can claim the property back. But they'll have some job getting us out of the house if that ever does happen. I've told them they can get stuffed if they think they will be able to repossess this house," Mr Power said.
After AIB purchased the house for the Powers, it put the remainder of their money, €157,000, into a bank account in London and there is will sit untouched until the bank draft is cashed or expired.
"This was the money we had planned to live on. We manage to live on my pension and my wife's salary from the civil service, and I also get a carer's allowance because I look after my 91-year-old mother, but we would be able to live off the interest every month from that money if we were able to access it," Mr Power said.
He accepts that it is an unusual arrangement, particularly as he must ask permission from AIB before he can carry out any repairs or work on his house.
"In fairness, AIB have treated us very well. They could have said hard luck when the draft went missing, but they didn't. At least we have a house to live in, even if we do have this hanging over us for the next five years," he added.
AIB wouldn't comment on individual cases, but pointed out that these were highly unusual circumstances for which there was no particular precedent.
"In view of the predicament which these people found themselves in, and while weighing up the potential exposure for the bank, we went to unusual lengths to assist them to complete the property transaction," a spokesperson for the bank said.
On AIB's current woes, Mr Power said banks are only in the game to make money. "If you go just €5 overdrawn on your account at the end of the month, they charge you €20 in penalties. It's all about making money for the guys in suits," he said.
The Powers live in hope that who ever finds the missing bank draft lives by another adage: honesty is the best policy.
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