Bank sends cheque for 3p

A FAILSWORTH pensioner was stunned to receive a cheque from an international bank in the post — for 3p.

Santander sent Dorothy Tomlinson two cheques, one for 3p and another for £1.46, in separate envelopes. The cost of two first-class stamps is 82p.

Dorothy is currently in Santa Barbara, California, with her son Andrew so her daughter Judith Tomlinson Harrison opened the cheques.

She said: “I just burst out laughing when I saw the amounts.

“It seems so silly to spend money on postage and administration for £1.49.

“The letter said the money was from overpaid tax on two accounts my mum had with Bradford & Bingley which were closed a year ago.

“I understand that the bank has procedures to follow but it seems a shame that the money can’t be donated to a good cause instead of being sent out in the post.

Duty
“My mum thought it was hilarious when I told her and she said there was no rush to pay it into the bank.”

Steve Gracey, a spokesman for Santander, said: “We appreciate Dorothy Tomlinson’s suggestion that she would have preferred this money to have been donated to charity, but this money was hers, and we had a duty to return it, however small the amount.

“It is not for us to decide to give a customer’s money to charity, or send it anywhere else. We return it to its rightful owner.”