Bo'ness-based band unable to pay bills due to RBS mistake

A bank has apologised to a marching band after losing important documents which left the group unable to pay its bills.
Members of the Forth Bridges Accordion Band have called on the Royal Bank of Scotland to allow them to access their accountsMembers of the Forth Bridges Accordion Band have called on the Royal Bank of Scotland to allow them to access their accounts
Members of the Forth Bridges Accordion Band have called on the Royal Bank of Scotland to allow them to access their accounts

Forth Bridges Accordion Band (FBAB) members, who are based in Bo’ness, haven’t been able to access either of their two Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) accounts to cover operating costs since last September because of paperwork going missing and cheque books not being issued.

Despite the cross-community band having funds in both a general account and a fundraising account with the RBS in Falkirk, the mix-up has meant the group still can’t use money from either as both are only accessible through cheque books containing two signatures.

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Alan Potters, FBAB founder, said: “We have been unable to access our fundraising account as the paperwork for changes of signatures has gone missing three times.

“We can’t get access to our second account as we ordered a cheque book seven weeks ago and we still don’t have it. We owe people money and have bills coming in.

“We have payment to cover these costs. All we want is access to our funds.”

RBS has vowed to sort the situation out after being contacted by the Falkirk Herald in relation to the band’s concerns.

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A spokeswoman apologised for the error on behalf of the bank and confirmed the matter is now being treated as urgent.

She added: “In this instance, we have let down our customer and for this, we are sincerely sorry.

“We have robust processes in place to ensure this doesn’t happen. Unfortunately in this case these processes were not followed and we are currently working to rectify this situation.”

Reacting to the news that RBS is looking into the mistake, Mr Potters added: “I am pleased the bank recognises they are accountable for this situation.

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“However, they have known they have been accountable since September when we first made contact with them. Still we are no further forward in accessing our funds and people are due money.

“We hope this can be sorted very soon. How much longer do we really need to wait?”

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