Questions Of Cash: Why has NatWest taken our money?

A. NatWest says that an employee made an administrative error in the processing of your wife's cash individual savings account (ISA), inadvertently crediting the account with £652.73. As this took her over her annual ISA limit, a cheque for this amount was sent to her, which she paid into your joint account. When NatWest realised that the cheque had been issued in error, it debited your joint account to cancel the cheque. However, NatWest did not inform you of what it was doing. The bank accepts that this was unacceptable. As a gesture of goodwill to apologise for its failure to communicate with you, it is crediting your account with £75.

Q. There has been a 75 per cent return on investment in equities over the last three years. Yet the return on my Scottish Equitable Performance Bond has been a mere 0.5 per cent. As the fund management charge is 1 per cent, this guarantees an erosion in the value of my savings.
BK, Gloucestershire.

A. Scottish Equitable's Performance Bond is a with-profits product. An objective of with-profits investments is to smooth performance across good and bad years. You were protected during years of negative stock market returns, but in better times - such as now - you do not receive the full benefit.

Aegon, which owns Scottish Equitable, says that you are on track for a good terminal bonus.

Q. In January I closed the T-Mobile account that was held in my name for my ex-boyfriend. I sent the firm a cheque for the outstanding balance of £59, plus an extra £47.74 as the fee for early contract cancellation. Now I have received a letter saying I need to pay a further £40.
AB, by e-mail.

A. T-Mobile says there has been a misunderstanding. The cancellation fee is actually £35.78, but your account is already in credit by £32. The balance of less than £4 will be written off.

Questions of Cash cannot give individual advice. Please do not send original documents. Write to: Questions of Cash, The Independent, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; cash@independent.co.uk.