Referal paid in cheque form...

[#1]

Er, James - that was nine days ago.
Any chance of an update?

[#2]

Sorry Loombucket.
Did you actually have a cheque sent to you?
Apologies for not having responded sooner.

[#3]

Not yet - it always takes about three weeks for the cheque to arrive, so I'm not surprised. 
What irritates me is the fact that (a) with the timelag being so long, by the time it arrives it's hard to relate it to a specific month's payments which makes it almost impossible to check, and (b) I/we have been told month after month that this has been rectified but the problem still persists, which indicates that someone somewhere isn't checking this all the way through.

[#4]

Hi Loombucket,
I'm really sorry that it has taken so long to get back to you.
It appears that there is a problem with the script that we are using to automatically refund by BACS.  We did previously think that it was a case of human error as finance were generating cheques.  We then thought that it might have been a problem with the script handling longer invoice numbers, which again proved to not be the case.
So we're now looking into the scripting that is being used where the referrers equate to more than the invoice amount and we'll try to get these fixed as soon as possible.
Apologies again.

[#5]

Hi Loombucket,
I rolled out a change in the system last week which should now ensure that anyone with direct debit details should receive referral payments directly into their bank account as opposed to received by cheque. I've checked your account and you appear to fit the criteria required to receive the payment by BACS. Your referrals kick-back will be calculated on your billing day, but the script which actually generates the payment runs only at the beginning of each month, and can take up to 14 days to reach your bank account.
A closed ticket will be added to your account on your billing day, indicating the total amount of referral credit you've earned and the method of payment that will be used. I will check your account on this day, after our billing cycle has completed, to ensure that the payment will be made to your bank account instead of by cheque.
Another closed ticket will be added to your account on the day the BACS payment is generated, indicating the payment has been processed and will appear in your bank account in 14 days. I will also watch out for this.

[#6]

Roo, thanks a lot for finally sorting this one out. 
I have a question or two, however - why the delays?  The combination of the script only being run at the beginning of the month (my billing date is the 15th) and a 14-day processing period for BACS payments means I don't actually get paid until a full month after the payment has been authorised!
1>  Why is the script only run once a month?
2>  Why does an automated BACS run (which should take a MAXIMUM of 3 days) take 14 days? 

[#7]

Hiya Loom,
Sorry for the delay in replying.
We tied into an existing script that processes payments for customers with free accounts who have referrals. This script already ran once a month, and because other customers had complained because of receiving multiple payments in the same month we decided not to change this. The once-a-month processing ensures that customers will only ever receive a single payment to their account each month, whereas processing more often could lead to multiple payments in the same month. I've highlighted your comment to Mark and he'll review the process and push back if necessary.
The BACS process isn't actually automatic. A file gets generated which a member of our finance team must then process, get signed off by a director, and then upload via a secure line to the BACS system, where it will then get processed. We cite a 14-day period as being a safe length of time to ensure that any reasonable delays that may occur are accordingly accounted for. Normally this process will take much less time than this.
Hope that helps,
Rupert.

[#8]

Certainly does, Roo - many thanks for the clarification.