Accounts Terms and Conditions
1. Interpretation
In these General Terms and Conditions, the expression “the customer” shall include all persons, firm, partnership, or corporate body. The expression “the Bank” shall refer to Family bank Limited.
2. Customer’s instructions
The customer requests the Bank to honour and to debit to his account all cheques, drafts, bills, promissory notes, acceptances, negotiation instruments and order drawn, accepted or made out to him, to carry out any instructions he may give in connection with his account not withstanding instructions that any such debiting or carrying out may cause his account to be overdrawn or any overdraft to be increased. Where no overdraft had been agreed or the limit of the overdraft agreed has been reached, the Bank may nevertheless refuse to carry out any instructions which would result in there being an overdraft greater than that agreed, as the case may be.
3. Authorized Signatories
The customer will give the Bank an acceptable specimen signature of every person authorized to operate the account. Unless otherwise agreed, all signatories are entitled to withdraw all or any of the Customer’s property or securities held by the Bank from time to time and to overdraw any of the Customer’s account provided it is done in accordance with the mandate.
4. Set-off
The Bank may notice set offs against any account or indebtedness of the customers:
I. Any other account whether current, loan, saving or any other type
II. Anytime or other deposit
The Bank may upon notice to the Customer set off his account against any other account or indebtedness in respect of which the customer is liable notwithstanding that some other person may also be liable in respect thereof.
5. Simultaneous Order in Excess of funds
Where the Bank receives several orders at approximately the same time, the total amount of which exceeds the available assets of or the credit granted to the Customers, the Bank may honour the orders in whatever manner thinks fits within the limit of the funds available.
6. Bank charges and Expense Interest
The bank is entitled to be paid by the customer and may debit the customer with:
a) Unless agreed in writing, interest on overdrawn accounts including penalty interest, loan accounts or any other facility granted by the Bank at a rate which may be different for different accounts
The Bank will update the Customer on changes to interest rates by either putting notices in the branches or newspaper that the Bank uses within five working days of the change and / or advise the Customer within thirty days of the change
b) Advocates and clients costs incurred by Bank in any legal, arbitration or other proceedings arising out of any dealings in respect of the Customer Commission at such rate and at such a time or times as the Bank decides, with discretion to charge different rates for different accounts.
In addition, the debits authorized by sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this clause, all other expenses and charges including but not limited to ledger fee, disbursement for cheque books, postage’s cables telephone calls, taxes, duties, imposition and expenses incurred in complying with the customers’ request.
7. Statement deemed approved if not objected to within 30 days
The contents of any statements of account or statement of any other nature which has been sent by the Bank to the Customer, and to which the customer has not objected to within 30 days of receipt thereof, shall be deemed approved by Customer.
8. Delay by the Customer in lodging complaints
The bank is not responsible for any matter unless the Customer has made a written complaint to the Bank as soon as reasonably possible
9. Payments by Third parties
The Bank may credit the Customer with amounts paid by third parties
10. Deposits of cheques
a) All cheques or other orders for payment of whatever nature are accepted for deposit or collection at risk of the customer. Where any cheque or order is unpaid for any reason whatsoever (including but not limited to physical loss), the Bank may debit the Customer with the amount previously credited (taking into account any exchange fluctuation where relevant) in respect of that cheque or order, together with interest since the date of crediting if the account thereby is overdrawn.
b) A duplicate deposit slip duly stamped and signed is a necessary but not sufficient evidence of cash deposit
c) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause 6 herein any money credited to Customer in error must be repaid immediately.
11. No duty on bank to protest
The Bank is not liable for any loss or damage suffered by any part if any dishonored bill is not noted or protested or both. The Bank will nevertheless endeavor to cause dishonored bill to be noted or both provided that it receives instructions to do so in reasonable time.
12. Repayment of overdrawn accounts
The Bank is entitled to demand the immediate repayment with interest of any account that is overdrawn.
13. Lien
a) When the customer is indebted to the Bank, the Bank has a general lien over all the property of the Customer in the Bank’s possessions, including, but not limited to cash, goods, securities or valuable deposited for the safe custody or as security, cheques presented for repayment, bills and any other property movable or immovable charged to secure repayment of any money whether or not that money has been repaid, and also over all property over which by the general law the bank has lien.
b) Where the Customer is indebted in circumstances giving the Bank a right of set off all securities as set out in paragraph (a) hereof are held as securities for the debt.
c) The Bank may at any time give the Customer notice in writing that if an accrued debts is not paid within a stated period being not less than 14 days after receipt of the Customer of the notice take necessary steps to realize sufficient of the customer’s asset to discharge the debt.
d) If the debt is not discharged within the time allowed, the bank may realize sufficient of the customer’s assets to discharge the debt, and the Customer constitutes the Bank his attorney for the purpose of conducting the sale, giving title to the asset sold and all other necessary matters. Any sum remaining after such a transaction will be held for the customer subject to these Terms and Conditions.
e) The bank is under no obligation in respect of any sale under sub- clause (d) Other than for mala fides
f) Funds in foreign currencies which are subject to the Bank’s lien may be set off against debts or realization. The Bank accepts no liability for any loss caused by the exchanged fluctuations.
g) Deposits including those held in foreign currencies and for a given period of time may be set off against debts notwithstanding that the time period of the deposits have not expired.
14. Variation and termination of relationship
The Bank may at any time upon notice to the Customer, terminate or vary its business relationship with the Customer, and in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the Bank may cancel credit which it has granted and require the payment of the outstanding debts resulting there from within such time as the Bank may determine.
The Bank may at any time freeze any account of the Customer if and so long as there is any dispute or the Bank has doubts for any reason (whether or not well founded) as the person or persons entitled to operate the same without any obligation to institute interpleading proceedings or take any step of its own initiative for the determination of such dispute or doubt.
15. Cheque Books
a) The Cheque books are issued subject to look after the use any cheque form with the utmost care.
b) The customer further agrees to ensure:
I. That all completed cheque forms are kept in safe custody at all times
I. That the Bank is formed immediately upon discovery by the Customer that any cheque book or any cheque form has been stolen, lost or mislaid.
II. That any person preparing the cheques is authorized to do so.
III. That any cheque is prepared and signed in ink or other indelible writing materials.
IV. That the amount of any cheque is written as nearer as possible to the left side of the form to prevent any unauthorized addition of letter or figures.
V. That any cheque and any alteration is signed by authorized signatory.
VI. That no uncompleted cheque is given to a stranger or any other person when the customer does not have reasonable ground for believing him to be untrustworthy.
c) The customer is advised that:
I. Where possible any completed cheque should be crossed with two distinct lines in order to make the cheque negotiable only through the bank and
II. If it is known with which Bank the beneficiary of a cheque keeps his account, then the name of the bank should be added to the crossing in order to make the cheque negotiable only through that particular bank.
d) Cheques are drawn on the Bank’s form in the manner specified
I. On the receipt of a written notice from the customer to stop a payment of cheque, the Bank will record the notice.
II. Upon closure of any account the Customer will return to the Bank any remaining uncompleted cheque forms relating to the account.
16. Drawing of Cash
Customers should draw cheques in the form and manner specifically by the Bank in these Terms and Conditions.
a) The Bank will pay cash to customer where the cheque is signed in the presence of the teller by an authorized signatory or by authorized signatories. Where cash cheque is presented not by the Customer or from a representative of the Customer before it makes payment. Where cash cheques are presented by the employees or other known agents of the Customer the following steps will be taken:
I. The employee or the agent will be identified beforehand in a manner acceptable to the Bank.
II. A limit on such drawings will be agreed in writing with the Bank and until such limit is agreed, no drawings will be allowed under this paragraph.
b) Where the Customer requests that payments be made under paragraph (a) the Customer indemnifies the Bank in respect of all payments made to the presenter of the cheque whether or not the money was received by the Customer and whether or not the order for payment was in fact the order of the Customer.
c) The Bank shall not be liable in any way to the Customer for having honoured even negligently any cheques the signature or content of which has been forged if:
I. The Customer has facilitated such forgery either by failure to comply with any of the conditions contained in
II. clause 16 hereof or by negligence in any other way; or
III. There has been a previous forgery of any cheque of the customer having not objected to the first statement
IV. of account which debited such cheque as provided by clauses 6 hereof or
V. An employee, servant, agent contractor or persons known to the Customer perpetrated the forgery.
17. Validity of Documents
The Bank is not responsible for the authenticity, validity, regularity or value of documents including but not limited to bills of lading, delivery orders, consignment documents, receipts, warrants and insurance policies.
18. Holdings and Credit in Foreign Currency
Subject to all Laws and Government Regulations applicable
a) The Bank will credit the counter value for the Customer’s holdings foreign currencies to accounts with its correspondences in various countries of origins.
b) Such accounts are in the Bank’s name, but any items belonging to the Customer are at the Customer’s risk, and the Customer accepts responsibility for any ensuing consequences, including but not limited to consequences of legal, fiscal or other measures affecting the accounts. Except in the case of an assignment by the Customer to the Bank, the Customer may dispose of such funds only by means of request for cheques or any transfers in the original currencies at the Bank’s option;
c) All credits granted in foreign currencies are also subject to this clause.
19. Accounts in Foreign Currency
Subject to all Laws and Regulations, where an account in foreign currency any demand on the Bank for payment from such account is properly met by the Bank issuing a draft or affecting a transfer or making a payment in any other manner in foreign currency at the discretion of the Bank.
20. Communications
a) All notices, statements, letters and other communications from the Bank may be sent to the last address given by the Customer, and the date on the Bank’s copy of any such communication is taken to be the date of such dispatch in the absence of proof of the contrary.
b) Any written communication from the Bank to the Customer including but not limited to any notice given pursuant to this Term and Conditions shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the communication was properly stamped and addressed.
c) The Customer has no claim on the Bank for damages resulting from losses, delays, misunderstandings, mutilations, duplications or any other irregularities due to transmission of any communication whether to or from the Customer, the Bank or any third party, by delivery, post, fax, telephone, telex or any other means of communication.
d) Notice/communications will be deemed to have been received five (5) days from the date of posting.
21. Marginal Notes
Marginal notes contained in these General Terms and Conditions are for information purposes only and are not conclusive as to the contents of the clause they relate to.