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The three gold bars that Verena Michel (renamed) carried to her home bank in mid-October 2022 had been idle for years in a safe place at home. They were a gift from the godfather. But now Michel wanted to convert the precious metal into money.
The young clerk at the Credit Suisse box office in Basel also briefed him about the deal: “I felt he gave me very good advice,” says the retiree.
The man accepted the bars and verbally commented: “Three bars of 100 grams each with 99.9 percent purity, 15,810 francs a day,” he calculated. Finally, Verena gave Michel a written receipt for the transaction, which she personally signed.
Shock call from CS
At UBS, such receipts include a condition: “Credit made. […] “After a successful quality check,” he says. “We will contact you in case of any defect.” Such a note is missing from the receipt that Michel received from CS. It simply says: “Buy 3 gold pl. 100 g 999.9-m” and the note “Cash receipt” with the amount due. Michel went home feeling good as his bank account had grown significantly.
A few hours later he received a call from the bank: Unfortunately, the man at the counter informed him that they were wrong: he had delivered only three ounces of gold, not 300 grams. And because an ounce is only 31.1 grams, Michel’s sales balance is suddenly just 4,926 francs.
Michel immediately protested and demanded the reversal of the reservation change made by CS on his own initiative. However, the bank claimed that Michel exchanged three ounces of gold instead of 300 grams.
For Verena Michel, giving up the CHF 11,000 difference was out of the question. “Credit Suisse took the opportunity to check whether I was going to skip a miniature poodle or three hundred grams of thin gold nuggets,” she says sarcastically. And that’s exactly what the man at the checkout did, she.
The bank maintains its position
Michel wrote letters first to the responsible branch manager of Credit Suisse in Basel, and finally to Axel Lehmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Ulrich Körner, Director of CS. From there, the letter was sent to the “Customer Feedback Department” at CS. In a letter, he referred to “a regrettable mistake” and asked for “apologies of all kinds”, but at the same time insisted that it was only ounces, not 100-gram bars.
Among other things, the bank took advantage of the fact that Michel brought a gold bar to the counter a few weeks ago. This unquestionably weighed an ounce – proof that the gold bars delivered to the bank on October 12 also weighed just 31.1 grams each.
Michel did not give up and reached the judge. There CS presented pictures of three ingots, one ounce each: the gold that Michel supposedly brought to the counter. However, CS did not provide any video footage of the transaction being processed, which Michel’s attorney requested. For this, the bank submitted a list of all gold purchases made at the branch on October 12. There are no 100 gram bars on it. It is unclear when the list was created – before or after the alleged bug was discovered.
CS silent
For Michel’s lawyer, this is not proof that his client only paid three ounces: it cannot be proven that these were the gold bars that Michel brought to the counter. And the claim that CS’ client brought an ounce of gold onto the counter a few weeks ago is not good evidence anyway.
Verena Michel is now considering suing Credit Suisse. But the risk is high: if he loses in court, not only is the 11,000 francs the bank deducted from him gone, he must also pay CS’ legal fees.
CS says to the whole point: nothing. A spokesperson explains that there has been no comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
