RANDLEMAN, N.C. — Charles and Claudine Byerly live in Randleman. Claudine’s niece lives in Bordeaux, France. That’s roughly 4,000 miles and a giant ocean away. So, dropping some money in the mailbox or stopping by with a check is not easy.
“We can’t just pop over there,” Claudine Byerly said.
It is, however, easy to send a wire transfer, which is what Charles and Claudine Byerly did. The couple went to their First Horizon bank branch in Randleman and set up a wire transfer of $2,200 to a bank in France.
“Two to three weeks later, (the niece) did not get the money,” Charles Byerly said. “Our wire transfer got lost and nobody knew where it was.”
The Byerlys immediately reached out to their bank to inquire about the issue. The couple said the bank researched the matter and determined the money was sent correctly, and any issue was with the bank in France.
“Their excuse was the bank (in France) would not respond,” Charles said.
First Horizon did reach out to the bank in France but was not able to reach anyone. The pandemic may have certainly played a role in this matter, but the Byerlys just wanted answers.
“We were upset about (limited investigation) because we paid them to send the wire. It should be up to them to do the investigation and find the money,” Charles said.
News 2 reached out to First Horizon and while a spokesperson did provide some information about the matter, she would not provide specifics about the investigation or what the bank did to try and contact the bank in France.
“The last response got (from the bank) was they had done everything could do and that all could do and (they) are not responsible,” Charles said.
The couple had reached out to News 2 in hopes we could help but we were unable to make any significant progress with First Horizon. The bank said the money was sent and the bank in France had it.
We then went to the internet to try and find some contact information for the bank in France. We were able to find both a phone number and what seemed to be an online chat. We at first tried to chat with a representative but immediately were unable to communicate based on the language barrier.
We then found an email address and decided to send an email hoping someone would be able to translate and understand the issue. At this point, the Byerlys had been trying to locate the money and get it returned to their account for more than eight months.
“We do not know what else to do, so I’ve seen your program on television, so I thought, I am going to call 2 Wants to Know,” Charles said.
About a week after we sent the email to the bank in France, someone from First Horizon called the Byerlys.
“The next Friday, I got a call from First Horizon saying the $2,180 will be put back in your account,” Charles said.
We never did hear back from the bank in France, but at least the Byerlys received a full refund for the lost wire transfer.
“We appreciate it, Kevin, thank you,” Charles and Claudine Byerly said.
Once the money was back in their account, they sent Claudine’s niece the $2,200, but they did not send a wire transfer.