Seller claims to not have received bank transfer funds (Santander to Lloyds)

A question about : Seller claims to not have received bank transfer funds (Santander to Lloyds)

So I saw this bargain going on eBay for an item that I had wanted for a while, unfortunately the buyer wrote in the description that they only accepted bank transfer. They had over 500 positive feedback and seemed to be a reasonable seller, so I put my trust in them to use bank transfer - lesson learned I should have stuck with PayPal.

I sent the money to their account on the 16th (my bank is Santander, and their bank is Lloyds). My statement showed the payment immediately as a 'faster payment' and should have cleared at the end of the next working day. The seller claims that they have not received it, I sent them screenshots of the statement and made sure the account details I sent it to were correct. So I went into my local Santander branch to try get it traced, and they said I had to talk to Lloyds. So I did - but they couldn't help either because I wasn't the account holder and they could only look into the account as per request by the holder. I've asked them to call Lloyds and I'm hoping I get a positive response in the morning.

So now I'm stuck with talking to someone who I don't even know is going to be honest or even call Lloyds to tell me whether the payment has gone through or not.

Is it possible that a transfer can take almost up to a week? Would I be able to take this to trading standards to try get a legal follow-up on whether the payee has really received the funds or not? Hope someone can shed some light for me! Many thanks

Best answers:

• It's up to your bank to find the money.
  But you may have been scammed. If so, the bank isn't liable.
  There's no need to commence a sentence with the word "so".
• Thanks for your response, PeacefulWaters. Even though you didn't really answer my questions. Pretty sure my grammar isn't relevant in this matter either.
  Either way, I understand the bank isn't liable. But I should at least have the right to know whether the funds are actually showing in their bank or not, don't you think?
• The only thing you can do if you don't get anywhere with the banks is leave bad feedback, and report the user to Ebay.
  I thought Ebay no longer allowed sales unless you included Paypal as a payment.
• If it's a Faster Payment, YOUR bank can confirm that it's been successfully received. They may even provide a screen with this data on your internet banking service.
  You'll probably still need to use a small claims action if it's a scam.
  Quote:
• I'd say at any stage - generally - and in this case in particular.
  Police is a more realistic place to ask for help as they can, possibly, help with getting the scammer's name and address if he used his own bank account, not hacked.