Why don't some banks date their letters?

Before I head off to the city2surf, I would like to ask this curious question: why don't some banks date their letters?

I was doing some filing and looked at my CBA bank statements for the last 3 months. It has no date. The closest thing to it is that it is for the period from x month to y month. That's an indication of around about when the letter was sent, but there's no exact date.

I've noticed this with some other banks as well (although NAB seems to date their letters).

I would've thought this was basic 101 in letter writing?

The cynic in me says it makes it much harder for a customer to refer to a a particular correspondence.

Anyways, it's CBA. From what came out in the senate recently it sounds like you were lucky they didn't just shred it, or they just might have your signature on file to make things easier

Tyler Durden said:

Before I head off to the city2surf, I would like to ask this curious question: why don't some banks date their letters?

I was doing some filing and looked at my CBA bank statements for the last 3 months. It has no date. The closest thing to it is that it is for the period from x month to y month. That's an indication of around about when the letter was sent, but there's no exact date.

I've noticed this with some other banks as well (although NAB seems to date their letters).

I would've thought this was basic 101 in letter writing?

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My guess is that when it comes to statements, the printing date is irrelevant. It is not like correspondence that is specific to a particular issue you may have and you might need to refer to a particular piece of correspondence when contacting the bank, to differentiate that one letter from others in the written conversation.

Statements usually have a statement number and the transactions are dated. If you have some issue related to a statement you wish to discuss, those two items should be all you need to identify the item. The date the statement was printed or mailed is irrelevant and could lead to delays if that was the only reference given by you for a disputed item. Also, as many statements are now available online, sometimes only online, such a date is even less relevant.

bellenuit said:

My guess is that when it comes to statements, the printing date is irrelevant.

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Maybe the date is metadata and the bank retained it

If you ask them, they can date the statements for a small additional fee, of course.