A payment that never arrived

1. 1
   transfer/ˈtrænsfər/

   noun

   Money moved from one account to another.
2. 2
   payment/ˈpeɪmənt/

   noun

   Money sent to somebody.
3. 3
   reference/ˈrefərəns/iAlso said ˈrefrəns.

   noun

   The code that identifies a payment.
4. 4
   pending/ˈpendɪŋ/

   adjective

   Started but not finished.
5. 5
   receive/rəˈsiːv/iAlso said riːˈsiːv.

   verb

   To get something that was sent.
6. 6
   trace/treɪs/

   verb

   To follow something to find where it went.
7. 7
   delay/dɪˈleɪ/

   noun

   A wait longer than expected.
8. 8
   abroad/əˈbrɔːd/

   adverb

   In another country.
9. 9
   charge/tʃɑːrdʒ/

   noun

   A fee taken for a service.
10. 10
    account/əˈkaʊnt/

    noun

    The record a bank keeps of your money.

The sentences

1. The transfer left my account last week.

2. The payment has not arrived at all.

3. I have the reference written down here.

4. It still shows as pending on my side.

5. They did not receive anything last week.

6. Could somebody trace it for me?

7. Is a delay of days normal here?

8. The money was going abroad, if that matters.

9. Was there a charge I did not see?

10. Nothing has come back to my account.

Pronunciation

• reference/ˈrefərəns/

  Often two syllables in speech: REF-rence.

• receive/rəˈsiːv/

  Stress the second syllable: re-SEEV.

• abroad/əˈbrɔːd/

  Stress the second syllable and the OA is one vowel: a-BRAWD.

Questions

What do I say if a payment still hasn't arrived?

You can say 'The payment has not arrived at all.'

What does 'pending' mean here?

It means the transfer has started but hasn't finished.

How do I ask someone to trace a transfer?

Say 'Could somebody trace it for me?'