Payment made in error

kaka06

Hi new to this, just wondering if you could help me?

I have a credit card with Halifax which has 0% on all balance transfers, as soon as I got the card I transferred an existing amount from another card. I don't use the card that regularly but I have just found out that someone has made a payment of £1500 in error.

What would be the best course of action one of my friends said not to worry about it and that if the bank has not taken back the funds within 6 months then I am not liable to pay it back.

Is this true or has this happened to anyone before and what were the outcomes?

Many thanks

Any

I would give them a call to inform them about it.
Just to make sure that once they find it they won't blame you for withholding the mistake from them and they might then withdraw the 0% from you... I know they might not be entitled to do so, but they might try.

kaka06

But i could plead ignorance to the fact i knew it was in the account?

How would they know?

dzug1

You get statements, surely? You really can't plead ignorance.

There is no 6 month limit - they can legally claw it back for 7 years.

robpw2

ignorance is not an excuse , you are knowingly depriving someone of money that is theft

Paul_Herring

Last letter on http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/aug/24/3?gusrc=rss&feed=money :

You can't keep money paid to you by mistake

A cheque for £2,000 was paid into a friend's bank account about four months ago. This seems to be a mistake. She left it there for two months and then transferred it to another account. Is there a time limit whereby, if the building society realises its mistake, it can ask for the money back? Can she use the money?
DT, Leicester
Margaret: This money does not belong to your friend and keeping it is theft. There is no time limit after which it would legally become hers.

Customers should tell banks and building societies if they are given money that isn't theirs. When the building society does find out, it can immediately take the money out of her account without asking for her consent. Or, if there is no money there, it can sue her and report the theft to the police.

The only exception is if she genuinely believed it was her money. She would have to justify this by showing that she had been expecting to receive that sort of amount.

_Andy_

kaka06 wrote: »

But i could plead ignorance to the fact i knew it was in the account?

How would they know?

No you couldn't.

Anyway, how would you feel if you were the person who'd mistakenly made the payment and someone who was dishonest like yourself was trying to keep it?

You need to reassess your moral standards.