[new] bank error credited me with over £40,000!!...

honeymonster748

I recently needed to send a same day Telegraphic Transfer to my Solicitor in relation to a property purchase. My bank account is held with a relatively small bank (Bank A), who do not have any local branches. I telephoned my bank to ask how I would go about arranging a TT. They told me I could go into a local branch of another, different bank (Bank , who were part of the same group.

I did this and after taking my ID etc into Bank B, I arranged the TT from my Bank A account. (The cashier did take a while and was quite confused as she had clearly not done this before.)
Upon checking my account online later that day, the £40,000+ transfer had been debited correctly and transferred as planned. The property purchase went through and completed with no fuss.

A week or so later, I called at the same bank branch (of Bank to arrange another unrelated TT. The (different) cashier told me that since my account was not held with their institution, they couldn’t arrange this.
When I said that I believed they could as I had done one the week before, she replied “I know, it shouldn’t have been done and we are still over £40,000 short because of it”.

Despite being a little confused, I thought no more of it and managed to arrange the new TT with Bank A via telephone banking.
I then had a call from a representative from my Bank (Bank A), who asked if “everything was okay and ‘as it should be’ with my account”. I presumed this was a customer service call and was driving at the time so I said “yes thanks” and got rid of him.

Shortly after this, I heard from my Solicitor who said they had received my £40k+ transfer TWICE in error and as such had rejected the second amount. I immediately then checked my account online and sure enough, my account had been credited with over £40,000 which is listed as “CC RTN CHAPS”.

Ultimately, what I suspect has happened is that both Bank A and Bank B sent the amount over to the Solicitors Bank. Since my account is held with Bank A, they debited my account accordingly (once) and Bank B must have also sent funds, assuming that Bank A would balance their accounts.
Since the two banks don’t appear to be talking much (despite being from the same banking group), my account still has over £40,000 ‘extra’ funds six weeks later!!!

I have read a number of articles, forums and news bulletins where people have ended up being prosecuted for theft for withdrawing or spending money which was deposited due to bank error. As a result, I have not touched the money and it is still laying in the account ‘safe and sound’.

I have absolutely no empathy with Bank B for two reasons:
1) It is disgusting to think that they could so easily ‘lose’ over £40k and appear to be so disinterested in finding it.
2) A number of years ago, this very bank stung me for hundreds of pounds in ridiculous bank charges for nominal ‘offences’. Eg. Bank balance say £6, cheque for £15 would be bounced. Charge= £25 for bouncing cheque, then £30 charge for going overdrawn (as a result of first charge). You then end up in a spiral of charges from which there is no escape.

If there is any way I can benefit from this, I sure as hell will.
(I have no conscience, so I don’t want to hear from the do-gooders)

There must be a certain amount of embarrassment from Bank B that they have allowed this to happen. Is it totally inconceivable that they would write this off rather than face the embarrassment of involving both Bank A AND the Solicitors Bank and admitting to this?????

I realise that the likelihood of me getting to keep the £40K+ is virtually non existent, but the temptation to transfer the money abroad and forget about it for a few years is keeping me awake at night.
Worse case scenario- can I justifiably demand either a reward from Bank B for returning the money or charge them an ‘Administration Fee’ for handling and transferring it back, (maybe a flat rate of say 1% of the amount in question).

What would be reasonable?
I don’t see why I should make this easy for them.

Any advice?
(Don’t say “pay it back- its not yours”- I’m not interested in your morals)

riggerz

Why doesnt this sort of thing ever happen to me????

Do all that you can to keep the cash :j:j(I also have no morals:rotfl:)

honeymonster748

....thats right!!
(any advice that helps me benefit from this banks howler that is)
:O)

blueberrypie

honeymonster748 wrote: »

I have absolutely no empathy with Bank B for two reasons:
It is disgusting to think that they could so easily ‘lose’ over £40k and appear to be so disinterested in finding it.
A number of years ago, this very bank stung me for hundreds of pounds in ridiculous bank charges for nominal ‘offences’. Eg. Bank balance say £6, cheque for £15 would be bounced. Charge= £25 for bouncing cheque, then £30 charge for going overdrawn (as a result of first charge). You then end up in a spiral of charges from which there is no escape.

None of this matters. All that matters is the facts of the current situation, and what the law says about it.

If there is any way I can benefit from this, I sure as hell will.

I have no conscience, so I don’t want to hear from the do-gooders)

Okay, forget conscience. Stick to the facts and the legalities.

There must be a certain amount of embarrassment from Bank B that they have allowed this to happen. Is it totally inconceivable that they would write this off rather than face the embarrassment of involving both Bank A AND the Solicitors Bank and admitting to this?????

It's not going to happen. Give up the dream.

I realise that the likelihood of me getting to keep the £40K+ is virtually non existent, but the temptation to transfer the money abroad and forget about it for a few years is keeping me awake at night.

Worse case scenario- can I justifiably demand either a reward from Bank B for returning the money or charge them an ‘Administration Fee’ for handling and transferring it back, (maybe a flat rate of say 1% of the amount in question).

Unless you've a contract with the bank that says you can do that, then no, you can't.

You can, however, put the money into the highest-interest instant-access account you can find and leave it there until the bank asks for it back (which it will). And when it does, you can give it back and keep the interest it earned. If it takes the bank a few weeks to ask for it back, you might find you've made that 1% anyway - and without falling out with your bank, and without breaking any laws.

robpw2

yes you need to pay it back its not about morals its about the law ,you will get a criminal record for stealing .

RayWolfe

So, you already know the answer, but you're happy for us all to know what you are. A thief and a fool.
Welcome to MSE.

honeymonster748

how can i be a thief?

I havent taken anything or (as yet) demostrated any intention whatsoever to keep anything that doesnt belong to me.

As I have said previously, the money is still sat where somebody else has put it.

robpw2

honeymonster748 wrote: »

how can i be a thief?

I havent taken anything or (as yet) demostrated any intention whatsoever to keep anything that doesnt belong to me.

As I have said previously, the money is still sat where somebody else has put it.

mmmm have you read your own post?

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

hayley11

Have you actually contacted either of the banks and said, "how can I pay this back?" Or are you just waiting for them to get in touch?

If you have contacted them and they are not doing anything about it (which I honestly find hard to believe) then i'd do what blueberrypie suggested and put it in a high interest savings account.

Personally I wouldn't be able to rest until i'd paid this back but then that's just me, i'm an honest person.

greenface

Phone the bank and ask if everything is "ok" and "as it should be" call it a customer fact finding call.

DGJsaver

get it into a savings account NOW , you will have to pay back but there is ceratinly a procedure to it , you will be given time to get it back to them , let it earn interest at least