Bank error in my favour?

spindo

Lol at all the drama queens screaming "Theft! Theft! Theft!":rotfl:You didnt ask for it to be put in your account.

If it would have happened to me i'd have just left it there unused in my bank, i'd bide my time and if they asked for it back i'd give it back like a shot, if they didnt ask for it back i'd have waited and waited..and waited some more maybe years until I felt it a safe enough length of time had passed and then go on a nice cruise, buy a car etc etc.

Extant

spindo wrote: »

Lol at all the drama queens screaming "Theft! Theft! Theft!":rotfl:You didnt ask for it to be put in your account.

Whether you ask for it or not does not alter whether or not it is theft - theft is the act of stealing, stealing is to take without permission or legal right and with no intention to return it.

The poster has taken money without legal right (you might like to look up the legal concept of unjust enrichment).

Errata

Any normal person finding an extra and unexpected £19k in their bank account would be phoning the bank immediately to sort it out. Theives don't do this, and dozy beggars hang onto it because they think they bank will never discover the error.

spindo

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Whether you ask for it or not does not alter whether or not it is theft - theft is the act of stealing, stealing is to take without permission or legal right and with no intention to return it.

The poster has taken money without legal right (you might like to look up the legal concept of unjust enrichment).

I already said if it happened to me I wouldnt spend it and would freely hand it back to the pesky bank if they asked for it back but I would leave it to them to sort out, I would probably open another bank account pronto elsewhere to do my day to day banking and leave the old account languishing with the £19,000 ready to hand back pronto. If they didnt contact me after a considerable amount of time (and I did hint it would probably be years not anything stupid like weeks or months) I would feel safe enough to go on that world cruise. Sorry if that annoys you but I suspect many other normal people who would not fit into the thieving stereotype would do the same. The banks are the biggest thieves of the lot!

Fedz

As said by most others you owe the money back sadly!

You knew it was an error & the money wasn't yours.

Unless you get it specifically in writing that the unexpected 19k credited to your bank account - then in a no win situation.

Clever people open a linked savings account > gain interest, then when asked for it returning, you've gain a little

I'd be surprised if they prosecute you but, as you aren't working and offered 10k then they'll let you pay 9k off bit-by-bit as a 'goodwill gesture' on their part error

opinions4u

I'd be surprised if they prosecute

A succesful prosecution for that sort of theft would,. typically, end in a 9 month prison sentence.

My view is that in cases where it is obviously not the customer's money and those funds are then spent, it is clearly theft.

In those cases the banks should (and most would) prosecute.

bengal-stripe wrote: »

If I was to believe your story..........and I don't, I would answer:

That letter is a mistake just as the original transfer. You still owe the money.
Pay it back, or the bank will take you to court. You have no defence.

Hope you had a good time spending the dosh!

(As I said, I don't believe the story in the first place.)

Nah, I'm not convinced either .

hippey

Wow, almost like monopoly......

In reality, the money ain't yours. If you have spent it......... thats a problem.

M_Thomson

spindo wrote: »

Lol at all the drama queens screaming "Theft! Theft! Theft!":rotfl:You didnt ask for it to be put in your account.

If it would have happened to me i'd have just left it there unused in my bank, i'd bide my time and if they asked for it back i'd give it back like a shot, if they didnt ask for it back i'd have waited and waited..and waited some more maybe years until I felt it a safe enough length of time had passed and then go on a nice cruise, buy a car etc etc.

Your morals are abysmal and inexcusable. Just like the OP. It is Theft, no ifs no buts. It is theft.

LeeSouthEast

Actually if I found 19k unexpectedly in my bank account I'd move it to a high interest savings account, then wait for someone to come looking for it. Hopefully I'd earn some nice interest on that in the 2 months of delay tactics I could draw up before giving it back

Lokolo

LeeSouthEast wrote: »

Actually if I found 19k unexpectedly in my bank account I'd move it to a high interest savings account, then wait for someone to come looking for it. Hopefully I'd earn some nice interest on that in the 2 months of delay tactics I could draw up before giving it back

Haha yeh I would insist that they communicate via post. Have a few letters 'lost' along the way, and ask trivial questions, like one letter "How would you like me to send the money? Yours faithfully' and just keep the ball rolling for as long as possible. :cool: