Money appeared in bank - what do I do?

majik48

My son paid some money into his Abbey current account a while back and when he next checked his balance, there was an extra sum in there which he hadn't paid in. He phoned the bank who said it had been paid in in cash so they didn't know who it was from. We are assuming he shouldn't touch it - is there a legal position on this, like how long it should stay there before he can claim it as his?
Thanks
Majik

far2812

I would assume that if someone paid it in Cash - it was someone who intended it to be for him!

Did anyone else know that he had an Abbey account?

What is the sum?

majik48

I've checked everyone who might be possible - no-one has paid money in, and the only other one is very unlikely (she owed him money awhile ago but has paid that back and they don't speak any more). It is £320. Is there any other way it could have got into his account? Do banks make that kind of mistake?? Also it was paid in on the same day he had paid in money from another account with a different building society.

maemaesmummy

yes banks make those mistakes a lot.. the cashier could have put in the wrong account number ..it happened to my father recently at Nat West.. around the time he realised the person who should have had the credit did too.

majik48

Yes, I'm thinking we will have to wait and see for a bit, but I wondered if anyone knew the legal situation? I remember handing things in to the local police station and, if no-one claimed it within 30 days (or something) you got to keep it. Is there anything like that with bank accounts and money? For the time being I'm just telling him not to touch it, but for how long!! He is a student and needs every penny he can get, especially since the Student Loan company have still not sorted out his money and he's had to pay his first accommodation fees...

slummymummyof3

Perhaps you would be better off removing it from his account in the meantime so that he doesn't spend it and then find himself in the position of having to repay it (with no means of repaying it)

Dave101t

normally the bank will simply remove the funds however if they are saying it was paid in, in cash over the counter, then its not easily tracable until the person expecting the cash doesnt receive it.
everytime i go to the bank if i dont have the card or document they confirm all the details with you so there is no real way it could be a mistake unless the person paying in is an idiot. they probably didnt take a receipt if this is the case which means no paper trail, so possibly you got it for free! great MS fluke!

scullster

There was a case recently on the BBC news (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8251679.stm) where someone has unwittingly (it was her mistake, not the bank's) sent money to a wrong account (in her case, it was a couple of £k). She tried to recover the monies back through the bank but the bank were prepared to only do so much and that they couldn't force the recipient to return the funds. As it was a transfer, it was easy for the bank(s) to see the transaction, i.e. when it happened, from where to where but they were powerless to enforce a correction - in this case, the person who received the money was contacted by the bank but they refused to hand the money back.

In your case, someone will eventually question why their £320 cash deposit didn't register on their account. If they are lucky, they will have a receipt but it will state the account number to which the deposit was made, i.e. your sons. It will at least prove that they made the deposit but only to your son's account.

Legally, it will be up to the bank and the other customer to argue it out, the bank could take the view that they were given that account number by the depositing customer (and either the customer has made an error or they've even changed their mind about the deposit), the customer will take the view that the bank is in error.

Morally - its up to you.

majik48

Thanks all. Would there be a problem with removing it from his account? Even if it isn't touched, does that count as interfering with it, and is that wrong?
Dave - I didn't want to contact the bank again as I worry they'll just take it out and that'll leave us nowhere. Congrats on your savings, by the way!

scullster

majik48 wrote: »

Thanks all. Would there be a problem with removing it from his account? Even if it isn't touched, does that count as interfering with it, and is that wrong?
Dave - I didn't want to contact the bank again as I worry they'll just take it out and that'll leave us nowhere. Congrats on your savings, by the way!

I really do doubt that there is nothing illegal in you touching the money - I would argue that putting it to one side, considering he's a student, that would be the safest thing to do!

majik48

Okeydoke - I'll get him to take it out and put it into a savings account, so he needn't touch it but will benefit from any interest. I guess we'll wait to hear from the bank that someone has lost their in-payment...