bank creditted account by £2K

oldwiring

I think you'll find the Theft Act would apply
http://www.lawteacher.net/Criminal/Property%20Offences/TA%201968.pdf

See page 1 and especially Sec 3- Appropriates.

M_Thomson

sublime wrote:

I believe this is pure speculation because the amount of money a bank could make using tis scam would be unreal. Think about it. Credit an account with 105% of what's in the holders account at the moment. When the person withdraws the 'credited' money, they'll withdraw the money back and uh-oh, they're well into the red.

I think the £2000 is yours and you should take it and run. It's not stealing from another person because they (the person whos money it should be) will still get the £2000, but it will be coming out of the banks back pocket.

It's just a minor inconvenience for the person, but reguardless of this, they will still need to report the missing money before the bank gives it back (afterall it can be anyones). And I'd imagine the bank would just pay off the mistake, and then chase the money up after, so again you're not withhoding money from another person so you can't feel sorry on moral grounds i.e. 'what if the person was in debt and the 2000 was paying off the debt and putting them into the clear. But now they've been blacklisted etc. etc.'. Don't think of worst case scenarios because it's happened and their situation won't change no matter what you do.

What a bunch of nonsense. They money is not yours if it is a mistake, and if you spent it and left yourself with a zero balance, they will still take it back and leave you overdrawn. You will have to pay any charges and it will ruin your credit rating.

sublime

Well surely the bank is to blame afterall who's to say there's not a system in place that does what I said? Afterall they'll only need to target low income people who aren't really worthwhile customers. Hate to say it but there are favourites in the world.

That way they can squeeze money out of them, and make them leave as they please. Putting them on a list so that other banks can't do the same trick twice on the person.

Of course banks get checked etc. but the world is corrupt and this is a scheme that people would deffo implement if it was so straightforward (which it is).

I know it's stealing, but people are taking the moral high ground and saying things such as 'what if it was your money' etc. There are three 'things' involved. You, the bank and the third person who's money it should be.

What you do will have no effect what-so-ever on the third person because like I said, the money can come from anywhere and it will not be replaced until the third person reports it. Until then it's money up in the air and the bank will have to credit the third person before it tries to look for the money.

If it was me I'd take the money and close the account if possible. That way there's not a lot they can do to punish you.

M_Thomson

sublime wrote:

Until then it's money up in the air and the bank will have to credit the third person before it tries to look for the money.

Er no, the bank will look for the money first and then credit the customer back. Otherwise they would lose millions if they did it your way!

sublime wrote:

If it was me I'd take the money and close the account if possible. That way there's not a lot they can do to punish you.

No again! Even if you close an account and take the money, they can and will chase you for any money that is owed. I'll say it once more! If it is paid into your account by mistake, it isn't your money. I don't know why you find that so difficult to comprehend! I do worry about the way this country is going with attitudes like yours.

YorkshireBoy

sublime wrote:

Well surely the bank is to blame...

As a credit card stoozer, just last week I returned £28,000 of the banks' money to 4 different accounts using online banking. Had I got one of them wrong, how can it be the banks fault? In this day and age, £1,000,000's are moved daily by customers themselves using internet banking and mistakes DO happen.

That way there's not a lot they can do to punish you.

As M Thomson stated above, they can ruin your credit rating. Surely that's enough to make you change your opinion on the subject?

Jay-Jay_4

I don't know if I can be bothered replying to another one of these posts :rolleyes:

The bank will find the mistake

The bank will write to you

If they do not get a reply they will involve their legal department

From there you will have debt collection letters, possibly court, blacklists etc

They may also recover any interest on the money



It's not your money and to keep it is theft. It may have been paid into your account by a manual error, maybe a bank error, maybe a customer error, an incorrectly encoded cheque, incorrect bacs details quoted on someones payslip..... pretty certain though that it isn't a man in an office who'se dreamt up a conspiracy of how to make a couple of measly quid out of a bank customer.

seven-day-weekend

I was expecting some money (nearly £500) to be paid into my account. It did not materialise.

The person who was supposed to put it in said the bank had paid it to someone else's account by mistake.

I had to wait two months to get it back.

That is more than a minor inconvenience or a few day's wait.

The £2000 is not yours and if you take it you will be stealing.

As my old mum used to say 'if you want an honest society it must start here with yourself'.

sublime

M_Thomson wrote:

Er no, the bank will look for the money first and then credit the customer back. Otherwise they would lose millions if they did it your way!

No because surely a bank which has millions can afford to carry a debt of 2000 until it finds its funds. You'll find it's the other way around (meaning the way I said it) in reality you just never see both sides of the coin so you don't notice it. There must be cases of when money has literally disappeared. Then the bank foots the bill instead of looking for money which is long gone. Of course they'll try to find the money first if they can, but the lead time wont be 'forever' it'll be a few weeks.

I think some of you are getting overly paranoid and sure it's a risk, but a risk I'd take.

And again seven-day-weekend, thats a two month wait reguardless of whether the other person withdrew the money or not. Which is my point!

And speaking of bad credit etc.

Boycotts. A group boycott -- an agreement among competitors not to deal with another person or business -- violates the law if it is used to force another party to pay higher prices.

http://www.ftc.gov/bc/compguide/illegal.htm

There are ways around bad credit ratings, and I'd only close the account if it was a small one and I had an account elsewhere. I think if you act fast enough you can have the money withdrawn and placed in another account before either bank is notified of anything going on. Once you've switched you're practically untouchable.

Besides, IF you want you can always play it safe. Collect the interest on the money given and then just repay the debt. They're not allowed to touch the interest you've gained from it, nor would you need to pay back an interest rate on the money if you did withdraw it, so you can sit on it for a few months and then if it's all clear spend away. If they come knocking you've got it ready.

mad_monkey

thanks Sublime.
i really really would like to go with you and 'cash in' on the banks mistake but i think everyone has a pretty good arguement about why i should not do it.
not too fussed re moral high ground - more about the bank screwing me afterwards.

Hereward

sublime wrote:

No because surely a bank which has millions can afford to carry a debt of 2000 until it finds its funds. You'll find it's the other way around (meaning the way I said it) in reality you just never see both sides of the coin so you don't notice it. There must be cases of when money has literally disappeared. Then the bank foots the bill instead of looking for money which is long gone. Of course they'll try to find the money first if they can, but the lead time wont be 'forever' it'll be a few weeks...And again seven-day-weekend, thats a two month wait reguardless of whether the other person withdrew the money or not. Which is my point!

I agree with M Thomson, The bank will very quickly pick up on any mistake it has made, as, I am sure, the average persion would. The bank will pick up very quickly where the money has gone and will imediately try to get the monay back. The dealy would arise if the money cannot be collected from the "other" account.

I think some of you are getting overly paranoid and sure it's a risk, but a risk I'd take.Besides, IF you want you can always play it safe. Collect the interest on the money given and then just repay the debt. They're not allowed to touch the interest you've gained from it, nor would you need to pay back an interest rate on the money if you did withdraw it, so you can sit on it for a few months and then if it's all clear spend away. If they come knocking you've got it ready.

It is true that the bank cannot claim any interest earned whilst the money is in your account, but be rest assured that criminal procedures will be filed against you with you withdraw the money and cannot pay the money back upon request. I believe that there is a get out clause, if you inform the bank that you have received money that is not yours and the bank fails to take any action for three months. You could then claim, and would most probably have to prove, that you are financially dependant on the money and should be able to keep it.