Fidelity paid me twice!

p1an0player

Hello,

When I withdrew a unit trust investment a couple of weeks ago, Fidelity made a refund to my debit card (I made the investment by debit card).

Now they've sent me a cheque as well, for the same amount!

Any thoughts on how I can benefit from their mistake, without being fraudulent. I haven't cashed the cheque yet.
eg might they offer a goodwill gesture for inconvenience, or can I cash the cheque and earn some interest on it until they realise?

grex9101

cash the cheque, but keep the money handy in case they ask for it back...

Bossyboots

Dont be daft. You know the cheque is an error as you already have the money. Cashing it would be dishonest. I am surprised you even need to ask the question. What inconvenience are you being caused? You do not need to return it. It does not cost you anything to hold onto it. If they want it back you ask them to send you a pre-paid envelope, but in the meantime why not do the decent thing and just wait until they ask.

grex9101

Bossyboots wrote:

Dont be daft. You know the cheque is an error as you already have the money. Cashing it would be dishonest. I am surprised you even need to ask the question. What inconvenience are you being caused? You do not need to return it. It does not cost you anything to hold onto it. If they want it back you ask them to send you a pre-paid envelope, but in the meantime why not do the decent thing and just wait until they ask.

Seriously, why not cash it? Don't spend it, of course, just "ring fence" it until they ask for it back. They may never do so, in which case you're "up".
You're just looking after the money in a safe place

p1an0player

Bossyboots wrote:

Dont be daft. You know the cheque is an error as you already have the money. Cashing it would be dishonest. I am surprised you even need to ask the question. What inconvenience are you being caused? You do not need to return it. It does not cost you anything to hold onto it. If they want it back you ask them to send you a pre-paid envelope, but in the meantime why not do the decent thing and just wait until they ask.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. It's not my intention to be dishonest.

I could easily have cashed the cheque without realising I'd already been paid. In a way I'm testing the water by getting the views of fellow moneysavers to see what other people would do.

Perhaps it would be wrong to cash the cheque with the knowledge that I have already been paid, but it's not wrong in itself to ask the question, to get different perspectives on the matter. This site is about consumer revenge, after all.

Prosaic

p1an0player wrote:

Thanks for your thoughts on this. It's not my intention to be dishonest.

I could easily have cashed the cheque without realising I'd already been paid. In a way I'm testing the water by getting the views of fellow moneysavers to see what other people would do.

Perhaps it would be wrong to cash the cheque with the knowledge that I have already been paid, but it's not wrong in itself to ask the question, to get different perspectives on the matter. This site is about consumer revenge, after all.

Just something to think about...

You've been credited twice for your money and you're fully aware that you're only entitled to one amount, not two

Have a Google on s24A Theft Act 1968. IF you keep the money, knowing you're not entitled it, and make no effort to notify or return it to Fidelity you may be committing a crime

Consumer revenge is great - theft isn't. and ultimately you have someone else's money. They will make up the shortfall by passing it on to customers, much as shops have to do with shoplifters

If I was sent your cheque you'd probably be pleased if I returned it rather than Fidelity make you wait while they discovered where it had gone

Phone Fidelity and tell them of the mistake & return their cheque. If they make a goodwill gesture and give you something back, then you've got a free gift ( lawfully) and you can sleep easy

This way you will benefit without being fraudulent as per. your question. You may benefit either through a gift or through contentment

Personally I always like peace of mind if the phone rings or someone knocks at the door

Cheers :beer:

p1an0player

Thank you for your comments.

Would you believe something similar has just happened, my ex-employer has just sent me an email as follows:

"I see from our records that we paid you in error an amount of £27.07 on xxxx06. This payment was made by BACS and should have gone to someone else in the company.

Please could you send us a cheque for £27.07 marked for my attention in the Finance Department"

Based on the answers to the original post, there is no doubt about what I need to do from a moral perspective - but I resent the hassle of posting a cheque back to them for such a small amount - they should write it off! (I wasn't aware of this error until now).

LOST

Trust me when I say that Fidelity's administration is complete PANTS!!!

I work in a Financial Advisors office and deal with their incompetence on a daily basis - more than likely they would have cancelled the cheque any how - it would usually take 25 business days for them to track the error as they have to reconcile their bank statements at that frequency.

If you call them - they would just cancel the cheque rather

p1an0player

Well I didn't cash the cheque, Fidelity have now written to me (twice, same date, same wording !) explaining their mistake and that they have stopped the cheque.

Was just reading the Tesco misprices thread, where people knowingly buy things which are mispriced and then get a refund and replacement. I accept that my idea about cashing the cheque was ethically unsound, although I think the Tesco R&Rers are on even shakier ground...

Bossyboots

p1an0player wrote:

Well I didn't cash the cheque, Fidelity have now written to me (twice, same date, same wording !) explaining their mistake and that they have stopped the cheque.

Was just reading the Tesco misprices thread, where people knowingly buy things which are mispriced and then get a refund and replacement. I accept that my idea about cashing the cheque was ethically unsound, although I think the Tesco R&Rers are on even shakier ground...

In our local Tesco the manager is refusing to honour the R&R policy for anyone who is clearly abusing the system.

Jake'sGran

In last Sunday's Sunday Times there was a letter on the Question of Money page about someone finding their account had been credited with a large sum. You should read the reply from the expert there, Diana Wright, my favourite pundit. You can have a look on line, it will still be there. Basically, she says, its not yours and you should point out their error. Fidelity are a great company. I trust them and I'd like them to think they can trust me!