Bank Error In My Favour

Big_Daddy_Turbo

Hi

I'm looking for some advice

Back in March I completed a pre approved credit card application from HSBC. A month or so later after numerous phone calls they hadn't processed my application but they had however transfered the balance from another credit card which I subsequently closed.

Obviously eventually HSBC realised their error and have asked for the money to be paid back. The story gets longer and much more convoluted but the gist of my post is this.

Do I have to give them the money back?

If I made a payment to someone I believe it's down to their discretion if they want to refund the payment or not. I would never dream about witholding money from an individual but since HSBC has made a fortune from me in the past I don't feel the urge to repay.

Any advice would be appreciated

SomeBozo

Big_Daddy_Turbo wrote:

Hi

I'm looking for some advice

Back in March I completed a pre approved credit card application from HSBC. A month or so later after numerous phone calls they hadn't processed my application but they had however transfered the balance from another credit card which I subsequently closed.

Obviously eventually HSBC realised their error and have asked for the money to be paid back. The story gets longer and much more convoluted but the gist of my post is this.

Do I have to give them the money back?

If I made a payment to someone I believe it's down to their discretion if they want to refund the payment or not. I would never dream about witholding money from an individual but since HSBC has made a fortune from me in the past I don't feel the urge to repay.

Any advice would be appreciated

Its not your money. You have to give it back.

Bozo

Bossyboots

Agree with Bozo.

Big_Daddy_Turbo

Booo... Thats not the answer I was looking for but the one I was expecting

I have told HSBC that I'll repay the money and we are in negotions about how the repayments will be made.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

jojo1978_3

I agree with the other posters, but i think it only fair, seeing as its their error, that they offer you some sort of compensation, might be worth asking. You have nothing to lose

Big_Daddy_Turbo

That sounds a bit better.

I owe £5k and have offered to repay £30 a month!!

I know it's bit cheeky but thought i'd ask and see what they say.
I've also asked for no interest to be added onto the amount.

I think I'm going to hell

Astaroth

The "compensation" is probably the lack of reporting it as theft and giving you the opportunity to give it back over time.

For a previous employer we did both pass people to debt collectors and to the police when they failed to return money we had accidently credited to their accounts and they had then withdrawn before we could recover.

Big_Daddy_Turbo

I have always said that I will pay the money back. I just thought I'd ask you experts the best plan of action first.

I previously agreed to open a new credit card and repay £150 a month interest free for the life of the balance. They sent me an application form and when I reviewed it I noticed that £600 had been added for costs which had not previously been mentioned. I was outraged and refused to complete the application form. I now no longer trust HSBC and feel that they will find a way of profiting from their mistake

I run a small business and my finances are not as healthy as they were. I can no longer afford the £150 that I previously agreed to repay each month so hopfully it will not go to court and they will agree to my offer of £30 a month. A considerable amount less I agree but they have messed me around and I feel I deserve this sort of compensation

Turtle

The above posters are correct. You are not legally allowed to benefit from a bank error. I think it is highly likely (but not a certainty) that they will not add interest to this amount, if I have understood the situation correctly though and they have just credited 5k to you (or the credit card?) then I'm not sure why they are not just taking the full amount back. Perhaps I've not understood you correctly...

gt94sss2

Big_Daddy_Turbo wrote:

Back in March I completed a pre approved credit card application from HSBC. A month or so later after numerous phone calls they hadn't processed my application but they had however transfered the balance from another credit card which I subsequently closed.

Obviously eventually HSBC realised their error and have asked for the money to be paid back. The story gets longer and much more convoluted but the gist of my post is this.

Do I have to give them the money back?

If I made a payment to someone I believe it's down to their discretion if they want to refund the payment or not. I would never dream about witholding money from an individual but since HSBC has made a fortune from me in the past I don't feel the urge to repay.

As others have said, you have to repay the money (possibly in instalments but likely to be more than £30/month as that would take around 14 years! - perhaps all £5k over 1 year or more likely the same amount of time since the error happened) or you would be legally guilty of theft (especially as you know it was their error and that you were not entitled to the money)

The Financial Ombudsman published some advice/examples re: bank errors some time ago, which you may find instructive.

Regards
Sunil

Bossyboots

Turtle wrote:

The above posters are correct. You are not legally allowed to benefit from a bank error. I think it is highly likely (but not a certainty) that they will not add interest to this amount, if I have understood the situation correctly though and they have just credited 5k to you (or the credit card?) then I'm not sure why they are not just taking the full amount back. Perhaps I've not understood you correctly...

As I understand, they have credited the money to a card which they then refused the application for so did not issue it. That money was taken from another card belonging to the OP.

What I don't understand is why they don't just transfer the amount back as, as can be seen from these forums, you can't close a credit card and the banks are quick enough to deduct payments under a Continuous Payment Authority so in theory they should be able to put this money back on the original card. I can't remember which thread it was I saw last night where Halifax had confirmed that closed cards are kept active. I will try to find it later.