Banking error in my favour

wills93

I checked my bank balance today, expecting there to be about £20 in there (sigh) but there was over £400., and I had no idea where it was from. I did what I thought was the sensible thing, I didn't spend any and went to Halifax after college. They could see the payment on their screen and what account it was from, but even after ringing round about 8 people in the Halifax hq, the cashier couldn't discover what company it was actually from (it was from a company name)
I know that I can't spend it, as when it is discovered by the company they will try to recover it from my account, and I will be responsible for any money missing.
I had a look online as to my rights, as although £400 would be nice, I understand it's almost certain I won't get to keep it, but I don't want it sitting in my account, tempting me to spend it. Anyway, I found this bbc article:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6966683.stm

The legal babble from the article is as such:

"A person is guilty of an offence if - (a) a wrongful credit has been made to an account kept by him or in respect of which he has any right or interest; (b) he knows or believes that the credit is wrongful; and (c) he dishonestly fails to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to secure that the credit is cancelled.

Now I'm no legal expert, but I would have thought that I would not be breaking part c) if I waited for a certain period, as I don't have access to the bank's systems, so I can do nothing more towards reasonable steps to ensure it is returned than wait. Any thoughts? Could I argue that? How long would you think it would have to be?

tl;dr: Money in my bank account that isn't mine, don't want it sitting there, could I claim it after a period of time if it hasn't been removed?

QuantumSuccess

Go out and buy yourself a new outfit and a bottle of champagne love.

This one is one of my favourites if you'd like to buy me a little pressie out of your windfall

http://www.drinksdirect.co.uk/acatalog/lanson_rose_nv.html

wills93

QuantumSuccess wrote: »

Go out and buy yourself a new outfit and a bottle of champagne love.

This one is one of my favourites if you'd like to buy me a little pressie out of your windfall



I would buy you any drink in the world if I weren't worried I would soon be receiving a letter from my bank asking why I spend the £400 incorrectly paid to me on a 200 year old bottle of whisky...

dzug1

It will never legally be yours.

After 7 years no one can pursue you through the courts for it though.

In practical terms after 6 months to a year it's unlikely to get clawed back.

Bunter_2

You have taken steps to try and rectify the error and the bank is in a better position than you to sort it out.

If the bank do nothing then you will have to wait until the company discover their mistake and go after their money. This could take a long time depending on how thorough their accounting systems are.

I think this kind of thing will be happening a lot now that fast track payments are in place. You only have to key in a wrong digit and a lot of money can go sailing instantly in to the wrong bank account.

Incyder

As no-one knows, as there is no correct answer, if it were in my account, I would wait and leave it there for 1 year.

pqrdef

wills93 wrote: »

"A person is guilty of an offence if - (a) a wrongful credit has been made to an account kept by him or in respect of which he has any right or interest; (b) he knows or believes that the credit is wrongful; and (c) he dishonestly fails to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to secure that the credit is cancelled.

Doesn't say anything about stealing from the bank. It simply defines an additional offence, of dishonestly doing nothing. You've avoided committing that one, by informing the bank. But taking out money that's not yours will still be theft or fraud.

Incyder

After reading many many many posts on this site I wonder if the MSE staff throw some of these new threads in, to keep the board lively and moving ?

Bunter_2

Incyder wrote: »

After reading many many many posts on this site I wonder if the MSE staff throw some of these new threads in, to keep the board lively and moving ?

You could well be right. I am always suspicious of new posters. But if it was a plant I think the o/p would have left out the visit to the bank and just asked if it was ok to keep the dough.

QuantumSuccess

wills93 wrote: »

QuantumSuccess wrote: »

Go out and buy yourself a new outfit and a bottle of champagne love.

This one is one of my favourites if you'd like to buy me a little pressie out of your windfall



I would buy you any drink in the world if I weren't worried I would soon be receiving a letter from my bank asking why I spend the £400 incorrectly paid to me on a 200 year old bottle of whisky...

I like you. Generous and honest.:beer:

Incyder

Bunter wrote: »

You could well be right. I am always suspicious of new posters. But if it was a plant I think the o/p would have left out the visit to the bank and just asked if it was ok to keep the dough.

Maybe, but did they go to the bank, do they even exist?
It would be too easily spotted if the posts were always short and sweet with no 'padding'
A fast typist could knock that story up in 90 seconds.
As you say, a new poster with a great 1st story, I keep seeing that