transferd money to wrong account by mistake, cant get money back

mercedes125

A friend of mine transfered £700 to what she thought was hers and her partners joibt account but it comes to it is an account where they have an agreement set up to a company that they pay money to each mth, they have been in touch with them to ask for the money back but they have said no because they owe money to them. Is this right as they need the money for mortgage bills etc.

Thankyou

DizzleUK

I'm not 100% sure I am correct with this, but my inclination is to say there's not a lot that can be done.

The money has gone to an account in her name, so the route you would normally go down to claim back money paid into a strangers account by mistake wouldn't apply.

The money wasn't removed from the account without her knowledge/permission so I don't think she can go down the route of claiming the money back on the grounds of it leaving her destitute until the next payday (I'm sure someone else will tell you if this *is* a possibility).

What I do know for sure is that if there is any way of getting the money back, is it won't be a quick process and wouldn't expect anything back before her next payday (or even the one after that).

If the recipient of the £700 is unwilling to budge (and I don't see why they would if she is in debt to them), then I think she will have to accept a harsh lesson learned and try to juggle what money she has left this month.

Just make sure she doesn't take out a payday loan to cover the shortfall!

mercedes125

Thankyou for your reply, i didnt think there would be anything that she could do. Will let her know its just a lot of money to lose at once.

cte1111

It's not lost though is it, it's gone to repay their debts so these will be paid off sooner.

DizzleUK

cte1111 wrote: »

It's not lost though is it, it's gone to repay their debts so these will be paid off sooner.

Yes, that is the silver lining to this cloud. She's not out of pocket overall, just out of pocket today.

1jim

I would imagine you can get this money back.....If you were transferring to a joint account that is used to pay bills etc and you transferred money to the company in error and you are not bhind in what you owe them (ie you have stuck to the payment plan) you could have an argument for your bank to reclaim the money as paid in error and the company has no right to it "yet"

jonesMUFCforever

1jim wrote: »

I would imagine you can get this money back.....If you were transferring to a joint account that is used to pay bills etc and you transferred money to the company in error and you are not bhind in what you owe them (ie you have stuck to the payment plan) you could have an argument for your bank to reclaim the money as paid in error and the company has no right to it "yet"

I take it this was an internet payment - if so the bank has no power whatsoever to reclaim from the beneficiary - basically you enter the details - you then confirm the details are correct and its tough luck if you send to the wrong account.
If it is a standing order or direct debit then the bank can get involved.

DizzleUK

1jim wrote: »

I would imagine you can get this money back.....If you were transferring to a joint account that is used to pay bills etc and you transferred money to the company in error and you are not bhind in what you owe them (ie you have stuck to the payment plan) you could have an argument for your bank to reclaim the money as paid in error and the company has no right to it "yet"

I don't see it happening tbh. If someone owed me £100 and then offered to pay me back at £10 a month but one month they accidentally gave me £50, I certainly wouldn't want to give them £40 of it back when they still owe me.

The bank won't get involved. The company the money went to have already said "bog off we're keeping it". Rock. Hard place.

And to be fair, the friend of the OP did go through at least 2 screens of "click to proceed" to make the payment.

I bet she won't do that again in a hurry.

planemad

Whenever I send money online I always check, double check and check again that the payee is correct.

I valuable lesson learnt.

cacicu

Hello,
I made a similar mistake by wrongly paying Orange with Natwest online. The bank told me to follow up with Orange. Orange customer service rep on the phone was no help at all and extremely rude. Email also no response. Surely Orange will refund my money right (this was a payment on behalf of someone else to settle outstanding balance)? I have the documentation from my bank on the online transaction. Does anyone know how to get through to the Accounts department of Orange?

help appreciated! thank you.