Bank taken my money...sort of

telfordwhite

My daughter is on holiday with her friend (and friends dad). I needed to get some money to her so transferred it via internet to (friends dad)s account.

The account the money was transferred to is not used by the dad as it is at it's overdraw limit.

When friends dad tried to withdraw the money I had sent (with note on the transaction that money was for my daughter) it wasn't there and the bank have claimed it as being owed to them.

Do I have any hope of getting the money back from the bank?

They are adamant the issue is between me and the friends dad. Whilst I can understand their standpoint, they have effectively used my money to pay off somebody elses overdraft.

Lokolo

You gifted the money to the friend's dad.

The friend's dad is in debt and the bank taking the money to pay off the debt, as they are allowed to.

The bank is correct in saying the issue is between you and the friend's dad.

EarthBoy

You say that "they have effectively used my money to pay off somebody elses overdraft", but it is money that you gave that person. If you pay money into someone's account, then it becomes their money, even if you intend it for use by a third party. There is never any guarantee that the third party will ever get it; you are just relying on trust.

Your note on the transaction is merely for reference purposes; it doesn't constitute a contract with the bank, or the account holder, that the money must be used for the purpose noted.

As the money reached the correct account, i.e. the account you intended, then you can't do anything about it. The bank is within their rights to use it towards clearing the account holder's overdraft, and if the account holder doesn't like it, they will have to argue it out with the bank and hope he can get them to change their mind.

Next time, pay the money direct into your daughter's account, not someone else's.

bebewoo

The friends dad is at fault here. He owes your daughter the money.
What an idiot to give you the details of a bank acccount that he knew was overdrawn.
He should take some money out of bank account that is not overdrawn if he has one, and give it to your daughter. It's really all his fault.

telfordwhite

The girls dad gave me the wrong account number by mistake (or rather a friend of his who was looking after his house did when asked by the dad who was on holiday)

I am partly at fault here for sending the money on this basis when a mistake was possible.

I do realise the bank are legally within their rights as they simply carried out the transaction I authorised. I am just a bit miffed that as a customer of 30 years they have effectively taken my money to pay off someone elses overdraft and won't give it back. Dad also banks with Natwest

I will just have to put this down to experience...I'm still going to dump Natwest though and bank elsewhere, the £100 sign up bonus with First Direct (who am sure would have treated me in exactly the same way) will pay for my mistake.

As for the dad, he is a single parent who is obviously skint trying to give his 2 kids some kind of holiday this year. Yes he is at fault but I have no intention of making his (or his kids) life any harder by demanding the money off him.

rb10

telfordwhite wrote: »

they have effectively taken my money to pay off someone elses overdraft and won't give it back.

No - you gave the money to your friend's dad. The bank then took his money to pay off part of his overdraft.

Ever since you transferred that money into his account, it hasn't been yours any longer. It's not really your problem how he sorts that out with his daughter.

telfordwhite wrote: »

I'm still going to dump Natwest though and bank elsewhere, the £100 sign up bonus with First Direct (who am sure would have treated me in exactly the same way) will pay for my mistake.

Any bank would treat you in exactly the same way.

However, if this is the stick that is required to close your Natwest account, it's probably no bad thing, given Natwest's customer service reputation.

telfordwhite

rb10 wrote: »

No - you gave the money to your friend's dad. The bank then took his money to pay off part of his overdraft.

Ever since you transferred that money into his account, it hasn't been yours any longer. It's not really your problem how he sorts that out with his daughter.



Any bank would treat you in exactly the same way.

However, if this is the stick that is required to close your Natwest account, it's probably no bad thing, given Natwest's customer service reputation.

The money was for my daughter not his but other than that, yeah you're quite right.

heloid

telfordwhite wrote: »

The money was for my daughter not his but other than that, yeah you're quite right.

Unfortunately banks can't make that distinction, if it's in that persons account it's theirs by law. Just the same if you make a deposit to the wrong bank account the receiver can refuse to give it back to you unless ordered to do so by court.