Help needed please - Bank's mistake

jonesMUFCforever

They did - it is the OP who is not confident on the phone.
As I have said debts are not legally enforceable after 6 years so anything older than this the bank will have to reimburse its customer itself.OP should mention this when replying.
I would expect the bank to offer the OP an Interest free loan for a monthly amount of what she can afford. If this is only say £10 so be it.

melaniec_2

As it is there mistake they cannot enforce it surely. i would say that I didn't have the money and as you have promptly returned this years amount this should be sufficent.

I'm sure they can only ask for you to pay it back and not enforce it. It it ever went to court which is highly unlikely I can't imagine you would be forced to pay.

topbombing

they should write it off to be honest.

to be honest, i have dealt with customers in a similar predicament. as long as your upfront with them and explain its not your fault and you cant afford it, i think theyll be ok with you . ask them if you noticed money going out of your account, 5 years ago, or even 12 months for that matter, would they give you it back? you will find they will ikely say their system doesnt go that far back and not haelp. dont worry, if they dont write it off, ask them to provide you wioth some detials to go to the banking ombudsman.

hope this helps

jonesMUFCforever

topbombing wrote:

they should write it off to be honest.

to be honest, i have dealt with customers in a similar predicament. as long as your upfront with them and explain its not your fault and you cant afford it, i think theyll be ok with you . ask them if you noticed money going out of your account, 5 years ago, or even 12 months for that matter, would they give you it back? you will find they will ikely say their system doesnt go that far back and not haelp. dont worry, if they dont write it off, ask them to provide you wioth some detials to go to the banking ombudsman.

hope this helps

Sorry topbombing but I don't agree.
There is no reason for going to Banking Ombudsman here. The bank has admitted making a mistake, the OP has repaid £100.
She can't afford to repay (IMO £500 is what can be enforced) the O/S amount and the only question here is whether they will let her have an interest free loan or settle for a smaller amount as a full and final settlement.
In Law it does not matter that the original credits were a mistake they did not belong to OP and have to be repaid (or come to an agreement with OP).

hobo28

Is this a debt though? Technically I dont think it is, its been deposited in error rather than loaned.

I would definately ring them and point out that its eight years old, plead poverty and see what they offer.

Debt_Free_Chick

Hold on a minute .... yes, it seems that the building society have made a mistake, but they have credited money into the OP's current account.

So, the OP either has this money - or they've had it and spent it! Surely, we all ought to know if we are spending £100 a month, every month, which we technically don't have?

AngelinaB wrote:

I work part time but most of what I earn goes on bills.

You would really notice an extra £100 a month. Surely the OP noticed that they were managing to spend much more than usual? The OP seems to have spent £700 on "stuff" over the past 7 months.

No-one is entitled to benefit from a mistake. They either have £700 or goods to the value of £700.

The money is owed and should be repaid.

Edinburghlass_2

DFC, its actually £100 a year over 8 years.

Somerset

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

The OP seems to have spent £700 on "stuff" over the past 7 months.
.

The £700 was spent over the last 7 years i.e. £100 per year.

Sponge

It seems some people are all too keen to point out others 'mistakes', but in doing so make them themselves. Well, it just goes to show, we're only human.

I would tell the bank you have given them £100 as a 'gesture of good will' (turn the tables on them ) but you cannot afford to give them any more. They cannot put you in a position of financial difficulty because of their mistake.

If need be, and only when you have exhausted all other avenues, offer to repay them at an equivalent rate to that in which they (over)paid you, i.e. £100 per year, say £8 per month.

Debt_Free_Chick

Somerset wrote:

The £700 was spent over the last 7 years i.e. £100 per year.

Oops - thanks for that

Either way .... it's £700 that the OP has received. I would have thought that this would be more noticeable for someone on a tight budget.

The main point is that that the OP has had the benefit of the mistake. They have not been disadvantaged - far from it; they have received money. Sadly, it has been spent - but that is not sufficient to get out of paying it back.