Big error:: Help

Gromitt

I did have money put into my bank account and informed the bank of it. All they said was "Don't spend it, should it need to be returned, we will ask you for it. We will never take any money out of your account automatically without your authorisation.". I put it in a savings account where it still is.

So, is this theft? I think not as I can't return it as I don't know where it came from.

Biggles

Gromitt wrote: »

So, is this theft? I think not as I can't return it as I don't know where it came from.

No, that's not theft because you a) haven't taken the money and spent it and b) have offered to return it.

Scallypea's recipient a) has taken the money and spent it and b) has refused to return it.

notts_phil

Strange boy....

scallypea

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6966683.stm
theft is when someone intends to permentaly deprive another person of something that is theirs.
The person should/ could contact bank about money deposited into their bank account. There is also a ref number of where the deposit is from. The person in question knows the money is not theirs. Bank ( theirs ) are having trouble contacting them as they are not answering their phone.
The police involved now but if it goes to court will l somehow get the money back through the courts? The person used the money to pay bills and buy things. Can this money be gotten back as the persons paid are now in receipt on stolen money?
More importantly if a person has a bank account that is overdrawn for a long time suddenly gets a large sum deposited into this account, should a bank question this deposit?? i. e anti money laundering policy?

pmduk

scallypea wrote: »

More importantly if a person has a bank account that is overdrawn for a long time suddenly gets a large sum deposited into this account, should a bank question this deposit?? i. e anti money laundering policy?

Possibly, but if they don't, you can't use that as a lever to get the money back. You have no contactual relatiuonship with the bank that received the money. There are only 2 parties to this, you and the recipient.

You will have to get whatever money you can back from the recipient. Getting blood out of a stone sounds like a good analogy of the position you are in.

I suspect that it is an offence to receice stolen money only if you have grounds to believe that the money is stolen, however, I am open to corection on this.

Gromitt

I don't know about your bank, but mine clearly states:

"Ensure you double check all details before clicking 'Confirm', as if you notice a mistake afterwards we may be unable to cancel the transfer. Faster payments can not be returned or cancelled."

I'm not sure of the legalities of the above, but it does seem to indicate that if the other party is unwilling to return the cash, that you could be without it for some time, possibly forever.

If its a particularly large sum then you may be able to use the courts, but it may also cost you more in court and solicitor costs than the payment amount.

Your best bet is to contact a solicitor and see what they say.

bored_at_home

as the police are already dealing with it and have apparently told you it is theft i cannot understand why you need to keep asking. surely its the law that matters not posters opinions.
you can have 15mins with a solicitor free to get advice, i would do that asap.

scallypea

Gromitt wrote: »

As far as the bank is concerned, you sent the money as a gift or to people someone you owe money to (eg. rent). It is not stolen. The police will not do anything. You sent the money, it was not taken from you.

The safety net is that you are asked to confirm your transaction before clicking "Next". You need to make sure the account number/etc is correct at this stage. So in effect you are able to confirm the transaction twice.

what sort of 'safety net' is it when the name of a beneficiary does not match account details and the money is still transfered using the account details and NOT all details. Why is a beneficiary's name required in the first place if it is not used or checked??
I personally think this is a BIG hole in the 'safety net'!

scallypea

bored_at_home wrote: »

as the police are already dealing with it and have apparently told you it is theft i cannot understand why you need to keep asking. surely its the law that matters not posters opinions.
you can have 15mins with a solicitor free to get advice, i would do that asap.

Am posting here still because ,as mentioned by other people, unless l can get Llyods to admit either a banking error ( anti money laundering policy, should have been applyed ) i have almost no chance of getting the money back. I care very little what happens to the person whom spent my money ( i.e if they go to court or what ever) l just want my money back and to do this l need to find some sort of 'hole' or way through all this b***s** that the banks are throwing at me. I made the mistake, yes. But there must be a way through all this. If not, internet banking needs to change or people need to made aware that this sort of things happen and to take more care. I truly thought that the details were right in my transfer otherwise l would not have done it!!!
I also had no idea that if something like this happens there is nothing the banks can/will do to to help.
Am gutted!!! and very sad.

meer53

scallypea wrote: »

Am posting here still because ,as mentioned by other people, unless l can get Llyods to admit either a banking error ( anti money laundering policy, should have been applyed ) i have almost no chance of getting the money back. I care very little what happens to the person whom spent my money ( i.e if they go to court or what ever) l just want my money back and to do this l need to find some sort of 'hole' or way through all this b***s** that the banks are throwing at me. I made the mistake, yes. But there must be a way through all this. If not, internet banking needs to change or people need to made aware that this sort of things happen and to take more care. I truly thought that the details were right in my transfer otherwise l would not have done it!!!
I also had no idea that if something like this happens there is nothing the banks can/will do to to help.
Am gutted!!! and very sad.

There is no "hole" that you can find in this case, you transferred money to an account without checking that you were sending it to the correct recipient. Transfers are made between accounts, names don't come into it, it's your responsibility to make sure you're sending your money to the right person. In your case, technically, your transfer wasn't an error, you selected the account where the money was to go, why would the bank be willing to do anything for you ? If they offered this, then the whole system would be wide open to abuse, people would be claiming money back which had been sent legitimately whenever they found themselves a bit short !
Why should AML have been applied ? You'd have been complaining about that too if it had happened.

I'd be gutted and very sad too, but it was YOUR mistake, no-one elses.