5k was mistakenly paid into my account....help!

sarah_reddy

5k has been paid into my account, when I realised I transfered it all into a savings account, my house is about to be repossessed so I used all the money to get my family out of trouble with regards to my house being taken away.... but now reality has hit me... can I get arrested for using this money that wasn't mine??
I knew it was an error but we were desperate I have a newborn and a four year old daughter and my husband has left me for another woman, if I do get arrested whats the likely punishment? or will I just have to agree a payment plan with the bank??

I know ive been stupid, but I hope you can appreciate I was desperate!
THANKS

somethingcorporate

The worst you can do is pretend nothing is happening. Get on the phone to the bank and talk about it.

You have been foolish (and potentially criminal), so don't compound the issue and bury your head in the sand.

sarah_reddy

The bank havn't noticed yet and its been a few weeks, shall I phone them and tell them then? or wait to see if they write to me about it?

ihateyes

sarah_reddy wrote: »

The bank havn't noticed yet and its been a few weeks, shall I phone them and tell them then? or wait to see if they write to me about it?

is their a transaction ref on your bank statement? i think the first you need to try to figure out is who paid it in? was it the bank? or was it an individual.

If its the bank they can go the route of theft, if it wwas an individual its more complicated. the bank would write to you first asking you to pay the money back, you have to agree. if you dont the individual would take you to court ina civil matter to recover their money.

somethingcorporate

If it does become a criminal issue can you guess which would look better? coming forward to ask about how to fix it or hiding it waiting for them to find out?

sarah_reddy

on my bank statement the banks name and then the refund sign??

I'm going to speak to a solicitor and see what they advise, I have two young children to look after and no family so the prospect of jail would be devestating, my husband dosn't want anything to do with the children either. I've been made redundant, lost my husband and was about to lose my house I hope if the police do get involved they would show me some sort of understanding, I have never been in trouble with the law before in my life and have always worked.

Im not making excuses but when I felt like I wanted to commit suicide and then that monet appeared in my account i felt like it was a gift from god!

So your best advice is not to wait until the bank ask questions but to contact them and admit what i've done and agree a monthly sum if in fact the money was not mine to take?

This happened to a friend of a friend and the bank told her until anyone queired it it was hers to keep!

somethingcorporate

Friends tell us a lot of things - most of them may be a distortion of reality. When someone did query it I very much doubt they were allowed to keep it - so it would have had to have been paid back one way or another. Not until 6 years have passed would they be able to retain it legally.

Theft is a complex issue so it is not black and white. Making an effort into trying to rectify any situation is always better than getting caught out.

Nat1977

Hi,

Please dont worry too much, if you have never been in trouble with the police, they will not send you to jail. The most you would likely get is a community order and/or fine due to your circumstances and the reasons you used the money. That said, it may never even get that far, as others have said, contact the bank and query it . The worst they can say is you have to pay it back, just try to come to some agreement. x

whitewing

Maybe go to the CAB and explain to them and they can help you write a proposal to the bank. If you do nothing, it will be flagged up at the most inconvenient and stressy time.

zzzLazyDaisy

whitewing wrote: »

If you do nothing, it will be flagged up at the most inconvenient and stressy time.

^^^ This^^^

First it is extremely unlikely that you would be taken to court over this, and even less likely that you would go to jail.

What is much more likely to happen is that at some point the bank will contact you about the money. If it is the bank's error, they may simply recall the money, leaving your account in overdraft and incurring fees.

If someone else has mistakenly paid the money into your account - by inputting an incorrect digit, for example, then the bank would write to you and ask you for the money back. I understand (but wouldn't want to be quoted on this) that in that situation they can't enforce recovery of the money, and the person who made the mistaken payment is dependent on your goodwill. Of course they could sue for return of the money, but since the bank will not divulge your details owing to data protection, they are unlikely to find out your name and address, and so would be unable to take it further. Please note I am not advocating that you do refuse to pay it back if contacted, simply that as far as I am aware, this is the situation (I will do some digging and see if I can find out anything).

I wouldn't suggest that you see a solicitor - unless the consultation is free - because you are just going to be paying out money to be told what you already know, which is that the money is not yours and you are likely to have to repay it at some point.

I suggest that you start paying as much as you can back into the savings account so that if the money is recovered, you can at least minimise the overdraft charges.

You really need to contact the bank and explain what has happened. They *may* tell you that you don't need to do anything until they contact you. They *may* never contact you. But if you don't do anything, the guilt and the fear of what might happen will eat away at you, is that worth it?

Plxply

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

If someone else has mistakenly paid the money into your account - by inputting an incorrect digit, for example, then the bank would write to you and ask you for the money back. I understand (but wouldn't want to be quoted on this) that in that situation they can't enforce recovery of the money, and the person who made the mistaken payment is dependent on your goodwill. Of course they could sue for return of the money, but since the bank will not divulge your details owing to data protection, they are unlikely to find out your name and address, and so would be unable to take it further. Please note I am not advocating that you do refuse to pay it back if contacted, simply that as far as I am aware, this is the situation (I will do some digging and see if I can find out anything).

You've got to remember too if this was the situation don't assume this person is transferring £5,000 on a monthly basis, it could be their savings for their first house or their university savings. You'd have to think about how you would feel if you did the same thing and it was your money you had been saving.