Sainsbury's Bank paid £1000 into my account

jwalla25

When I first opened my Internet Saver account with Sainsbury's Bank, they paid a cheque for £1000 into my account along with my own cheque for £10. I think the problem arose because by opening the account I got 1000 Nectar points and maybe that's where the confusion lay?

However, they have been sending me letters asking me to give my consent to have the £1000 paid back to their account.

• Am I legally obliged to give them consent?
• Can I be sued?
• If I continue to Accrue Interest from the £1000, is this wrong?
• They have offered me £25 to give them consent, though do I have room to
  negotiate a bigger goodwill gesture from them or would that be too cheeky?

Also, what if I closed the account and withdrew all the money - would this be theft?

Anyone with good advice, I look forward to hearing from you!

Jamie

Alfie_E

The fact that they are asking for consent implies it’s not the bank that has made the mistake. If they had made a mistake, they would have just reversed it. It would appear that another individual has accidentally put the money into your account. So, the answers to your bullet-pointed questions are: no, yes, yes and yes…in that order. The answer to the final question is a very big yes.

Madiba_2

It isnt yours, so you give it back. Didnt your mum teach you that?

nemo183

The simple legal position is that since they have brought the mistake to your attention, you MUST give it back. Grab any offer they make, but legally you do not have a leg to stand on.

Had they paid in the money, and neither you or they had noticed, there is an argument - when you realise the mistake - for waiting for them to request it's return.

Bossyboots

nemo183 wrote: »

The simple legal position is that since they have brought the mistake to your attention, you MUST give it back. Grab any offer they make, but legally you do not have a leg to stand on.

Had they paid in the money, and neither you or they had noticed, there is an argument - when you realise the mistake - for waiting for them to request it's return.

This is what the Theft Act says.

24A. - (1) A person is guilty of an offence if-

(a) a wrongful credit has been made to an account kept by him or in respect of which he has any right or interest;

(b) he knows or believes that the credit is wrongful; and

(c) he dishonestly fails to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to secure that the credit is cancelled.

navig8r

Madiba wrote: »

It isnt yours, so you give it back. Didnt your mum teach you that?

Quite right!! in my opinion the question should not have been asked in the first place.

Dave

RayWolfe

navig8r wrote: »

Quite right!! in my opinion the question should not have been asked in the first place.

Dave

But that is the world we live in ... grab all you can and cry "rip-of" when others do the same.
Very sad.

MABLE

I cannot see how you can negotiate when the money was never yours in the first place. Do the honourable thing and accept their offer of £25.00.
Also do not understand why they would want to give you a goodwill gesture.
Why should they need to bride you when it was never yours in the first instance. I suggest then you give the £25.00 to Comic relief.

DawnW

They are offering £25.00 as a gesture of goodwill because it was not the OP's mistake. The OP should accept the offer. It is not his money and must be given back.

Graham_Devon

Stop trying to hold on to someone elses money for your benefit.

OP, why don't you try and claim compensation and sue them via a no win no fee solicitor?!

Of COURSE you should give the money back and you shoudlnt have to take £25 to do it either, let alone you trying to hold on to it at ransom and get a bigger gesture. Is this really what this country is coming to? It's not like they have even effected you.

full-time-mum

jwalla25 wrote: »

When I first opened my Internet Saver account with Sainsbury's Bank, they paid a cheque for £1000 into my account along with my own cheque for £10. I think the problem arose because by opening the account I got 1000 Nectar points and maybe that's where the confusion lay?

However, they have been sending me letters asking me to give my consent to have the £1000 paid back to their account.

• Am I legally obliged to give them consent?
• Can I be sued?
• If I continue to Accrue Interest from the £1000, is this wrong?
• They have offered me £25 to give them consent, though do I have room to
  negotiate a bigger goodwill gesture from them or would that be too cheeky?

Also, what if I closed the account and withdrew all the money - would this be theft?

Anyone with good advice, I look forward to hearing from you!

Jamie

How about thinking about it from the other point of view? How would you feel if you transfered £1000 and, say, transposed 2 digits of the account number so it went to the wrong place. How would you feel if you knew the person in receipt was considering things in this way?