Online bank transfer in error - any advice?

johnmcga

Hi everyone,

Wondering if maybe someone can offer any useful advice for this situation.

In short, about three weeks ago I transferred money to another account from my online banking.

About a week later it emerged that I'd paid the wrong recipient. Instead of choosing the Co-Op bank account I wanted the money to go to, I had chosen a Co-Op credit card, which was also listed in the previous recipients list.

In my defence, I'd say it's a pretty easy error to make given my bank's online interface - but it is my mistake, nonetheless.

I immediately called my bank and they raised a query to try and reclaim the money. That was about two weeks ago and they're waiting to hear back from the Co-Op to see if this can be done.

I've obviously managed to pay money onto someone's credit card, but I haven't been able to ascertain whose. I've had online banking for years now and I suspect that entry is for someone I've lost touch with.

For now I'm in the hands of the banks - hopefully they'll manage to reclaim the cash. Although it's a significant sum, thankfully I can get by without it for now.

My question, really, is has anyone ever been through this before? How did it work out? And if the banks say 'sorry, can't help,' is there anything else I can do? (Apart from trying to work out who the recipient is, because believe me, I've really tried!)

Any constructive comments appreciated...

Thanks,

John.

InsideInsurance

Given this was in the previous recipients list how come you dont know who it is? How many people's credit card have you paid in the past?

Unfortunately you've authorised the transaction and the bank has followed your instructions and so there is no grounds for any action against either of the banks involved given they've both done what was asked of them.

If you are lucky the accounts all closed off and its thus gone into a suspense account and it'll be a simple case to get it back but credit cards normally reactivate themselves if any subsequent debit or credit is presented in which case there are a lot of "what ifs" such as does the person still live at the same address to know the account was reopened etc.

So ultimately if they cannot give the money back its up to you to identify and chase the person whos account it is.

Going forward, most banks allow you to manage the previous recipient list... I'd suggest removing anyone that isnt appropriate any more to prevent repeated issues - I nearly did something similar before but spotted my error before clicking the confirm button

johnmcga

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Given this was in the previous recipients list how come you dont know who it is? How many people's credit card have you paid in the past?

Credit cards, I don't know - but in terms of transfers in the list, a lot. Rent, bills, flat deposits, gig tickets, holidays, one-off payments when I've owed people money - it's not hard to rack up a significant number of recipients if you do a lot of online banking. This list must have had 20+ entries on it going back five years or more.

There was no name or details beyond a 16-digit reference with the transfer in the list, so it's not a lot to go on.

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Unfortunately you've authorised the transaction and the bank has followed your instructions and so there is no grounds for any action against either of the banks involved given they've both done what was asked of them.

Yep I understand that and as I said, I accept it's my mistake. However, this can't be the first time it's happened, given they seem to have a procedure for dealing with it. So I'm still optimistic.

InsideInsurance wrote: »

So ultimately if they cannot give the money back its up to you to identify and chase the person whos account it is.

That'll be an interesting challenge!

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Going forward, most banks allow you to manage the previous recipient list... I'd suggest removing anyone that isnt appropriate any more to prevent repeated issues

Yep, already done. Nothing like shutting the door once the horse has gone.

psychic_teabag

It would be nice if online banking allowed you to store a description with each payment entry. Natwest used offer a nickname for a payment, but that was lost when they revamped the user interface a while ago.

I try to store a description in the reference part, if it's not needed for the payment. Natwest does still show the reference in the list of payees, but not all banks do. So for payments to other savings accounts all in my own name, I have to guess which payee is the one I'm looking for.

But this is no use for the cases when the reference has to be used for an account number or customer number or something.

johnmcga

psychic_teabag wrote: »

It would be nice if online banking allowed you to store a description with each payment entry. Natwest used offer a nickname for a payment, but that was lost when they revamped the user interface a while ago.

I agree - I find my online banking service quite counterintuitive in a lot of ways.

As I said, ultimately it's my mistake. But having said that, when you look at the order in which previous transfers are listed, the descriptions assigned to them and the process to initiate one, I think there are ways to make the process simpler and reduce the risk of mistakes.

(And yes, I have fed this back to them. I doubt it'll make much of a difference!)

martinsurrey

You can make it a police matter.

If the recipient knows it is not their cash and spends it it is still theft.

The bank will contact the recipient and ask them to return the money; if they refuse you can then take legal action.

it’s not easy or quick or certain to get a result (if the person spends and has no assets)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10301504

sorry for the lack of a quick solution.

johnmcga

martinsurrey wrote: »

You can make it a police matter.

If the recipient knows it is not their cash and spends it it is still theft.

The bank will contact the recipient and ask them to return the money; if they refuse you can then take legal action.

it’s not easy or quick or certain to get a result (if the person spends and has no assets)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10301504

sorry for the lack of a quick solution.

Thank you - that's an interesting link and a perspective I hadn't considered. I can't see it coming to that but it's very useful to know.

(Coincidentally, the mistake I made was with Halifax online banking too. I'd love to know the statistics for this kind of thing happening - but I bet it's not something the banks are keen to reveal.)

dalesrider

johnmcga wrote: »

I'd love to know the statistics for this kind of thing happening - but I bet it's not something the banks are keen to reveal.)

Not sure they would be allowed to publish figures saying how many people have transfered money to a wrong account...

Now if it was the banks fault... :rotfl:

HoneyAndLemon

johnmcga wrote: »

Thank you - that's an interesting link and a perspective I hadn't considered. I can't see it coming to that but it's very useful to know.

(Coincidentally, the mistake I made was with Halifax online banking too. I'd love to know the statistics for this kind of thing happening - but I bet it's not something the banks are keen to reveal.)

Halifax online payment system is pretty clear actually. It even brings up a confirmation screen before you submit it.

johnmcga

dalesrider wrote: »

Not sure they would be allowed to publish figures saying how many people have transfered money to a wrong account...

Heh. I just wanted to know thousands of other people have made the same mistake, so I feel better about it!

innovate

psychic_teabag wrote: »

I try to store a description in the reference part, if it's not needed for the payment.

Ever since I realised that the only thing banks use in addressing online transactions are sort code and account number, I have used the payee field for meaningful (to me) information.

E.g. if my account name at the receiving banks were Ann Smyth, I wouldn't use 'Ann Smyth' in the payee field, but something like "AS Vantage 1", "AS Vantage 2", "AS 1st Direct", "AS RBS" etc etc. If the payment is to one of my own other accounts, I use "from AS Halifax 1", "from AS Yorks BS" etc in the "Reference" field.

Has been working like a dream for a couple of years now.