unknown payment into bank account

mulronie

chambta wrote: »

Would it be a breach of the DPA to give the sortcode and account number of a payment received to a customer?

dalesrider wrote:

Yes.

Not material to this discussion, but while it might not be bank practice at a consumer level, it wouldn't be a DPA breach - and in fact it happens all the time in the commercial banking space.

Most customers in the commercial bracket take a data feed from their bank that includes the sort-code and account number of anyone sending them money. Natwest do it through Bankline/Datalink (whatever its called these days). Appendix B/Page 10 of this if you're interested

dalesrider

mulronie wrote: »

Not material to this discussion, but while it might not be bank practice at a consumer level, it wouldn't be a DPA breach - and in fact it happens all the time in the commercial banking space.

Commercial co's have to abide by the regulations over data storage.
In this case on personal banking. Its a diffrent matter.

DPA is a PIA.
Ring a co in the US and they will provide any details you require. Contact a UK co and many say before you have even asked DPA, cant give you anything.

Not really sure what diffence getting the sort/acc number would make to the OP anyway. They do not recognise the reference, so acc details will not help them find the company.

SevenOfNine

There have occasionally been tales of woe from people who have been on-line transferring funds from one of their accounts to elsewhere - & typed in a slightly incorrect a/c number, with the funds then ending up in an unknown a/c (the recipients a/c name not matching was irrelevant).

Perhaps this is what's happened here, you've ended up with funds which aren't yours, & some poor devil somewhere is trying to trace where their cash has ended up!

The best their bank can do is see where the dosh was sent and pass on a request from their customer for it's return. Their bank aren't under much of an obligation to actually retrieve it as it has been transferred to an a/c the sender requested it to go to.

Lucky for them you are an honest person and attempting to 'send it back'. Xylophone has given the best advice, write to your bank (or secure email - even easier), state clearly that you believe these funds have arrived in your a/c in error, that you currently have no knowledge of what the payment is for or where/who it's come from.

Insist that your bank contact the 'sending' bank to request clarification from 'sending' bank's customer regarding these funds and their intended destination. Do not give permission for any of your personal or a/c details to be given to the actual twit who transferred the money, but give permission for the funds to be retrieved by the 'sending bank.

Give your bank 10 working days to forward your comments to the 'sending' bank, & request confirmation that they have done so.

Imagine the panic of some twit who mis-keyed a number and was unlucky enough for it to be an unknown live a/c. It's not fraud, they requested the transfer to you, but it would be a bit rotten to make retrieval difficult. Good on you for trying to send it back.

System

Update on this!
Just got a letter from the other persons bank, they said they have refunded his money because it was an "administrative error" and have asked me to return a cheque to them for the outstanding amount, going to phone them and make a direct transfer (quicker than trying to find the chequebook!)

thanks to all for the advice - glad I didn't spend it... back into my overdraft I go!

innovate

the_r_sole wrote: »

.....Just got a letter from the other persons bank.....

That means that your bank must have given the other bank your name and address, and quite a bit of cooperation between the two banks involved must have taken place behind the scenes.

Shows (as if proof was needed) what a load of tosh the sensationalist Daily Maily £26K article was.

TheBanker

innovate wrote: »

That means that your bank must have given the other bank your name and address, and quite a bit of cooperation between the two banks involved must have taken place behind the scenes.

The OP's bank won't have given his address to the sender's bank. They will just have forwarded the letter. We get letters to forward to customers quite regularly. Sometimes it's when someone is paying something by DD, but has moved house and forgotten to tell the company. So the company send a letter to the bank, which is forwarded to the customer so they can get in touch.

System

TheBanker wrote: »

The OP's bank won't have given his address to the sender's bank. They will just have forwarded the letter. We get letters to forward to customers quite regularly. Sometimes it's when someone is paying something by DD, but has moved house and forgotten to tell the company. So the company send a letter to the bank, which is forwarded to the customer so they can get in touch.

Well the letter isn't on my banks paper or anything and the envelope is branded by the other persons bank! Maybe because I had already phoned them to try and get rid of the cash they could give them my details!?

jamesd

The other bank could have sent the letter pre-sealed and post paid with your bank having to do nothing but add your address to the outside.

Tinks32

My bank has been investigating for me, after I called the call center up again to complain that I didn't think my query was handled in the correct way. Give them their due they have done all they can to help me find out where the money has come from. Today they have sent me a letter telling me the :
Remitters name which is SPE005
Reference info: Bapiermanagement (which I have Googled and not been able to come up with much).
Account number:----Sort code...(which I have again Googled, without success) and their banks address, which is Barclay's bank plc @Bureau clearing section Northampton.
So I am none the wiser really!

innovate

Should be easy enough for Barclays to contact the account holder since their sort code and account number is known.