HELP!! Money paid into account by mistake

jma78b

I was called by my local bank last friday asking if I was aware that a large amount of money was going in my account soon. I get paid Friday and not expecting a large amount lol! It was the exact amount that I received from my previous company when I was made redundant in Feb. Received a payslip from previous employer saying this was going to be paid in and it was! I thought the bank was a hoax call but getting the payslip and the money in my bank I guess it's not. I called payroll and told them, got a reference number and now waiting for a call from Hr to explain why they have put temptation in my account! Can i put it in a saving account till they decide to take it back? I'm just nervous of even doing that!

pqrdef

They can't take it back, assuming it's their error and not the bank's. They'll want you to send it back.

grumbler

pqrdef wrote: »

They can't take it back, assuming it's their error and not the bank's. They'll want you to send it back.

Maybe they can't, but if they want it very much they can actually:
Santander have made me £6000 overdrawn

agrinnall

Saunders888 wrote: »

I called the bank (santander) straight away as this may be somebody elses money and I know how devastated i'd be if i misplaced that amount of money! I advised the bank i think it may be a mistake and need a bit more info. They where not too helpful and said they can only see what i can see online and as the payment was a "Bank Giro Credit" adnd they are a the receiving account they cannot see who it came from.

You need to speak to someone at Santander who isn't a call centre monkey reading from a prepared script. It's possible that they can't see any more than you, but it is absolutely not the case than Santander don't have the sending account information, just that it may need somebody with a bit more clout to look for it.

Goldiegirl

agrinnall wrote: »

You need to speak to someone at Santander who isn't a call centre monkey reading from a prepared script. It's possible that they can't see any more than you, but it is absolutely not the case than Santander don't have the sending account information, just that it may need somebody with a bit more clout to look for it.

It's not the call centre person's fault they can't see the full information, so it's not really fair to speak about them in derogatory terms, like monkey.

However, I do agree that Santander will know the source bank account detalls, so either phone again and ask to speak to someone who can tell you the source details or write and ask for this information.

After all that, if you are still 100% sure the money is not yours, ask Santander to send the money back to where it came from.

grumbler

Goldiegirl wrote: »

It's not the call centre person's fault they can't see the full information, so it's not really fair to speak about them in derogatory terms, like monkey.

Well, if they can't see they have to say exactly this and, if needed, put the customer through to someone who can see and can help. Instead they simply fobbed the customer off by saying that

Saunders888 wrote: »

.....they are a the receiving account they cannot see who it came from...

antrobus

matttye wrote: »

.For it to be theft you need to prove that the thief intended to permanently deprive the loser of their property.

That would be very difficult to prove in a case where the money turns up in someone's bank account randomly, without any input from the beneficiary.

The OP could just say he intended to give it back once the owner was found. That automatically makes it not theft.

Not saying I would recommend it.. just that it's not theft.

I think you misunderstand.

dr_adidas01 wrote: »

Don't spend any of it, its not legally yours to spend!!...

It's the spending of the money that provides evidence of intent to permanently deprive. Just saying that you intended to give it back once the owner was found won't wash unless you can actually pay it back.

Mum jailed after Abbey's £135k blunder
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1621108/Mum-jailed-after-Abbeys-135k-blunder.html

Saunders888 wrote: »

....
I have tried to do everything i can and need to know how long I have to wait before I can ssume the money was meant for me as nobody is claiming it....

Limitation Act says 6 years.

jma78b

Well my issue has been resolved. I called payroll on Monday when the money went in. Spoke to someone who gave me a reference number. I then spoke to HR and they today the money is going back into their accounts. They said I was very honest as most people would have spent it. I would have been too nervous to spend it so its not worth it! But it did look nice in my account

pvt

grumbler wrote: »

Maybe they can't, but if they want it very much they can actually:
Santander have made me £6000 overdrawn

pqrdef's statement was "They can't take it back, assuming it's their error and not the bank's". So you cite an example of where the bank made an error!

These things are quite clear. If a third party makes a mistake and puts money in your account, your bank can only ask you to return it to the sender. If the bank makes a mistake and puts money into your account, it can correct its mistake and take the money back out again, as Santander did in the example you cited.

matttye

antrobus wrote: »

I think you misunderstand.



It's the spending of the money that provides evidence of intent to permanently deprive. Just saying that you intended to give it back once the owner was found won't wash unless you can actually pay it back.

Mum jailed after Abbey's £135k blunder
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1621108/Mum-jailed-after-Abbeys-135k-blunder.html

No misunderstanding; I was referring to a situation where the OP *could* pay it back.

Clearly, as you've pointed out, such a defence would not work if the money could not be paid back.