Wages Paid to a Stranger Account

m22kk56_2

Help!

I switched bank accounts in November and when I advised my employer of my new account number, I wrote one of the digits wrong. If the account number didn't belong to anyone then the payment would have bounced back but unfortunately Santander confirmed the account is active. My employer sent me another payment, but they are now out of pocket and quite rightly want their money back

We initiated a "Trace" and set the wheels in motion to recover the funds. After weeks of Santander ignoring letters, they eventually wrote to the recipient mid January. Unfortunately the bank contacted me today to say their second letter to this person has been ignored so they can't help any longer. They won't telephone the customer, even to simply check they read the letter, which is very frustrating as I'm sure this could be resolved quickly if they phoned the person.

Anyway, I'm in the process of complaining to Ombudsman about how slow Santander have been in trying to resolve this but I was wondering how I go about raising a legal case against this person?

Can anyone PM me with details of solicitors they might have used who has experience in this area?

Any helpful comments appreciated.

jonesMUFCforever

1 Write a letter to the person.
2 You won't know his name or address so you write in pencil the sort code and account number on the front of the envelope.
3 Take the envelope (you put a stamp on it) into the nearest Santander branch and ask them to address it and post it on your behalf.
4 Wait for a reply - if he has ignored Santander's letters yours might not get any better results.
5 If you really want to make it serious make an appointment with a solicitor and ask how much a court order will cost to make Santander tell you his (or her) name and address - this could cost you some serious money!
6 You don't say whether this was a week's money or a month's - a week's pay and I would suggest you come to an arrangement to repay your boss and move on.


As for your complaint to the ombudsman I feel you are on shaky ground as they have done nothing wrong - you told your employer the wrong account number - he paid the money into that account. Santander (as much as I hate to say this)are not in the wrong. They did not have to help at all.

m22kk56_2

Amount is nearly £4k as it included my business expenses as well. Thanks for the tip on the letter, I will try that.

scoobydoothedog

I'm not sure if I have misunderstood your thread, but if you have been paid by your employer what is your loss? What are you expecting a Solicitor to help you to recover?

From what you have written, this sounds like your employer's claim rather than yours.

m22kk56_2

My employer expects me to pay the money back and I am not going to argue with that since it was my mistake.

Legally, the person keeping the money can be prosecuted for theft if they knowingly keep the money and make no effort to return it. I'm just trying to find someone who has experienced this to get some tips on the path ahead.

JKSandy

Interesting article from last year:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2267581/I-paid-2-600-wrong-account-bank-wont-back.html

Push your bank to do more but looks like the small claims court is the way to go.

pmduk

scoobydoothedog wrote: »

I'm not sure if I have misunderstood your thread, but if you have been paid by your employer what is your loss? What are you expecting a Solicitor to help you to recover?

From what you have written, this sounds like your employer's claim rather than yours.

The loss will be the fact that the employer has had to pay the OP twice as a result of the OP's mistake. They'll be looking to recoup that from the OP.

m22kk56_2

Thanks - apparently I should contact the police and report this as a crime because the person can be charged with "retaining wrongful credit" as part of the Theft Act 1968. Be interesting to see how the police handle this...

Small claims court looks to be the other option to pursue for the moment.

jonesMUFCforever

You cannot go to small claims court - yet as you have no name or address.
To get that you need a court order which will not be cheap.


At the end of all that when OP wins there is no guarantee that the money is still in the account there could be problems collecting.

m22kk56_2

I appreciate that. I am prepared to pay up to £4k to recover my £4k as it chokes me to think some smug git might benefit from my mistake...might seem bitter to some but sense of justice won't let me drop it!

I accept collection may be difficult but we'll cross that bridge...

pmduk

Good luck in getting the police to act.