Received unexpected bank credit

runlululurun

I've received a BACS payment into my account this morning for £400 odd quid. I can only imagine it's an error as I'm not expecting the payment.

I've phoned the bank to try and get further information about where it came from but they said they can't tell anymore than I can see on my statement as it's a BACS payment.

All I have is a reference number and no clue to originator of the payment.

Any ideas what I should do?

le_loup

runlululurun wrote: »

Any ideas what I should do?

Search some previous posts on exactly this subject.

stevenhp1987

If someone contacts you for the money back... don't send it!

It's a common scam whereby they use someone else's (stolen) bank account to send funds, then get you to send it to their / someone else's account (not the original sending account).

The main account holder then asks the bank to recall the payment and you lose the £400 again (£400 down!).

Politely tell them to get the bank to recall the payment and when your bank then ask if they can recall, say yes.

Don't spend the money under any circumstances, unless it transpires it is your actual money.

It is likely the error will be noticed, and a recall attempted.

runlululurun

stevenhp1987 wrote: »

If someone contacts you for the money back... don't send it!

It's a common scam whereby they use someone else's (stolen) bank account to send funds, then get you to send it to their / someone else's account (not the original sending account).

The main account holder then asks the bank to recall the payment and you lose the £400 again (£400 down!).

Politely tell them to get the bank to recall the payment and when your bank then ask if they can recall, say yes.

Don't spend the money under any circumstances, unless it transpires it is your actual money.

It is likely the error will be noticed, and a recall attempted.

Ah I see, thank you. So basically, sit tight and wait for someone to ask for it back.

Is it worth me contacting the fraud department at my bank to speed the process up?

colsten

If you are absolutely certain that it's not yours, ask the bank, in writing, to remove the money from your account. It's not a refund from anyone, e.g. from an insurance company? Or a lottery win?

RG2015

runlululurun wrote: »

I've received a BACS payment into my account this morning for £400 odd quid. I can only imagine it's an error as I'm not expecting the payment.

I've phoned the bank to try and get further information about where it came from but they said they can't tell anymore than I can see on my statement as it's a BACS payment.

All I have is a reference number and no clue to originator of the payment.

Any ideas what I should do?

My BACS payments always show where the money is coming from. However, if I click on the transaction the line expands to give more details but this may just be my bank. It is quite rare for a stranger to pay into your bank account in error. It is more likely that you are the intended recipient although you are unaware of the reason.

If I were you I would push the bank to find out more details for you. If this still failed I would wait a bit to see if any more information came to light. Sometimes more details are added in online banking a day or two after the money was received.

gilly1964

I would suggest you check again tomorrow.

I have had Bacs transactions that cannot be identified on day 1, but once the banks overnight processing has happened I have been able to see where it has come from

Hope this helps

Flobberchops

The bank can see the sender. They may not be authorised or obliged to divulge that to you, but they could find out if they wanted to.

Standard protocol here is to NOT spend it - that's technically and legally theft - and just wait until you have a request from your bank (and nobody else) to remove the funds.

There would be nothing wrong at all with you moving the money into an interest paying account held by yourself with the same bank and benefiting from a few extra pennies of interest in the interim. This would also have the benefit of separating it from your own money so you don't accidentally spend it.

runlululurun

When I first called the bank they just kind of shrugged their shoulders and said they couldn't see anymore info than I can on my statement, which appears to be an invoice number.

I don't want to instruct them to remove it, on the offchance it's something that should be there, but I've racked my brains and cannot think of anything plausible.

I did call the bank again however, after posting and they have agreed to investigate and get back to me within 10 days. The trouble with putting it to one side is, from what I can gather, there is no time limit on when it can be recalled. So I would essentially just have to set it aside for the rest of my life.. (in theory).

Hopefully the bank will be able to clarify further after investigation.

brewerdave

runlululurun wrote: »

I did call the bank again however, after posting and they have agreed to investigate and get back to me within 10 days. The trouble with putting it to one side is, from what I can gather, there is no time limit on when it can be recalled. So I would essentially just have to set it aside for the rest of my life.. (in theory).

I've had a couple of instances of unknown credits in my account in the last 10 years or so; both less than £100. Both were over the counter transactions in a branch.
I made sure I always had the money available for a couple of years in case of a chargeback, then forgot about it:)
After 2 years, I assumed that the Bank would have to let me know if they were going to claim it back.

agrinnall

runlululurun wrote: »

The trouble with putting it to one side is, from what I can gather, there is no time limit on when it can be recalled. So I would essentially just have to set it aside for the rest of my life.. (in theory).

Yes there is, 6 years, or 5 in Scotland.