Bank Error in my favour, what should i do?!

moneymadman

Im a long time MSE user, first time poster so be gentle please! I just started a new job and was awaiting a part months wage of £524 in my account on the 26/10. my wages got paid into someone elses bank account due to my employers error :mad: and my bank recovered the funds and put them into a holding account. After numerous attempts to get the funds a cashier agreed in branch with their missing payments section to give me £500 cash over the counter while the funds were transfered. After waiting another week i went back to branch to advise i still was waiting for the remaining £24 from my wages. She rang her head office and told them it was unacceptable for me to wait over a week for the funds and I got the usual "sorry it should be in shortly" and took it with a pinch of salt but low and behold i have recieved my wages today, but instead of the remaining £24 they have deposited the full £524 instead :T ! i now have my initial £524 wages and another £500 i obtained over the counter. What should i do?! ill happily keep their money but dont want them knocking on my door months later demanding it back! anything like this happened to anyone or any suggestions would be most welcome!

elsien

You know the money isn't yours, so it would be dishonest to hang on to it. If it were me, I would come clean and give it back.
If you choose not to do so, they are within their rights to ask for it back once the mistake is discovered, and it's not going to look good for your employment record to rip them off, is it?

moneymadman

i know it is dishonest but there is an almost universal hatred of banks for their overcharging etc and it is the banks money not my employers, They were so useless in getting me the money im at least gonna me equally as useless at giving it back!

elsien

I sympathise with your frustration - banks can be a complete pain in the you-know-whats, and you could try making a complaint and asking for compensation for the inconvenience. The bottom line though is that it is their money, and they're entitled to it back. Maybe you could transfer it temporarily to a high interest account, and get the benefit from that for a while. Whatever you do, don't spend it unless you can afford to repay it from elsewhere.

duchy

Don't spend it but put it into premium bonds instead. Then if they do want it back you can pay it out of the million you (might) win in the meantime (and won't be tempted to spend it cos sods law says as soon as you spend it they WILL want it back !)
Personally I wouldn't volunteer it back but I'd make it work for me until they noticed-which likely they WILL

Stephen_Leak

It all depends on what you want to be re-incarnated as.

M_Thomson

moneymadman wrote: »

i know it is dishonest but there is an almost universal hatred of banks for their overcharging etc and it is the banks money not my employers, They were so useless in getting me the money im at least gonna me equally as useless at giving it back!

For gods sake it isn't your money. I'd love to get my weekly shopping free from Tesco as they are such a huge company and could afford it, shall I walk in there and steal it???! You represent the poor moral state of this country at the moment. Shame on you.

M_Thomson

duchy wrote: »

Don't spend it but put it into premium bonds instead. Then if they do want it back you can pay it out of the million you (might) win in the meantime (and won't be tempted to spend it cos sods law says as soon as you spend it they WILL want it back !)
Personally I wouldn't volunteer it back but I'd make it work for me until they noticed-which likely they WILL

You should never remove money paid in by mistake to an account as the bank is within its rights to take it back anytime they like even if it means making the account overdrawn.

gt94sss2

moneymadman wrote: »

i know it is dishonest but there is an almost universal hatred of banks for their overcharging etc and it is the banks money not my employers, They were so useless in getting me the money im at least gonna me equally as useless at giving it back!

1. It was your employers fault the money went into the wrong bank account, not your banks. If you want compensation for your problems - which you may be perfectly entitled too - its really your employer you should approach for it.

2. Read your statement above - you know its dishonest and tbh, I doubt there is a 'universal hatred of banks' - while many people don't like certain policies or charges etc - they do perform a valuable service.. I certainly wouldn't rely on an opinion that its ok to keep the money as 'most people' don't like banks. In the end its the other customers who pay for fraud etc..

3. Tell the bank and pay back the money - they can otherwise take the money themselves from your account at any time, as others have said - even if that would make you go overdrawn and they will eventually discover whats happened anyway when they audit their books..

Regards
Sunil

Debt_Free_Chick

moneymadman wrote: »

I just started a new job and was awaiting a part months wage of £524 in my account on the 26/10. my wages got paid into someone elses bank account due to my employers error :mad: and my bank recovered the funds

instead of the remaining £24 they have deposited the full £524 instead :T ! i now have my initial £524 wages and another £500 i obtained over the counter.

What's the difference between these two situations?

Don't you think the outcome should be the same?

If you expect the bank to recover an error which led to your loss, why should they not recover an error which leads to someone else's loss? Even where that "someone else" is the bank?

My bet is that the cash over the counter will find its way into your account, eventually and it will simply show on your statement as a withdrawal, so don't be in too much of a hurry to transfer £500 out of your account. Otherwise, you'll be back here telling us that the account is overdrawn and you'll want to blame the bank! :mad:

Debt_Free_Chick

moneymadman wrote: »

i know it is dishonest but there is an almost universal hatred of banks for their overcharging etc and it is the banks money not my employers, They were so useless in getting me the money im at least gonna me equally as useless at giving it back!

Actually, they bent over backwards to help you considering that your employer made the mistake! And they didn't charge you for this extra service, which isn't one included in the operation of the account.

And to repay the bank, you're intending to defraud them? Nice one :rolleyes: