Money sent in error to wrong sort code

sbm40

Hi all
I have had a long-running problem since November after discovering that I had sent nearly £1700 for my daughter's uni rent to an unknown person instead of the rental company through mistyping the sort code. Back then there was no cross-check with the recipient's name (which I believe has been in place since March-no help to me unfortunately). It took me a while to realise my error and when I did, the recipient returned around £200 and then refused to cooperate or correspond. I threatened legal action back in January and was told I would be paid £200 monthly which then changed to £150 from March. I tried to be patient! The following Coronavirus situation presented itself and of course no payment arrived. Subsequently I have been back in touch with my bank who said an arrangement had been made to pay £150 every 4 weeks from mid-May. No payment so far. I don't have a clue how to pursue this! My intention was to go through the small claims court but in order to complete the form online I need the recipient's address. The bank will not provide that so how on earth can I pursue this without any details of the recipient? Any advice would be much appreciated as I am at the end of my tether (goodness knows how many hours I have spent trying to sort this). Thank you

unholyangel

You could report them to the police for dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit but given how overwhelmed our services are normally (nevermind now with covid), they may not have the resources to dedicate to it. 

davidmcn

unholyangel said:

You could report them to the police for dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit but given how overwhelmed our services are normally (nevermind now with covid), they may not have the resources to dedicate to it. 

I doubt it meets any sort of test for a prosecution - even if it did, relatively smallscale fraud is way down the priority list at the best of times. 

unholyangel

davidmcn said:

unholyangel said:

You could report them to the police for dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit but given how overwhelmed our services are normally (nevermind now with covid), they may not have the resources to dedicate to it. 

I doubt it meets any sort of test for a prosecution - even if it did, relatively smallscale fraud is way down the priority list at the best of times. 

That's a bit dramatic. Chances are they would pay up since we're not talking thousands. 

But really the OP's bank should be dealing with it under misdirected payments and should have already made OP aware of their options, including court action or appealing to the ombudsman. 

steampowered

How have you been communicating with this person?

Generally, you need to have someone's address to issue a claim against them. This is a requirement to issue a claim online through moneyclaimonline.

It is possible to sue someone on the basis of their email address. However:
- You would have to apply to court for specific permission to do this. There is a hefty fee for that and you'd have to provide a witness statement showing you've made every effort to try and get the address. You can't apply for that online, you'd have to file physical papers with the court. It may not be worth it given the size of the amounts involved.
- It becomes more difficult to enforce a CCJ you get at the end of the court process, since you can't send bailiffs to an email address. The most you could do is get a third party debt order against the bank account details you have it.
- You could apply for an order that the defendant's bank gives you their address. Again - that's difficult and costly.

sbm40

Thanks all. I did speak to the Police some time ago, as you suggest, they are not interested and I certainly haven't bothered them recently for obvious reasons. I am only able to communicate via the bank. I contact my bank, they contact the recipient's bank. I just feel that as (apparently) 25% of people annually send money to the wrong person, there must be a fair few who don't get their money back straight away-how do these people pursue a legal claim? The money went into their account, they spent my money. It's my money and I don't seem to have a leg to stand on

davidmcn

sbm40 said:

(apparently) 25% of people annually send money to the wrong person

That sounds implausibly high. It would suggest that on average every adult has already done it several times - or there are some incredibly careless people skewing the figures. What's your source?

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree. I would expect it to be one of those things that you only do once.

It's why it's a good idea to send £1 to a new recipient, check that it's arrived, then send the balance. 

Semple

I thought banks warned they're not always successful in reclaiming back wrongfully sent money, and as you've pointed out the legal avenue is difficult to pursue. 

I think this one might be getting chalked down to a mistake to learn from .

sbm40

My source is Lovemoney.com but I am unable to upload the link as I think I need to be a longer-standing member. A further study suggest up to 28% of people don’t get their money back. I am very determined and I don’t care if it costs me. I think it’s a disgrace that ‘victims’ are not supported sufficiently. I’ll keep you posted 😊

Aylesbury_Duck

sbm40 said:

My source is Lovemoney.com but I am unable to upload the link as I think I need to be a longer-standing member. A further study suggest up to 28% of people don’t get their money back. I am very determined and I don’t care if it costs me. I think it’s a disgrace that ‘victims’ are not supported sufficiently. I’ll keep you posted 😊

It's a tricky one because yes, you are a victim of the recipient's dishonesty in not returning the money they know was not meant for them, but who do you think should be supporting you beyond the due processes available to you?