Deposited money from someone I don’t know

[Deleted User]

I have been deposited money into my bank account in the sum of thousands. I contacted my bank immediately but they said they cannot trace the transaction and until someone comes forward claiming the money back I have to keep it but not spend it. I have tried to research around this but there is little information on it. Is there a length of time I have to keep it and if no one comes forward it is legally mine? Or can someone come forward in years and claim it back?

DCFC79

ellie_5 said:

I have been deposited money into my bank account in the sum of thousands. I contacted my bank immediately but they said they cannot trace the transaction and until someone comes forward claiming the money back I have to keep it but not spend it. I have tried to research around this but there is little information on it. Is there a length of time I have to keep it and if no one comes forward it is legally mine? Or can someone come forward in years and claim it back?

It's 6 years for the sender to claim it back, Google knows this answer.

Your bank can find the sender's details, maybe try asking again or failing that try a complaint.

MovingForwards

Had it happen to me years ago.

I made several calls to my then bank asking them to take it out, send it back etc, but they couldn't.

What happened then was the original owner of the money contacts their bank, their bank sends a letter to your bank with a letter in an envelope to pass on to you, your bank pass on the letter and asks you to contact them (your bank), you then give permission to have the money taken back out your account.

Do not spend the money!

tehone

At the very least, pop it into an un-used savings account, so that you've semi-ringfenced it from you normal day to day use, otherwise its just too much of a temptation.

Its surprising given a lot of banks have now at least partially implemented CoP (confirmation of Payee) that this managed to make it to your account! Are there no clues at all in the reference that was used as to where the money came from?

You haven't applied for any Covid19 support money? Old Premium bond you've forgotten about?

colsten

tehone said:

Its surprising given a lot of banks have now at least partially implemented CoP (confirmation of Payee) that this managed to make it to your account! 

Not really, since any name mismatch can be overridden, anyway.

tehone said:

You haven't applied for any Covid19 support money? Old Premium bond you've forgotten about?

Lottery win? HMRC refund? PPI refund?

If the OP would give further details about the payments, such as the name of the payer, people on here might be able to shed further light on it.

cymruchris

Maybe that Nigerian prince has finally managed to deposit that large sum of money he's been trying to get rid of.... Definitely don't spend it The original owner will likely spot it soon enough when the intended recipient complains they haven't received their money. It's always a nice thought that we could spend a bit of free money - but sadly it does belong to someone, and they will most likely want it back

xylophone

but they said they cannot trace the transaction 

I simply don't believe that the bank cannot trace the originating account.

Ballard

xylophone said:

but they said they cannot trace the transaction 

I simply don't believe that the bank cannot trace the originating account.

All payments have to contain the remitters account number and sort code (or foreign equivalent) as well as name and address if it’s via Swift. It shouldn’t be too much of an imposition for the bank to find this information out. 

elsien

There's a difference between them not being able to trace it, and them not being able to share that information with you. Go back to the bank and put it in writing to them. 

inspectorperez

You need some form of evidence to protect yourself, otherwise you could become an unwitting party to a Money Laundering investigation further down the line.

As elsien advises, write to your bank and ask for a written acknowledgement. Keep a copy of the letter and for belt and braces, proof of posting.

wmb194

Wait a few days and see if a letter explaining this turns up. This may be the exception but so many of these types of threads end up with the OP saying a letter arrived and it was an insurance payout, a PPI refund, etc. etc..