Bank took money out of account due to ‘error’

realised

Hi everyone 
I was wondering if I could have some advice please. My dad withdrew £500 from his bank over the counter a few weeks ago. He received a receipt of withdrawal and mixed the money in with other money he had. 

He has today received a letter from the bank saying there was an error and he received £200 more than he should have and they have taken this from his account. 

My dad is a very honest man but due to receiving a receipt, he didn’t think to count the money and genuinely doesnt know if he received more. I think it’s unfair of the bank to deduct the money without providing proof that this actually happened. 

 I was wondering if anyone else had ever been in a similar situation and if there was anything I could do to see if there was an error (if there was my dad is happy to return the money)

thanks

MovingForwards

The banks normally count the money out, then recount it in front of you, before handing it over.

I would be asking for proof.

mab3000

Ask your dad to make an official complaint to his bank, on the grounds that he is unhappy that no proof was provided that he had been given £200 more than the withdrawal amount to just take the money out of his account and he is not certain that he was actually given this money in the first place. 

I suspect what will happen with this is that they will then provide your dad with that proof, I cannot see how they would just take the money out without knowing for absolute certain that it was given to your dad. 

If he genuinely wasn’t given it then they wont have the proof, and therefore would be looked into further. 

realised

Thank you. My dad couldn’t remember anything untoward about the transaction. The letter said they gave him £500 £20 Notes and £200 £5 notes but he still has the receipt and it says £500 cash (no split on the number of notes). I am going to write to them and ask for proof of this. 

Hopefully they will be able to provide it. 

Thank you for the advice !

jonesMUFCforever

What did Dad do with the money?
Did he not count it when he got home?
For the bank to withdraw the money from his account they must be pretty sure that their version must be correct - perhaps they have CCTV showing the cashier putting the 'wrong' amount into the envelope.
Would a reasonable person not know if they received £200 more than they asked for?
(If he had counted it there would be no doubt).

So somebody posted to make a complaint - before this ask your dad the above questions.

Thrugelmir

realised said:

My dad is a very honest man but due to receiving a receipt, he didn’t think to count the money and genuinely doesnt know if he received more. I think it’s unfair of the bank to deduct the money without providing proof that this actually happened. 

Most people would realise if they had an additional £200 in cash. Not as if most people carry large amounts these days. 

niktheguru

Should definitely complain. It’s the banks error and not your dads. They check the money in their electronic machine and by hand. Why is it all of a sudden his responsibility when he’s been given a receipt and the cash should have been checked in front of him. Surely if the bank has made a mistake they should contact him and explain the mistake and then come to a mutual solution and not just take extra money out of his account that he didn’t request.

you would have thought your dad would know how much money he had in the wad and could roughly workout if the bank was right by adding the new total. But still doesnt mean the bank should get away with taking money out of his account without providing proof and compensation for their error,

jonesMUFCforever

niktheguru said:

Should definitely complain. It’s the banks error and not your dads. They check the money in their electronic machine and by hand. Why is it all of a sudden his responsibility when he’s been given a receipt and the cash should have been checked in front of him. Surely if the bank has made a mistake they should contact him and explain the mistake and then come to a mutual solution and not just take extra money out of his account that he didn’t request.

you would have thought your dad would know how much money he had in the wad and could roughly workout if the bank was right by adding the new total. But still doesnt mean the bank should get away with taking money out of his account without providing proof and compensation for their error,

So for example let's say he wanted £500 out of his account and he only got £300, but the receipt says £500,because ''of their  error'' he could not go back to complain.
Let the OP 's dad come back and explain first.

realised

No my dad did not notice he had more than he had asked for. He is of the generation that does everything in cash and he picked up my grandparents pension and benefits at the same time so everything got mixed into one. This is something he regularly does so If he did get the extra £200, it is plausible that he assumed he already had the money in his pocket from before. 

He also has mental health issues so gets confused easily and trusted the bank to always do the right thing and so didn’t check at the time. When I asked him if he could think back he said it seemed to him that the lady counted everything properly but now he can’t be 100% certain.

I am going to write back to the bank and ask for CCTV. If they are sure it was his transaction, they must have proof. I’m a little miffed that the bank just decided to take the money out of his account without discussion though. It was their fault at the end of the day and He is getting very anxious about this whole thing I hope we can iron it all out soon. 

Robin9

Sounds odd.
Banks reconcile their transactions at close of play every  day  and identify errors then not weeks later.

warby68

It does sound odd but equally it does seem unlikely, reputation wise, that a Bank would do this if it wasn't certain.
Tread carefully especially on the aspect of him withdrawing money for other people as a reason for getting confused - there will be loads of these informal arrangements but I wouldn't mention it to a bank unless it was formally covered.
Fair enough ask for proof but the Bank may not share all the systems it uses to check for these for obvious commercial reasons.
What you don't want is £50 compo for their error but the Bank then deciding your dad's account is more trouble that its worth if they deem he doesn't operate it properly.
I am making no allegations about dad btw just what the perception might be.
Equally if he has mental health issues which lead to confusion you may want to flag dad up as a vulnerable customer - Banks have systems for dealing with this but again you may view this as a sledgehammer to crack a nut.