Tax Refund Mystery is This Technically Fraud?

draddict

Hey all

So long story short, I did my self-assessment in January of this year, delighted to discover that they were going to refund me £800, they said they did it within a week and my HMRC account says that they did, however, it didn't reach my account and upon investigation, it appeared that I had accidentally given them the incorrect sort code.

They advised me to contact their "Treasury Department" with a registered letter, telling them what had happened, then they said it would be 8 weeks until something was done which I did to no avail.

This was 8 months and MANY calls ago, the last contact I had with them was them telling me to wait until October as it was my error, then I needed to contact my bank. I contacted my bank again today and FINALLY, they have tracked down the money after months of saying they didn't know where it was. It appears that it has gone into someone else's account, obviously, I know nothing about this person other than their bank account details. The very kind person on the phone said that they would do everything they could to help me but they weren't sure how to help, they said that they would contact the customer and ask them if they would return the money to MY account. They also suggested contacting HMRC again to tell them that they CAN recall the funds in certain circumstances, such as this.

What I am wondering is this, if the customer who isn't me, got the £800 back in January, knew they had it, didn't query where it came from and kept it, does this constitute fraud once they have been told that it belongs to someone else and they need to pay it back and then they refuse to do so?

I'm really just trying to figure out my options here, while I am aware that it was MY initial mistake, surely there is something either the HMRC or the bank can do if the person refuses to pay me the money?

Thrugelmir

Very little if the person who received the money has spent it and possibly closed this particular bank account. 

draddict

Thrugelmir said:

Very little if the person who received the money has spent it and possibly closed this particular bank account. 

No, the account is definitely still open, the woman on the phone at the bank said as much. But surely there is some illegality if they a. didn't query such a large amount suddenly appearing in their account and b. keeping it without investigating it and c. then refusing to repay it when asked to? I do plan on checking with Citizens Advice as well, and potentially small claims.

I have since spoken to HMRC again, they said that I need to send them another letter to see if they can recall the money as the bank said they should be able to do this, even if it takes the person over their limit. Of course, it could take them 6 months to do this...

draddict

I have now discovered this, if the person who received the money did in fact spend it, and/or refuses to repay it to me, they can be charged with retaining wrongful credit' under the Theft Act 1968. 

https://www.money.co.uk/guides/can-you-keep-money-accidentally-paid-into-your-bank-account.htm