Standing Orders

ianhallett2014

Hi i am a treasurer for a scout group. A number of years ago (around 5) a parent left the group, but forgot to cancel their standing order. Unfortunately we had no contact details for the person who left so could not contact them directly. I have tried the bank on numerous occasions to ask for the standing order to be stopped, but each time they have said it is nothing they could help me with as they have no details for the person and only the person who initiated the Standing order can cancel it. The last time i contacted the bank they suggested i try and locate the person through social media. So I did a search on Facebook and managed to contact the lady's daughter. She has now contacted her mother and the Standing order has finally been stopped. The mother however is now asking for all her payments to be refunded. How do we stand with respect to having to pay back this money. It would be a considerable amount of money to our group, so i am just trying to understand what the legal position is. Any guidance would be appreciated.

eskbanker

If the money was paid in error and wasn't due to you then of course you have to return it, as to dishonestly retain a wrongful credit is theft....

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/24A

P.S. In your role, you're presumably expected to lead by example by exhibiting these values, and especially the first!

The Values of Scouting

As Scouts we are guided by these values:

• Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.
• Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others.
• Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live.
• Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.
• Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.

P.P.S. As you'll know from your searching for your inadvertent donor, there is a wealth of public domain data allowing tracing of individuals, so it's not difficult to identify exactly who you are and which scout group you're associated with, i.e. when posting about stuff like this, you might wish to do so more anonymously....

jimjames

Presumably you ringfenced the money as it wasn't from a member of the group and was going to be repaid at some point? You might want to ask if they would make a donation to the group instead.

CustardApple

I would not return the money.

The onus was on the person to cancel their standing order.

How can someone go 5 years and not check their bank statements?  - Seems weird

jbuchanangb

Maybe you could offer to pay it back on the same basis as it was received. By this I mean that if you were receiving £10 per month for 5 years, you pay it back at £10 per month for 5 years.

MalMonroe

But you knew the person had left the group, so the money really could have been put into some kind of savings account for her.

You say " It would be a considerable amount of money to our group" - which means it's a considerable amount of money she's unknowingly donated.

If it's already been spent, that was wrong but in any case, it should be returned to her. She was donating it for the good of the group her child belonged to but no longer benefited from.

It's not the group's money. See the values of scouting, as posted by eskbanker. Doesn't matter whether this parent should have kept an eye on her bank account or not, keeping her money isn't right. 

Admiral_Barbarossa

As far as I am aware, you have to put the donor back to the position they could had been in. Though as a previous beaver leader, I am surprised this got through the treasurer!

Daliah

MalMonroe said:

You say " It would be a considerable amount of money to our group" - which means it's a considerable amount of money she's unknowingly donated.

The payments were not quite made unknowingly - more like negligently. If there is anyone who stopped her from noticing the payment she made, she should take up her grievance with them. Note, it's not the scout group who made her continue the Standing Order.

ianhallett2014 said:

 It would be a considerable amount of money to our group, so i am just trying to understand what the legal position is. Any guidance would be appreciated.

 As the Treasurer, you would know what your terms of membership are. If there is any doubt over the situation, pay her the money back, update your Terms and Conditions, and make sure your members know they are members under those Terms and Conditions.