Wrong bank details - what rights do I have?

Mtrott71565

Hello.

I needed to change the bank account I get my wages paid to so I filled in a paper form.

upon checking, the bank details are wrong - by one digit. I looked back at the form and a couple of others have advised that one of the digits looks like a 3 when it is actually a five.

I have two questions really: 

I have checked the bank details I erroneously gave and according to a an online tool they are an invalid account. So can I reliably expect the money to bounce back and be paid to the correct details which I have now given to payroll? (They Have said this is what will most likely happen)

2) if the funds go to someone else, have I essentially lost a months pay? If this scenario occurs, what rights do I have to dispute this? 

MikeJXE

Not my expertise but I don't see how you can lose the money if you paid it to an account that don't exist 

Mtrott71565

MikeJXE said:

Not my expertise but I don't see how you can lose the money if you paid it to an account that don't exist 

Yes I agree I guess I am just panicking that someone the money will end up in someone else’s account - daft I know. 

DullGreyGuy

Was it the sort code or account number that was wrong?

Its not clear if you actually gave the wrong number or if your handwriting was poor and therefore could have been interpreted as the wrong number?

If the sort code was right but the account number was wrong in most cases it bounces back quickly. With some banks they will put it into a suspense account whilst they try to figure out where it should have gone but banks do that much less regularly these days by all accounts.

Obviously when your employers get it back they too have to try and work out what the credit is for and who its due to etc. Most companies dont check their bank transactions on a daily basis

MikeJXE

LOL.   CHILL.    someone will be along to explain 

Mtrott71565

DullGreyGuy said:

Was it the sort code or account number that was wrong?

Its not clear if you actually gave the wrong number or if your handwriting was poor and therefore could have been interpreted as the wrong number?

If the sort code was right but the account number was wrong in most cases it bounces back quickly. With some banks they will put it into a suspense account whilst they try to figure out where it should have gone but banks do that much less regularly these days by all accounts.

Obviously when your employers get it back they too have to try and work out what the credit is for and who its due to etc. Most companies dont check their bank transactions on a daily basis

It was my poor handwriting. To me it genuinely looked like a five. Sort code was right. Account wrong by 1 digit. 

Marcon

This is just the sort of scenario where COP comes into play. Confirmation of Payee was introduced to add a further safeguard - the sort code and account number and now the name of the account are checked.

Mtrott71565 said:

I have checked the bank details I erroneously gave and according to a an online tool they are an invalid account. 

Which online tool did you use?

Mtrott71565 said:

So can I reliably expect the money to bounce back and be paid to the correct details which I have now given to payroll? (They Have said this is what will most likely happen)

2) if the funds go to someone else, have I essentially lost a months pay? If this scenario occurs, what rights do I have to dispute this? 

Make sure payroll have advised the paying bank of your error, and also ensure that your own bank is aware. Belt and braces...

Scorpio33

When do your wages usually get paid? They will usually send the money 3 days prior to you getting paid if paid by BACS, so if it is more than 3 days away, chances are they have not sent it to the incorrect details.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is an incorrect bank account, the receiving bank will usually place it into a holding account until it is either chased up or sent back. Ask whoever sent it (finance or HR) to chase the payment and request it back.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is a correct account, technically, the person who has received it has no right to keep it and the receiving bank can request it back (which is usually then sent back). However, despite it being illegal for someone to keep money that isn't thiers, there have been instances where people just keep the money - in which case it will be up to you to chase the money back via legal routes (which will not be worth the cost and police will consider it to be a civil matter). Even if that did happen, I am sure your company would be able to assist you with a loan or something to tide you over. They won't claim liability fo the payment going to the wrong place, as it is up to you to ensure these are correct.

So all in all, the most likely situation I can see is that your wages will be paid up to a week later, allowing for funds to be sent back and resent.

Source: Me, an Accountant working in treasury & cash management for the last 12 years.

TELLIT01

If the OP is certain that the account details provide do not/cannot link to a real account the payment will be bounced back to the employer at some point.  How long it takes will depend on the internal process in the receiving bank.

Mtrott71565

Scorpio33 said:

When do your wages usually get paid? They will usually send the money 3 days prior to you getting paid if paid by BACS, so if it is more than 3 days away, chances are they have not sent it to the incorrect details.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is an incorrect bank account, the receiving bank will usually place it into a holding account until it is either chased up or sent back. Ask whoever sent it (finance or HR) to chase the payment and request it back.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is a correct account, technically, the person who has received it has no right to keep it and the receiving bank can request it back (which is usually then sent back). However, despite it being illegal for someone to keep money that isn't thiers, there have been instances where people just keep the money - in which case it will be up to you to chase the money back via legal routes (which will not be worth the cost and police will consider it to be a civil matter). Even if that did happen, I am sure your company would be able to assist you with a loan or something to tide you over. They won't claim liability fo the payment going to the wrong place, as it is up to you to ensure these are correct.

So all in all, the most likely situation I can see is that your wages will be paid up to a week later, allowing for funds to be sent back and resent.

Source: Me, an Accountant working in treasury & cash management for the last 12 years.

Thank you, this is a very helpful response. Is there a definitive way I can find out of a bank account number is valid or not? I’ve used a couple of tools and also tried to hypothetically set up a new payee on personal account using the erroneous bank account number I gave, and it appears that the number is invalid/doesn’t exist, but I guess it would be useful to know for sure.

Scorpio33

Mtrott71565 said:

Scorpio33 said:

When do your wages usually get paid? They will usually send the money 3 days prior to you getting paid if paid by BACS, so if it is more than 3 days away, chances are they have not sent it to the incorrect details.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is an incorrect bank account, the receiving bank will usually place it into a holding account until it is either chased up or sent back. Ask whoever sent it (finance or HR) to chase the payment and request it back.

If it has been sent to the erroneous details, and it is a correct account, technically, the person who has received it has no right to keep it and the receiving bank can request it back (which is usually then sent back). However, despite it being illegal for someone to keep money that isn't thiers, there have been instances where people just keep the money - in which case it will be up to you to chase the money back via legal routes (which will not be worth the cost and police will consider it to be a civil matter). Even if that did happen, I am sure your company would be able to assist you with a loan or something to tide you over. They won't claim liability fo the payment going to the wrong place, as it is up to you to ensure these are correct.

So all in all, the most likely situation I can see is that your wages will be paid up to a week later, allowing for funds to be sent back and resent.

Source: Me, an Accountant working in treasury & cash management for the last 12 years.

Thank you, this is a very helpful response. Is there a definitive way I can find out of a bank account number is valid or not? I’ve used a couple of tools and also tried to hypothetically set up a new payee on personal account using the erroneous bank account number I gave, and it appears that the number is invalid/doesn’t exist, but I guess it would be useful to know for sure.

The ones I have used before are the ones you have been using I think:

https://www.sortcodes.co.uk/


There is also the official BACS sort code checker (This only checks sort codes) https://www.bacs.co.uk/resources/sort-code-checker/