Unrecognised credit

MikeJXE

Lucky you I say it's a credit so don't spend it 

peckersthepenguin

Yes. I have put it in a savings account so I am unlikely to spend it any time soon!

Section62

peckersthepenguin said:

Yes. I have put it in a savings account so I am unlikely to spend it any time soon!

If you don't recognise the payment you should tell your bank ASAP, and in the meantime leave the funds in your current account (or whichever account the payment arrived into).  Moving it to another (savings) account could be interpreted (by the bank) as an attempt (or intention) to keep money which (possibly) isn't lawfully yours.

You also need to protect yourself in case the source of funds is dodgy.  Depending on the bank's systems the information you see attached to a transaction (e.g. "SECCL CUSTODY LIMI") may be false/misleading, and not necessarily the named company/individual.

phillw

Section62 said:
If you don't recognise the payment you should tell your bank ASAP, and in the meantime leave the funds in your current account (or whichever account the payment arrived into).  Moving it to another (savings) account could be interpreted (by the bank) as an attempt (or intention) to keep money which (possibly) isn't lawfully yours.

I got a 1p credit that I didn't recognize, I queried it with the bank and they never got back to me. I eventually realized it was interest from a savings account that I'd selected to pay monthly interest and because of rounding it had been six months with no interest paid.

People have left the money in their account and dipped into it and then been found guilty of fraud, so I think I could justify ring fencing the money somewhere as it could be a while before you hear from them. If the savings account was with the same bank, then it wouldn't look at all dodgy.

Section62

phillw said:

Section62 said:
If you don't recognise the payment you should tell your bank ASAP, and in the meantime leave the funds in your current account (or whichever account the payment arrived into).  Moving it to another (savings) account could be interpreted (by the bank) as an attempt (or intention) to keep money which (possibly) isn't lawfully yours.

I got a 1p credit that I didn't recognize, I queried it with the bank and they never got back to me. I eventually realized it was interest from a savings account that I'd selected to pay monthly interest and because of rounding it had been six months with no interest paid.

The key bit is querying it with the bank - by doing that it can be demonstrated that there was no intent to fraudulently keep the money.  If the bank decline to act (unsurprising for a 1p credit) then the account holder can't be held responsible for the bank's decision.

phillw said:

People have left the money in their account and dipped into it and then been found guilty of fraud, so I think I could justify ring fencing the money somewhere as it could be a while before you hear from them.

Not sure it would be wise to explain to a bank that the money was moved because the account holder didn't trust themselves not to spend it fraudulently.

I think it likely a bank would take a different view depending on whether the spending looked like normal activity for that account (and returning the sum perhaps then resulted in a small overdraft) or if the account holder went out on an out-of-the-normal spending spree.  To be "guilty of fraud" suggests the actions were demonstrated to involve criminal intent, not simple accidental spending.

phillw said:

If the savings account was with the same bank, then it wouldn't look at all dodgy.

In your view, and I'm sure a lot of people would agree with you.  A lot would probably disagree as well.  The wording I used was that moving the money "could be interpreted (by the bank)..." so individual points of view aren't relevant, what matters is how the bank perceives their customer's actions.

What is fairly clear from threads on this forum is increasingly banks seem to need very little reason to decide a particular customer isn't one they want anymore.

So unless the bank involved explicitly stated that 'it wouldn't look at all dodgy' moving an unrecognised payment into a different account (with the same bank) it is likely to be taking an unnecessary risk to do so.

phillw

Section62 said:
Not sure it would be wise to explain to a bank that the money was moved because the account holder didn't trust themselves not to spend it fraudulently.

Obviously that isn't what I said at all. I would move it so that I didn't accidentally spend it.

Having to do mental arithmetic when looking at your balance to make sure you don't spend the amount you are disputing, in case moving it to another account was seen as fraudulent. Would seem quite oppressive & I don't think we live in that kind of regime.

If you ask where the payment came from and are willing to return it if asked, then you can't be charged with fraud. It's the safest option. I would even offer them the interest it made, which is why I'd store it in a separate account. Possibly a chase savings pot with the name "Unknown credit". I'd even tell them the sort code and account number I moved it to (if it didn't go directly to the account in question)

Good luck getting a judge or jury to rule that you were committing fraud if you follow my advice.

diystarter7

MikeJXE said:

Lucky you I say it's a credit so don't spend it 

I would ignore that advice completely as it could land you and others reading this thread in big trouble.

Thanks

diystarter7

phillw said:

Section62 said:
If you don't recognise the payment you should tell your bank ASAP, and in the meantime leave the funds in your current account (or whichever account the payment arrived into).  Moving it to another (savings) account could be interpreted (by the bank) as an attempt (or intention) to keep money which (possibly) isn't lawfully yours.

I got a 1p credit that I didn't recognize, I queried it with the bank and they never got back to me. I eventually realized it was interest from a savings account that I'd selected to pay monthly interest and because of rounding it had been six months with no interest paid.

People have left the money in their account and dipped into it and then been found guilty of fraud, so I think I could justify ring fencing the money somewhere as it could be a while before you hear from them. If the savings account was with the same bank, then it wouldn't look at all dodgy.

Hello
What a brilliant post, you live and learn as I never thought about it like that
Very helpful indeed. 
Thanks

Section62

phillw said:

Good luck getting a judge or jury to rule that you were committing fraud if you follow my advice.

I don't think anyone has mentioned anything about a judge or jury.

The point that was made is how the bank might interpret your actions, and how that may affect their willingness to continue to provide financial services to you.  Banks don't have to wait until you are convicted of a criminal offence before withdrawing facilities.

Having your accounts closed and possibly earning a CIFAS marker is plenty bad enough.

Your advice is risky, and people shouldn't move unknown credits around without discussing it with their bank first.  Especially not if it involves moving it to a different bank to earn extra interest.  That flies in the face of your previous advice that if the "savings account was with the same bank, then it wouldn't look at all dodgy".

The advice to someone in the OP's situation should be to simply contact the bank and let them sort it out.  There's no need for elaborate schemes to protect the money or to try to earn extra interest.  It just looks like suspicious activity.

MikeJXE

diystarter7 said:

MikeJXE said:

Lucky you I say it's a credit so don't spend it 

I would ignore that advice completely as it could land you and others reading this thread in big trouble.

Thanks

How do you make that out

I said lucky you it's a credit and could have been a debit and a loss therefore lucky you 

Secondly I said don't spend it 

How is that bad advice ?