unrequested refund received

2twometers

am in the process of trying to get through to a company that the refund I have received has been made in error-I did not request it,Clearly they do not seem to be able to deal with this,am now waiting again to be contacted within 24-48 hours.My husband is fretting that we have received unsolicited money.Having tried to sort this out twice not quite sure what to do-wait and see what happens next?Am becoming inclined to view it as a late christmas present,although there is obviously a mistake and so would not be honest.

Aylesbury_Duck

Keep records of your attempts to resolve it, and keep the money aside, don't spend it!  It sounds like you've done all you can so far, so yes I'd just wait and see what happens next.

What's the value involved?  That will tell you how likely it is that they pursue it later.  They have up to six years to resolve this, so bear that in mind.

user1977

2twometers said:

My husband is fretting that we have received unsolicited money.

Why is he fretting? Who is the company? How long have you given them so far? I doubt they'll regard it as an urgent problem, and neither should you.

2twometers

thanks for reading it,it's £229.99,and we're able to repay it.Didn't realise there was up to six years to resolve thoughr 

Aylesbury_Duck

2twometers said:

thanks for reading it,it's £229.99,and we're able to repay it.Didn't realise there was up to six years to resolve thoughr 

Just keep that sum aside and see what happens.  It sounds like you've made best efforts to resolve so far.

2twometers

he is very traditional and honest,sometimes not what works best nowadays it seems.

Aylesbury_Duck

2twometers said:

he is very traditional and honest,sometimes not what works best nowadays it seems.

Indeed, and that's to his credit.  Better that than some of the posts that crop up here from people in similar situations who've long since spent the money and are aghast that the other party has realised and wants it back!

Okell

Has this refund come from out of the blue or is it from a company you've had dealings with?  How was it paid to you?

£229.99 sounds like the refund of a purchase price and it's also quite a lot of money to be refunded to the wrong account or creditor by mistake.  Are you certain you aren't owed a refund from anyone?

As others have said, keep a record of all your attempts to contact the company, and be prepared for them to ask for it back.  (Personally I'd keep trying to contact them every week or so as I'd prefer to sort it out sooner rather than later if it was me)

MobileSaver

Okell said:

I'd keep trying to contact them every week or so as I'd prefer to sort it out sooner rather than later

I'm all for doing the right thing but that sounds a little OTT to me. 

I'd contact them twice at most (as the OP has) and then transfer it into a savings account and forget about it for six years; if they come back to me in the meantime then fine, just transfer it back.

However the chances are they'll be back in touch with the OP pretty quickly once the real customer who should have been refunded realises they haven't received the money. 

ArbitraryRandom

MobileSaver said:

Okell said:

I'd keep trying to contact them every week or so as I'd prefer to sort it out sooner rather than later

I'm all for doing the right thing but that sounds a little OTT to me. 

I'd contact them twice at most (as the OP has) and then transfer it into a savings account and forget about it for six year;s if they come back to me in the meantime then fine, just transfer it back.

However the chances are they'll be back in touch with the OP pretty quickly once the real customer who should have been refunded realises they haven't received the money. 

Agreed - given the amount, it's reasonable to contact them twice then be prepared to repay the money if/when they ask.

The only caveat I might make is that it should be twice via a durable medium (email is fine), as it's not hugely clear from the OP how they've tried to contact the company to date. 

You have then demonstrated no intent to deceive or deprive the company while also not significantly or unreasonably inconveniencing yourself.  

HillStreetBlues

The best way if you aren't looking to keep the money is contact bank and ask for payment to be reversed.