Over payment from foreign exchange company

born_again

flaneurs_lobster said:

An aside, buying tech when overseas can cause problems if a fault develops, guarantees and any consumer protection in law will normally require the return of the item to the point of sale.

Never mind the possible import duties if caught not declaring the purchase.

Jumblebumble

On-the-coast said:

I find it hard to believe that anyone would purposely ask for 150 $1 dollar bills??…. But if you did you did. 

On the flip side what do the receipts you have say? - the smaller figure or the larger?
and how can the FX people be sure their teller didn’t pocket the difference?
the whole sequence of missed communications is very unusual. 

I struggle to understand what your belief has to do with a teller who has caused this issue because they cant count?

boobyd

simandom said:

Pollycat said:

I don't understand why the OP didn't count the money as soon as it was handed over.

I don't understand why the niece didn't check that the money she was given was actually meant for her as it was 5 times the amount the OP intended to gift. There must be some sort of precedent to the amount usually gifted.

I give my niece and nephew a similar amount for birthdays and Christmas and I'm pretty sure that if they got £1000 instead of £200, they'd check with me before spending it.

I gift from anywhere up to 2k. 17th birthday was 2k for a car. She has lost her dad so I am that sort of role for. I am her godfather so there 

Yet in your opening post it's is.
Low salary, big mortgage and Christmas coming.
They don't seem to go hand in hand?

photome

photome said:

simandom said:

eskbanker said:

lincroft1710 said:

Ergates said:

How does someone who works all day in a currency exchange miscount by $900?

Even when I've exchanged £100 into Euros before they've double counted it.

It sounds as if instead of giving out 100 x $1 bills, they gave out 100 x $10 bills

OP claims to have seen 70 $1 bills being counted out - having said that, the lack of size or colour differentiation between denominations of dollar bills must increase the risk of that sort of thing happening....

NO they still gave me the $150 in one dollars i asked for. That's why i did not think the bundle of cash was large 

Is there where your story falls apart ?  You said you didn’t know what you got after the 70x $1

How do you know they gave you 150 $1 bills, you said you stopped paying attention after 70 and then never checked

flaneurs_lobster

This whole story is hooky IMHO. Bureau de Change tellers do not miscount notes or mix up denominations.

Let the OP post a photo of their receipt if they want to be taken seriously.

LightFlare

flaneurs_lobster said:

This whole story is hooky IMHO. Bureau de Change tellers do not miscount notes or mix up denominations.

Let the OP post a photo of their receipt if they want to be taken seriously.

Won’t really help - need a picture of the notes at handover as well to have any correlation 

I would suggest the receipt is “worthless” as the OP already admitted to receiving more than stated and the exchange appear to think the same.

Legally- they would need to prove it however (which they may or may not be able to do depending on if they have CCTV or actually ask the OP the question in court under oath)

flaneurs_lobster

LightFlare said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

This whole story is hooky IMHO. Bureau de Change tellers do not miscount notes or mix up denominations.

Let the OP post a photo of their receipt if they want to be taken seriously.

Won’t really help - need a picture of the notes at handover as well to have any correlation 

Would confirm that there was (at least) a foreign exchange transaction that took place. 

Aylesbury_Duck

flaneurs_lobster said:

LightFlare said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

This whole story is hooky IMHO. Bureau de Change tellers do not miscount notes or mix up denominations.

Let the OP post a photo of their receipt if they want to be taken seriously.

Won’t really help - need a picture of the notes at handover as well to have any correlation 

Would confirm that there was (at least) a foreign exchange transaction that took place. 

It doesn't really matter whether it actually occurred or not, the thread is helpful to anyone who does find themselves in this unlikely scenario.  It's clear that the recipient of the overpayment owes the money to the business that made the mistake, no matter how silly the error.  It's then down to how they repay it.  No amount of wriggling around or moral gymnastics involving nieces and cameras changes that.

saajan_12

Even before we get to proof, OP could answer / explain why all the below points occurred.. even if some have potential explanations in other circumstances, they don't apply in the OP's scenario. Eg small bills help for tipping, but not 150 of them and not if the purpose was to 'buy something nice'. An expensive purchase at an airport which wasn't precisely expected at that point would usually come with some wifi for price comparison / internet research  

saajan_12 said:

All sounds a bit strange - 
- that you asked for 150 $1 bills (who wants to carry around a wad of bills, and won't be able to get change for most things)
- that you didn't notice and turn around sooner (you saw the first $70 was in $1 bills, so either it took another age and you had a huge wad for 900 bills, or the bills got larger and you noticed a large proportion weren't $1 bills)
- that they were sure you received the overpayment, as opposed to their till being off and investigating possiblities including another customer, or the teller siphoning it off. 
- that you were immediately sure you received the overpayment, without asking how much your niece received (considering you are reluctant to bother her)
- that upon seeing over $1000, your niece didn't pause to say a proper "thank you" or "are you sure?" or "you shouldn't have" before spending the money.
- that niece didn't research online (and receive your message at that point) considering it was an expensive purchase that she wasn't planning on since she didn't know she was getting the money. Or if she was planning on the purchase anyway without your money, then no need to return for her to give back the gift. 
- that niece didn't offer herself to return the camera and/or return the money upon finding out you'd be in a financial hole otherwise

saajan_12

simandom said:

LightFlare said:

simandom said:

Hello all, I'm seeking advice here.

I am going to be honest there is no chance i am going to ask her to return the camera and will not be able to pay back the full amount within those time scales without taking a loan which will have a negative effect on my credit score which I do not wish to do for obvious reasons

   

Well the OP appears to have accepted/admitted they have received 10x more than requested and the bureau appear to have identified the OP as having received 10x more than requested

If you really want to be honest -- pay it back somehow - ask for a payment plan as already suggested

Yes they clearly did pay me the extra. They are demanding it back by 4 th December which I just can’t do 

simandom said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

simandom said:

LightFlare said:

simandom said:

Hello all, I'm seeking advice here.

I am going to be honest there is no chance i am going to ask her to return the camera and will not be able to pay back the full amount within those time scales without taking a loan which will have a negative effect on my credit score which I do not wish to do for obvious reasons

   

Well the OP appears to have accepted/admitted they have received 10x more than requested and the bureau appear to have identified the OP as having received 10x more than requested

If you really want to be honest -- pay it back somehow - ask for a payment plan as already suggested

Yes they clearly did pay me the extra. They are demanding it back by 4 th December which I just can’t do 

Well you're going to have to ask that they set up a payment plan, then.  All the evidence is there that you were given the money in error, and you acknowledge that.  Unless they drop it, you're going to have to pay it back somehow.

I do acknowledge I will have to pay it back but feel it’s all been out of my control and now I owe this large amount 

Well no, it was within your control to be more careful and check the envelope. Now it is within your control to ask for the money back. If you choose not to, that's your choice, but then you suffer the consequences.