please advise re bank error Abbey
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pops24
Posts: 11 Forumite
Hi, i am writing concerning abbey national!! In 1999 my brother noticed his bank account was approx £3000 in credit which he did not think was his. He rang the bank twice and called into his local branch on two separate days (this was done over the space of 4 weeks) to ask them to check the lodgement. Each time he was told that the money was his but could not discuss the source of the money.
he spent approx £700 -£900 of this & wrote a check for £2000 to my father. This was some months after the lodgement, the bank then rang to say he had spent 3000 which was not his. My father ( who had not cashed the cheque, immediately shredded it) but the bank are adamant that my brother owes this amount.
After a few years of unsuccessful discussions with Abbey (he had treathened legal action & heard nothing for 6 years) they have now sold on the debt to a debt collector, who not only refuses to discuss any payment option or the background of the case and have turned my brother into a wreck with threats of court & 'doorstep collection' before hanging up, effectively he finds these phone calls very intimidating.
Equally he has been in touch with Abbey who refuse to talk to him & only say that the debt has no more to do with them.
Has this happened to anyone else??? My brother has asked for proof of the cheque being cashed which abbey were not able to provide ( we know whole heartedly that it was not cashed!!) He is fully prepared to arrange payment for the amount spent but not the total as Abbey closed his account & have refused to provide copies of his bank statements.
Apologises for lenght of post but any advise would be welcome
he spent approx £700 -£900 of this & wrote a check for £2000 to my father. This was some months after the lodgement, the bank then rang to say he had spent 3000 which was not his. My father ( who had not cashed the cheque, immediately shredded it) but the bank are adamant that my brother owes this amount.
After a few years of unsuccessful discussions with Abbey (he had treathened legal action & heard nothing for 6 years) they have now sold on the debt to a debt collector, who not only refuses to discuss any payment option or the background of the case and have turned my brother into a wreck with threats of court & 'doorstep collection' before hanging up, effectively he finds these phone calls very intimidating.
Equally he has been in touch with Abbey who refuse to talk to him & only say that the debt has no more to do with them.
Has this happened to anyone else??? My brother has asked for proof of the cheque being cashed which abbey were not able to provide ( we know whole heartedly that it was not cashed!!) He is fully prepared to arrange payment for the amount spent but not the total as Abbey closed his account & have refused to provide copies of his bank statements.
Apologises for lenght of post but any advise would be welcome
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Comments
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Don't pay abbey a single penny. They flogged off the debt to a DCA and cut their losses, so you don't even have to deal with them at all.
Who's the DCA?
If you click on my sig and log on to CAG, there are template letters and guides on how to get rid of the DCA. In this case, it is quite clear that any debt is long statute-barred, so that one will be really easy to deal with.
There are some DCAs which specialise in buying debts which are either statute-barred or about to be to try and collect what they can on it, but there's SFA they can do apart from trying to harass people into paying.0 -
In 1999 my brother noticed his bank account was approx £3000 in credit which he did not think was his.
At this stage he would be obliged to return the money.He rang the bank twice and called into his local branch on two separate days (this was done over the space of 4 weeks) to ask them to check the lodgement. Each time he was told that the money was his but could not discuss the source of the money.
It is now reasonable for him to believe the money is his and begin spending it
If Abbey subsequently inform him that this was a mistake, if any of the original money is still untouched and unspent, then they may have a claim on it.
If the money has been spent, given away etc, then they have no right to ask for it back. No dishonesty was involved.
If you truly have had no contact with Abbey for 6 years, then do not acknowledge the debt with the collection agency.
Write and tell them that you do not and never have owed any debt to Abbey National - do not go into any further detail.
Only deal with them in writing, do not discuss any aspect of the debt with them - let them attempt to sue through the courts, they haven't got a hope in hell.0 -
thank you,very very much appreciated.0
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Am not sure who DCA are but am meeting my bro tonight to gather everything he has. Infact I don't think DCA have sent anything in writing, just phones calls, thank u for help and linkbookworm1363 wrote: »Don't pay abbey a single penny. They flogged off the debt to a DCA and cut their losses, so you don't even have to deal with them at all.
Who's the DCA?
If you click on my sig and log on to CAG, there are template letters and guides on how to get rid of the DCA. In this case, it is quite clear that any debt is long statute-barred, so that one will be really easy to deal with.
There are some DCAs which specialise in buying debts which are either statute-barred or about to be to try and collect what they can on it, but there's SFA they can do apart from trying to harass people into paying.0 -
bookworm1363 wrote: »Don't pay abbey a single penny. They flogged off the debt to a DCA and cut their losses, so you don't even have to deal with them at all.
There are some DCAs which specialise in buying debts which are either statute-barred or about to be to try and collect what they can on it, but there's SFA they can do apart from trying to harass people into paying.
These DCAs that buy the time barred debts must love MSE and the other forums that tell people their rights!
You have to love the power of the Internet and MSE :beer:0 -
It's not that clear-cut. Equitable estoppel may be invoked and it's unlikely the bank would chance court on a case where they themselves told the OP that the money was his.phlogeston wrote: »If Abbey subsequently inform him that this was a mistake, if any of the original money is still untouched and unspent, then they may have a claim on it.
I changed mortgage providers last summer (with a bit of a top-up to pay off debts), and we completed just before going away abroad where there was no internet access apart from going to the local Mcdonalds. Then appeared a sum of few hundred pounds in my account. I assumed that this was the residue of what was left to us after all fees had been cleared, and spent it.
On return, our previous mortgage provider started saying they had made a mistake and paid us money they shouldn't have. I argued equitable estoppel and the fact it wasn't my responsability to check how they ran their accounts and asked them to write it off, which they did. (admittedly to my surprise, I expected them to fight it harder
) 0 -
Seeing the trolls we get on CAG, not so much, no.These DCAs that buy the time barred debts must love MSE and the other forums that tell people their rights!
:T 0 -
Money saving expert = profit generating expert for the unscrupolous
You got 3k that you knew wasnt yours and spent it, repay it like any reasonable grown up adult would.
However any one of them wouldnt have spent it in the first place, frankly he deserves all the harassment and worry he gets.0 -
bookworm1363 wrote: »Equitable estoppel may be invoked and it's unlikely the bank would chance court on a case where they themselves told the OP that the money was his.
Does it matter that my brother has no written evidence of the bank tellin them money was his as he phoned & called into branch & was told.0
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