Money paid incorrectly into my account - not mine
Discussion
bearman68 said:
Since then I have transferred £0.50pence into accounts to check that all is OK, before transferring even hundreds.
I do this too, and every time the second transfer gets put on hold until the banks fraud dept contact me as this is the same pattern used by fraudsters apparently.Still, a minor inconvenience compared to sending hundreds/thousands to the wrong place and not being able to get it back!!
Rick_1138 said:
Yeah i think its probably an invoice payment, if it was someone's pay, then they would notice a lot sooner and start banging on accounts door.
Years ago I got what was obviously someone else's pay. Told the bank and they just took it back - no problem with that, but it's often said they need your permission but they just dived into my account and took it. Yet people seem to lose money as the account holder refuses to pay it back. I think that's changed fairly recently, and the banks have more ability to recover the money than used to be the case.
Sheepshanks said:
Years ago I got what was obviously someone else's pay. Told the bank and they just took it back - no problem with that, but it's often said they need your permission but they just dived into my account and took it.
Yet people seem to lose money as the account holder refuses to pay it back. I think that's changed fairly recently, and the banks have more ability to recover the money than used to be the case.
Similar happened to me a while back (or at least I thought it did, forgot about a 'signing on bonus' for my mortgage) and if they refuse to give it back I'm pretty certain it comes under 'theft by finding'.Yet people seem to lose money as the account holder refuses to pay it back. I think that's changed fairly recently, and the banks have more ability to recover the money than used to be the case.
HRL said:
When I was contracting a few years back I rang the bank to make a BACS payment and discovered that someone had deposited £40K into my business account in error. However, my bank did something about it and the money was gone within 2 days.
Shame.
I gather it goes on far more often than people realise.
Yep, this happened to me once but it was a much bigger amount (6 figures!!) and I knew where it came from - my agency! I called them and told them what happened - they basically weren't that fussed. Said they'd call back. After a month I got a call from somebody in accounts who asked if I wouldn't mind sending it back!Shame.
I gather it goes on far more often than people realise.
SlidingSideways said:
bearman68 said:
Since then I have transferred £0.50pence into accounts to check that all is OK, before transferring even hundreds.
I do this too, and every time the second transfer gets put on hold until the banks fraud dept contact me as this is the same pattern used by fraudsters apparently.Still, a minor inconvenience compared to sending hundreds/thousands to the wrong place and not being able to get it back!!
Inform the company in writing what has happened and also invoice them for your time and hassle in having to store their asset on their behalf.
However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds.
although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc.
However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds.
although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc. DonkeyApple said:
Inform the company in writing what has happened and also invoice them for your time and hassle in having to store their asset on their behalf.
However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds. although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc.
Happily I'm willing to bet almost nobody would be callous or petty enough to bill the company for their time, and would instead reason how easy it can be for this to happen and prefer to act as they'd like the company to act should the situation be reversed.However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds.
although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc. Keep us updated, OP!
iphonedyou said:
DonkeyApple said:
Inform the company in writing what has happened and also invoice them for your time and hassle in having to store their asset on their behalf.
However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds. although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc.
Happily I'm willing to bet almost nobody would be callous or petty enough to bill the company for their time, and would instead reason how easy it can be for this to happen and prefer to act as they'd like the company to act should the situation be reversed.However, I'm surprised that the bank won't ringfence the payment as they would need to be investigating whether the error was on their side as their first step.
And I'm surprised that a conversation with the company's account dept hasn't reaolved this.
But if neither entity has been inclined to act and has left you stuck with a third party asset that you are forced to now protect then you should bill the company directly for your services.
Oh, and be on the watch for someone from the FD down contacting you and giving different bank details for returning the funds.
although that seems unlikely as that fraud usually uses known customers/accounts etc. Keep us updated, OP!
You aren't billing for your time but your risk etc. And it isn't callous, it's attempting to get a lazy firm to resolve their error which is impacting on you. An invoice landing on someone's desk should wake them up.
Nothing to update.
I don't expect anyone to twitch until next pay date, which i expect to be around the end of this month, (30 day payment terms).
Its not going anywhere, but i don't like the fact its there as its okay for a month or so, but after that you start to wonder if anyone's going to ask for it back.
Obviously i would never spend it (as soon as you do, it will get asked for
) But its a silly situation to go on for longer than a month or 2 at most.
I don't expect anyone to twitch until next pay date, which i expect to be around the end of this month, (30 day payment terms).
Its not going anywhere, but i don't like the fact its there as its okay for a month or so, but after that you start to wonder if anyone's going to ask for it back.
Obviously i would never spend it (as soon as you do, it will get asked for
) But its a silly situation to go on for longer than a month or 2 at most.Rick_1138 said:
I don't expect anyone to twitch until next pay date, which i expect to be around the end of this month, (30 day payment terms).
^^^ What does this mean? Makes it sound as though the money was received in error from someone who you already know and is paying you regularly - like a customer or something.Robertj21a said:
I'd wait for others to contact me - but, just for my own peace of mind, I would probably write a short letter to the bank confirming what had been said.
Not good enough. The recipient should be trying to find out where the money came from and endeavouring to get it to its rightful owner.Eric Mc said:
Not good enough. The recipient should be trying to find out where the money came from and endeavouring to get it to its rightful owner.
Not correct - it's not his responsibility. Once he has highlighted that he believes he has received the money in error, he has done all that he can be expected to do. The only onus on him will be to ensure that the money is set aside and not touched.Not quite the same but many moons ago my Mrs paid off her £300 credit card bill and then noticed some time later that she was £300 in credit.
Thinking the bank had somehow paid the credit card company twice she checked and they confirmed they hadn't.
She contacted the credit card company, to see if they had applied the payment twice, they insisted the bank had actually paid them two lots of £300.
Back to the back, check her account, only 1 payment shown as going out, all correct. The bank insist there is no error at the bank end, it must be the credit card companies error.
Back to the card company who absolutely insist its a bank error.
Back and forth it went with each adamant it was the others error.
We gave up trying.
6 months later, we just spent it. :-)
Thinking the bank had somehow paid the credit card company twice she checked and they confirmed they hadn't.
She contacted the credit card company, to see if they had applied the payment twice, they insisted the bank had actually paid them two lots of £300.
Back to the back, check her account, only 1 payment shown as going out, all correct. The bank insist there is no error at the bank end, it must be the credit card companies error.
Back to the card company who absolutely insist its a bank error.
Back and forth it went with each adamant it was the others error.
We gave up trying.
6 months later, we just spent it. :-)
Robertj21a said:
Not correct - it's not his responsibility. Once he has highlighted that he believes he has received the money in error, he has done all that he can be expected to do. The only onus on him will be to ensure that the money is set aside and not touched.
Has he "highlighted" this to the people that matter? That's the point I was raising. Or is he just sitting on it waiting for somebody to contact him?
Ozzie Osmond said:
Rick_1138 said:
I don't expect anyone to twitch until next pay date, which i expect to be around the end of this month, (30 day payment terms).
^^^ What does this mean? Makes it sound as though the money was received in error from someone who you already know and is paying you regularly - like a customer or something.i.e. whoever put the money into my account will assume it has been paid, but the correct recipient of the cash may be another business that hasn't flagged up that payment is late until after 30 days have passed.
I am just guessing as to why no one from the company that paid the cash into my account has contacted their\my bank yet.
In regards to stating its 'not good enough' that i am not making amends to get the money back to the rightful owner, well that's a bit off. I contacted the bank the same day the cash appeared in my account, i was on the phone for over an hour with the accounts dept, then the fraud dept, then the accounts dept again, all who said that i have don't the right thing, they have logged the call and the information and there isn't more they can do.
Contacting the company who paid me is difficult as i only have an abbreviated company name on the payee info line of my transaction history. a Google search shows 5 possible business with that name or similar, two of which arent in the UK.
I am not phoning around umpteen businesses at random asking if they have misplaced £4k when i have no proof that the business i am talking with is the correct one.
I have done the right thing, and if i dont hear anything from the bank by the end of this month i will phone them again and see if anything has progressed.
I have done what i can reasonably have been expected to do. I am not spending the money or doing anything with it, its there for when its requested back.
Original post.
Rick_1138 said:
I called the bank in case it was dodgy\fraud etc, but after a bit of back and forth they confirm the payment is legitimate (in that its not fraud). However the only advice they can give is just sit on it, as they cant take it out and they haven't had any notification from the company about it. (this was Saturday last week)
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