Barclays can do what they want!!!!

[gemspan]

HI

 

Here's the story.

 

I voluntary arranged to pay somebody £300, although the price had been agreed previousy at £700. I decided to pay an extra £300 because of something that happened. The person gave me their bank details and I set up a bank transfer. Unfortunately, they gave me the wrong details and I have spent the last 4 weeks trying to get this money back as it seems to have disappeared. Today I find out that the money was credited to another account in the name of this person who had originally given me the wrong details - even although the account number is different from the one I elected to pay.

 

Barclays Bank is now saying that they have a "matching team" that looks at all the money in their suspense account and they try to match it to the correct bank account. My argument is that if it is the wrong number, it is the wrong number and should be sent back to the originator.

 

Since I voluntary decided to pay this sum, a serious situation has arisen that now means these people are not entitled to this money under the original reason I decided to send it to them (I know but I'd rather not go into the details!!!). So basically Barclays have decided to pay my money into an account I didnt authorise them to pay it into.

 

I think this is theft!!! They say that they have been doing this for years without a problem. My response was "and you've been charging people extortionate amounts in penalty charges for years as well but look at what's happening there!". I want this money back and I believe they should have returned it to me when the 3 match details didnt add up.

 

Am I right?

 

Gemspan

[Guest peed orf]

Ask you bank for a copy of the original agreement, if they do no or will not supply them, then the bank is responsible for the outstanding balance and interest, if they paid the monies to a different entity to the ones supplied by yourself.

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

Sorry, I probably didnt make myself clear enough.

 

I paid money to via internet transfer to an account that didnt exist because I was given the wrong number. Barclays then paid it into another account which they THOUGHT it was meant to go into - not the one I specified. My own bank had nothing to do with it. This happened when it reached the other side!

 

When the money hit their system it would have flagged that the account didnt exist and they should have sent it back to where it came from. They didnt do they, they took it upon themselves to pay it into another account. I feel this is theft!!!! I did not ask them to pay the money into that account; I asked for it to be paid into another account that didnt exist. They should have returned it to me not decided for themselves to pay it into an account they deemed to be the right one.

 

I am considering contacting the police about this.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

Gemspan

[Michael Browne]

a serious situation has arisen that now means these people are not entitled to this money under the original reason I decided to send it to them (I know but I'd rather not go into the details!!!).

 

Unless you are prepared to go into details to the police, I can't see that they will be interested.

 

On the face of it, the person you paid the money to has received it, albeit to a different account from the one you intended. So what crime has been committed?

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

So that means that the banks can just pay money into any account that they see fit, even if you instruct them on the account they need to pay it into? I dont think so!!! Actually the reason I dont want to go into details is because it is personal and absolutely nothing to do with what the bank has done. If the police needed to know then I would tell them but they wouldnt need to know. All they would need to know is that Barclays kept the money when they saw that the account didnt exist. That is theft IMO.

 

The crime is this. I sent the money to an account that doesnt exist. They should have returned the money to me to deal with. They kept the money and paid it into somebody elses account.

 

That money is mine!!! What you are saying here is that the banks can pay money into whatever account they want to without consequence. I dont think that's right.

 

What law does that come under?

 

Thanks

Gemspan

[Goldlady]

I find it hard to believe that the bank has done that. We do lots of payrolls using bacs and other bank payment systems and if someone's account details are out by one digit they don't pay it and refund the money to our client. Even if they have the name of the person.

[Michael Browne]

I sent the money to an account that doesnt exist. They should have returned the money to me to deal with.

I agree.

 

However, as I understand it, you sent money to a non-existent account which you thought was Joe Blogg's account 'A' and the bank in their wisdom put it into Joe Blogg's account 'B'. ie Joe Bloggs still recieved the money.

 

Am I right in thinking that you have now had second thoughts about giving any money to Joe Bloggs in the first place and are hoping to use the bank's 'maladministration' to get it back?

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

I am looking for some sensible legal advice here. I am actually considering whether my best course of action would be small claims or contacting all the media due to the recent bad press Barclays has had. The situaiton is this.

 

I sent money via internet transfer to an account number. Account didnt exist but instead of returning it to me Barclays paid it into another account that the said person had with them. I do not think that Barclays should have done this. I believe that the money should have come back to me for ME to decide where to put the money. They are refusing to return the money as they say it has gone to the correct person albeit a different account.

 

My understanding is that they only have authorisation to place monies into the account that I SPECIFY. If that account doesnt exist they shouldnt put it anywhere else, they should return it to me.

 

I know that you may think that I am being silly but it is a matter of principle. I have spent lots of time trying to track this money down as my bank didnt appear to know where it went. It took me 3 weeks and numerous telephone calls to find out that they had just kept the money and put it into another account held by the named person.

 

They want me to take them to court. They say they have taken legal advice and even been in contact with the CEO's office to see what they say.

 

Can banks just put money where they want to even if they dont have authorisation to do that? I am becoming increasingly concerned about what powers the banks appear to have. Was it not something like this that got the whole bank charges and their lawfulness (sp!) started?

 

Gemspan

[slick132]

Hi Gem,

 

Not sure about sensible legal advice but I'll do my best.

 

Can I ask did the pay't get to the right person but not the a/c you designated.

 

Who was responsible for money being transferred to a non-existant a/c.

 

Has the pay't being made to the other a/c compromised or disadvanteged you in any material way (apart, of course, from having to chase to see WHERE the money went).

 

If you have suffered a loss due to the credit being made elsewhere, then you may have a case against them.

 

Playing Devils Advocate here, but why wouldn't you be pleased that they took the trouble to credit the right person - I could imagine complaints being made that they failed to use common sense, given that they were given wrong a/c details.

 

Slick

[gemspan]

Hi Gem,

 

Not sure about sensible legal advice but I'll do my best.

 

Can I ask did the pay't get to the right person but not the a/c you designated. Yes, I think so but to a different account. I havent heard from the person it was sent to but Barclays say it was sent.

 

Who was responsible for money being transferred to a non-existant a/c. The person who gave me the account details gave me the wrong details. I was told by her that it would come back to me so spent 3 weeks with the banks ie Lloyds TSB and Barclays trying to find out where the money was. It was a catalogue of errors but if Lloyds TSB had put in place an investigation when I asked them to then the money would probably have come back to me before Barclays decided to "use their initiative" and place it into another account operated by the person. This is my argument. I dont think they should have put it into an account other than the one that I authorised them to pay it into. It should have come back to me.

 

Has the pay't being made to the other a/c compromised or disadvanteged you in any material way (apart, of course, from having to chase to see WHERE the money went). Yes. Basically the money was a goodwill payment for a dog that then turned out to have eye disease. This was diagnosed by the vet while this whole episode was going on. If the money had been returned to me then I would have used it to pay the vet fees. As this money was paid purely because the dog was supposed to be a top show dog and had had health problems earlier, I had kept back payment for vets fees etc., I paid this as a gesture of good will when the dog got placed at a champ show. She may require an operation which could cost thousands of pounds.

 

If you have suffered a loss due to the credit being made elsewhere, then you may have a case against them. Well, the loss is as stated above but also all the time and distress this has caused me. Lloyds TSB told me the money would be in my account within 5 days and it wasnt. In the meantime I had to pay £200 vets bills which, because the money wasnt placed back in my account, made me overdrawn and Lloyds have charged me £70 in charges. There is an issue with Lloyds and their handling of this. Basically, they made a pigs ear of it and it took 7 phone calls and threatening to get the police because somebody had been into my account and changed details without my autorisation - I suspected identity fraud! - until they investigated. 3 weeks later and the money had been placed in the other account.

 

Playing Devils Advocate here, but why wouldn't you be pleased that they took the trouble to credit the right person - I could imagine complaints being made that they failed to use common sense, given that they were given wrong a/c details. Of course, you are absolutely right and I can see exactly where you are coming from. However, the fact is that they were not authorised to pay the money into another account - only the account I specified - and this is where the argument rests. At the end of the day the banks are treating people very badly and think they can get away with anything and do anything they want. I just think that the principle of this is disgusting. I dont even know if they paid it to the right person. How can they know that? Its not the account that I asked them to pay it into.

I dont know if I am being silly about this but £300 is a lot of money to me and to be honest it is all the trouble that it has taken for me to find out that it has been paid into another account. I am disgusted. Nobody seems to care less - and my bank is included in that too!!! The whole thing has really distressed me because of the possibility of identity theft and not knowing where the money had gone. I cant get in touch with the person involved because she is now very ill. I have told her about the problem with the dog but they dont seem to be interested either. I feel really helpless and I dont think it is right.

Should I take the person to court or Barclays. At the end of the day it is Barclays and Lloyds TSB that allowed this to happen. I suppose Lloyds TSB didnt do their job which enabled Barclays to pay it into another account. If LTSB had done what I asked them to do they would have been on the ball in getting the money back.

 

Slick

 

I hope all the above makes sense. I really appreciate your help as I am feeling less than positive at the moment and this has basically just made me feel worse. Its really wrong.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Gemspan

[tezl]

hi,

not qualified legally.

unusual story.

my take on it would be that if the dog was o k you may have been happy for bank to pay into other account,saving you trouble of sorting out payment.

seems you may have case with dog seller,if dogs illness is different from one you new about.if she is proper breeder then she should want to keep her good name and help you sort dog out.

dosent seem right though what bank did,they should have got clarification of persons name from you to make payment to them.what if the name was smith?seems funny they paid it knowing account number was wrong and then presumed name was correct without contacting you.

seems to me to be a case for the bank to make a goodwill offer to help out with the poor dog.thus not saying their wrong about account buisness.

tez

[slick132]

Hi Gem and thanks for the detailed reply.

 

Dealing first with the bank charges, these can be reclaimed (that's the easy part).

 

As I see it, this is a matter of timing. If the pay't had been returned to you quickly, you COULD have decided to make a reduced goodwill pay't, or none at all.

 

Am I right in thinking there was no pay't made by you to purchase the dog but you decided to make a pay't because the dog was subsequently placed in a show.

 

I'm afraid you have no recourse with the either bank.

 

Unless you paid to purchase the dog and later found probs which you knew nothing about at time of purchase, I don't think you have a leg to stand on, as regards suing the previous owner.

 

How's the dog now.

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

You know, I felt that for once luck was on my side because the bank would have to return the money because it was the wrong account details. Seems not to be the case - which is the story of my life really!!!

 

You see, my belief is that banks have to do your bidding ie follow your instructions and only do what they are authorised to do. This seems not to be the case either. It would appear that they can pay your money into whatever account they see fit, even although they dont have your authority. This is where I am coming from!!! I hope I am making sense here!!!

 

I originally paid for the dog albeit £300 less that I should have paid because she developed health problems as soon as she arrived and was at the vet within 24 hours. I couldnt send her back because I knew that the people didnt have a clue. I thought that she wasnt a show dog but decided to enter her into a show to see how it went. She got placed 2nd in a class of 8 which is fab. As a gesture of goodwill and also because I didnt want them to bad mouth me, I offered the £300. This is where the problems started.

 

I know I probably am being silly but even if the dog had been OK then I would have wanted to re-direct the money so that I had control - not Barclays!!! Maybe I'm being daft but I cant see how they can just do as they please with other people's money. If I instructed them to pay it into a specific account and that account didnt exist then they shouldnt have paid it into another account. Simple as that!!! Maybe I have too much faith!!!!

 

Anyway, it will leave a very bad taste in my mouth if I have to put this down to experience. I would probably have a case against the so called breeder but I dont really want to go down that route.

 

At the moment I am waiting 6 months to see what develops with the dog. She is a super dog and I love her dearly. I hope she doesnt need any ops!!

 

Thanks anyway.

 

Kind regards

Gemspan

[slick132]

Hi Gem,

 

I think this is more simple now.

 

If you have any dispute, it's with the seller. However, as you were aware there were problems early on and you STILL paid over the £300 as a GOGW, you really haven't a chance.

 

Barclays really have done nothing wrong and I can't see any reason to complain when, for once, they showed initiative and sorted out a problem they did not create.

 

Claim back the resultant bank charges from Lloyds and enjoy your dog.

 

What breed by the way.

[gemspan]

You know what, you are absolutely right Slick!!! I am getting upset about this and I really shouldnt be. I think its just the injustice - as I see it ie they have the money and I still have to pay the vets bills if she does need an op. I love her too much. She is a Bracco Italiano. I don't really show any of my dogs but want to show her as she is a real show off. I prefer to be in the fields with them. Enjoying them. That's what its all about.

 

Thanks for your input. I'll just have to put it down to experience. Story of my life. LOL. However, I do always keep my sense of humour.

 

Thanks again

Gemspan

[slick132]

Hi Gem,

 

Just had a look at the breed on Image Search - what a great looking gun dog.

 

Like you say, keep your sense of humour, put this down to experience and enjoy your dog.

 

Slick