Money sent to wrong account

[Lindaij]

I recently sent three payments from my paypal account to my nationwide account and the funds went into another persons account - the original error was a wrong digit in the account number

 

- the bank wrote to the customer finally and they have not responded the phone and email address for the customer is not correct/not connected and the customer -

 

how do I get my money back or how can I find out who the customer is to take it to civil court..this seems to be a huge grey area and no one wants to help - can anyone advise,

 

I am currently waiting on the banks second letter to the customer but don't know what to do if they won't return the money.

They have spent it the bank will tell me there are no funds to return at this stage.

 

I know I have to raise it with the ombudsman and have started this process pending the banks final response...

[Lindaij]

Sorry I should have added that it was £1100.00 and it is killing me with stress - I am losing sleep worrying about how I am going to give my kids Christmas and put shoes on their feet in the new year? I am just devastated and I cannot get any help - please can someone help - where do I go - how can I recover my money?

[Conniff]

Who made the 'wrong digit' error, you, Paypal or the bank ?

[Lindaij]

I input the wrong digit when I set up the account in paypal originally, the number is then hidden with only the last four digits showing after that - so I made three payments to an account I was saving for Christmas and at the same time set up internet banking with nationwide so my paper statements stopped arriving, - I know it is easy to say check the account but with four small children I gt very little time on the net - right now today is the only morning I get and as my mind is so occupied with this I can do nothing else!

[Surfer01]

Surely Nationwide can reverse the payments as this is done quite easily if a person is a [problem] artist?

[Lindaij]

No they say the money has gone - paypal have tried to recall the money and the bank has returned the recall as unable to do it, the account holder has spent the money so there are no funds to recall

[Surfer01]

I am not sure about the following advice and will need someone to confirm. It may be best to contact the police and report a "theft". They will be able to ask the Nationwide for contact details however I would have thought that Nationwide's response could have been better.

[Conniff]

It is unfortunate but banks can't take funds from an account when they have legitimately been paid into them, but the Financial Services Authority and the Payments Council say that banks must take 'reasonable steps' to try and get the money returned.

 

This is the problem with 'Faster Payments' there is no check on names, only the acc number and sort code are read by the computer.

 

The recipient may not have realised the money was going in and it may already have been spent by now, and there would be nothing the bank could do to compel them to return it.

 

Try and get someone involved like http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/index.html (click on Experts) they take up some consumers problem and will help them.

[Lindaij]

I am not sure about the following advice and will need someone to confirm. It may be best to contact the police and report a "theft". They will be able to ask the Nationwide for contact details however I would have thought that Nationwide's response could have been better.

 

I tried the police they say it is a civil matter, nationwide will write again but say they will close the case if there is no response

[Lindaij]

I tried sending requests to watchdog, and money experts and a half dozen other sites...it is just breaking me - a mess all the time with it now.

[Surfer01]

I tried the police they say it is a civil matter, nationwide will write again but say they will close the case if there is no response

 

The police are incorrect and it is no longer a civil matter. The person spent funds probably knowingly that the funds weren't theirs to spend.

BTW in this case I am sure that the Data Control Act allows for the other parties details to be divulged. Read section 35.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Surfer01

[IainHL]

As far as I am aware UK bank account numbers have a form of encoding that would mean a single digit error would result in an invalid account number.

 

Was this Nationwide account uniquely referenced by a sort code and account number, or did it also need a reference number as well? I ask this as some Nationwide savings accounts require all 3 in order to make funds transfers into them (my Dad's Nationwide account certainly did).

 

Also I cannot understand why you would setup a new bank account in PayPal, not go through the verification process, and then send 3 separate payments totalling such a large amount, without first ensuring the setup was correct.

[Lindaij]

As far as I am aware UK bank account numbers have a form of encoding that would mean a single digit error would result in an invalid account number.

 

Was this Nationwide account uniquely referenced by a sort code and account number, or did it also need a reference number as well? I ask this as some Nationwide savings accounts require all 3 in order to make funds transfers into them (my Dad's Nationwide account certainly did).

 

Also I cannot understand why you would setup a new bank account in PayPal, not go through the verification process, and then send 3 separate payments totalling such a large amount, without first ensuring the setup was correct.

 

 

There was only my name, sort and account code. No other code required. The second is because this was the second account added to my paypal account and five years of transfering to my clydesdale bank with no problem..There was no sum sent to check or activate...just kicking myself for missing it but I cannot go back just try to move forward and retrieve the money. I will take it as far as I have to as long as it takes.

[Lindaij]

As far as I am aware UK bank account numbers have a form of encoding that would mean a single digit error would result in an invalid account number.

 

Was this Nationwide account uniquely referenced by a sort code and account number, or did it also need a reference number as well? I ask this as some Nationwide savings accounts require all 3 in order to make funds transfers into them (my Dad's Nationwide account certainly did).

 

Also I cannot understand why you would setup a new bank account in PayPal, not go through the verification process, and then send 3 separate payments totalling such a large amount, without first ensuring the setup was correct.

 

I guess it is so frustrating and I am angry there is no clear cut path. i sent money to my name and it is gone no one knows the steps to follow to get it back.