unknown thousands in my bank!!!!

[kaileo]

hi all! okay does anyone out there know where you stand if money has been paid into your account £20,000!!!! it has nothing whatsoever to do with me other than its ended up in my account. contacted the bank who said it had come from overseas and was a legitimate transaction, told me that i could investigate it myself if i wanted to!!!! how do i stand from a legal perspective? any ideas please

[Michael Browne]

Well clearly it's not yours and as soon as the bank realises they've made a mistake, they''ll whip it out just as quickly.

 

What is astonishing is the bank's response. I'd go into your branch and kick up merry hell

[photoman]

I've had money deposited into my account by accident in the past (only about £300).

Once the Bank realised it should not have been there, they promptly took it back.

I was under impression at time that funds deposited in error became yours, however bank declared otherwise.

I would advise you not to touch it until you know what it's about. Perhaps transfer it into a secure account, so you cant spend it, and start your investigations. With such a large sum, I would perhaps even seek legal advice.

There may be some time bar for the rightful owner to claim it back, so get some advice on that also.

I don't know were you stand also with regards any interest it may accrue whilst you are holding it, ie; are you entitled to the interest, or do you have to pass that onto the rightful owner also? So find out about that also.

[kaileo]

i have the contacted the bank who said that it was a legitimate transaction from a third party overseas nothing to do with the bank, no error on their part, should it really be upto me to trace where the money came from especially as the bank do not seem too interested, i will find out where i stand from the legal side. all i've mangaed to discover so far is that it originated from PROPAY CREDIT based in the U.S which seems to be a version of paypal!!!!!!!!!

[LittleMissSunshine]

i dont have any legal knowledge regarding this, but i would do the following:

* put the money in a savings account so its safe, available and you get interest

* seek advice from a lawyer, CAB or similar so you know if the money becomes yours in the future and if so when

* get a written statement from the bank

* put a message under the bankforum on this site to see what bankpeople have to say about it

* keep record of all activities you do related to the money (calls, correspondence etc) so you have evidence in the future that you did what you could in case the legitimate owner puts up a hassle

 

I dont think it should be your responisibility to chase where it comes from, but on the other hand its not yours so you cannot spend it. After all, if it was yours and you are missing £20k now, you would be happy if someone who got it wrongly did the right thing with it. Someone actually might desperately need this money.

 

Good luck and keep us posted about the progress

 

[patdavies]

I am amazed by the bank's comment as this amount is way above the threshold for reporting unusual transactions as potential money laundering.

[rory32]

Good point - if you start to mention the anti-money laundering legislation to the bank this should get their attention, especially if you state that you feel you should be reporting this matter and the banks laissez faire to the The Financial Crime Branch of HM Treasury.

[kaileo]

not related to my claim against nasty west however - last week 2 seperate payments amounting to £23,500 were transferred into my account, no idea why contacted nasty west who looked into it and told me they were legitimate transactions which came from overseas and that it was no banking error by them, they then gave me a reference number for the enquiry and said i could investigate it myself should i wish to. Now obviously the money was not meant for me however it surely should not be for me to track and trace where the money had come from, all i do know is what is on my statement and that has just a spanish name and reference number next to the entry. Any ideas from anyone what i should do????????? i plan to take some legal advice as to where i stand with the money thanks for reading

[hedgey06]

Oo er............ no idea, but.................. finders keepers?????!!!!! xx

[kaileo]

Oo er............ no idea, but.................. finders keepers?????!!!!! xx

don't wanna look a gift horse in the mouth but on the other hand don't wanna break no laws!! alot of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fendyweather]

Lol Lol Lol Lol. I suggest you leave it there, until somebody contacts you to tell you or the bank of the mistake............. at least in the meantime its earning you a tasty bit of interest.................... But I wouldnt spend it. No way................. xx

[hedgey06]

Lol Lol Lol Lol. I suggest you leave it there, until somebody contacts you to tell you or the bank of the mistake............. at least in the meantime its earning you a tasty bit of interest.................... But I wouldnt spend it. No way................. xx

 

But I could be tempted to spend just a teensy little bit!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stornoway]

If you spend the cash knowing that it is not legitimately yours then in a worst case you could ultimately be charged under the theft act. As advised above, put the cash somewhere safe (open a high interest account), tuck it away and forget about. I think you may have a claim to keep it after 6 years. Make sure you keep a note of the times and names of the individuals that you have spoke to in the bank about it.

[Yaesu]

But I could be tempted to spend just a teensy little bit!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You don't want to lower yourself down to the same levels as the banks do you?

 

....you could always let me do it though!

 

 

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[hedgey06]

You don't want to lower yourself down to the same levels as the banks do you?

 

....you could always let me do it though!

 

Lol............... I could be tempted to lower myself to the same level as the banks for that amount of cash!!!!!!!!!! xx

[Guest NATTIE]

I actually do not know the answer to this one because if the bank have confirmed that the recipient name is yours and the money has come from Spain, then the money is yours but it is odd you would not be aware that it was due to you.

[kaileo]

I actually do not know the answer to this one because if the bank have confirmed that the recipient name is yours and the money has come from Spain, then the money is yours but it is odd you would not be aware that it was due to you.

Was hoping you'd read my post!!!! strange one isn't it? really don't know where to take this one as you say natwest have confirmed everything is in order but the fact still remains it aint mine. why would they not be too interested in following i up as its such a large sum?? and me as a customer of the bank shouldn't really have to do the detective work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest NATTIE]

have they confirmed the source of the funds? if they have there is not much more they can do. If the money is intended for your name account number sort code then IT IS yours. I would probably open a savings account and leave it there for a reasonable amount of time, ie maybe 1 month.

[MattyH]

would it be wrong to suggest a 5% donation, if it turns out the money IS legally yours??

 

lol.. Shameless!

 

Matt

[kaileo]

have they confirmed the source of the funds? if they have there is not much more they can do. If the money is intended for your name account number sort code then IT IS yours. I would probably open a savings account and leave it there for a reasonable amount of time, ie maybe 1 month.

when i contacted the bank as soon as i noticed the money in my account they said they would check it over once the systems had been updated at 3am next morning they then called me back and told me everything was in order and that the funds were available. i assume there must be a set procedure for checking things like this including checking the source of the funds???? moved the money into a reserve account and was gonna leave it like you say for 30/60 days and if i've heard nothing presume its all ok!!!

[kaileo]

would it be wrong to suggest a 5% donation, if it turns out the money IS legally yours??

 

lol.. Shameless!

 

Matt

if someone could confirm beyond doubt the money would be mine then we could even stretch to 10% or so!!!! lol

[Stornoway]

This is a dangerous game, if you know the money isnt yours, you spend it, someone asks for it back and you havent got it then in a worst case you could find yourself charged with theft. I have no idea how the money could have come to you in error - do you have a common name like "smith" ?

 

However, in my branch days, international transfers stated an address of the person who the cash was being transferred to as well as the bank address and the account details. If I were you, i would ask my bank for a copy of the transfer / transaction record so that you can check all this information. You could say to the bank that you are asking for this as you want to check the transfer amounts, charges etc (your bank will probably have charged you for receiving the payment).

[Janet-M]

Don't jump up and down to quick .

The money is not yours and should they come back in the future and want it back , and for that amount they eventually will . If you have spent it then you are going to be in a lot of debt .If it was me I would withdraw it and put it in a high interest account but NOT spend one penny of it.

So far you have done everything right and they have given you a reference number so I will go and get some more input for you from the rest of our team as to where you now stand .

[kaileo]

This is a dangerous game, if you know the money isnt yours, you spend it, someone asks for it back and you havent got it then in a worst case you could find yourself charged with theft. I have no idea how the money could have come to you in error - do you have a common name like "smith" ?

 

However, in my branch days, international transfers stated an address of the person who the cash was being transferred to as well as the bank address and the account details. If I were you, i would ask my bank for a copy of the transfer / transaction record so that you can check all this information. You could say to the bank that you are asking for this as you want to check the transfer amounts, charges etc (your bank will probably have charged you for receiving the payment).

thanks for the info!! do i ask for all transfer details or can i just ask for all the records for the two transactions in question? would there be a charge for this?

[kaileo]

Don't jump up and down to quick .

The money is not yours and should they come back in the future and want it back , and for that amount they eventually will . If you have spent it then you are going to be in a lot of debt .If it was me I would withdraw it and put it in a high interest account but NOT spend one penny of it.

So far you have done everything right and they have given you a reference number so I will go and get some more input for you from the rest of our team as to where you now stand .

thank-you any help at all would be really helpful, the bank has basically washed its hands of it!!!