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Original poster

Any idea whether money can be recovered if it's sent to the wrong account?

29 replies

MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 22:49

H started a new job 3 weeks ago (I know terrible timing) and was due to be paid on 31st. It never arrived in our account and when he called HR it turns out he gave them the number wrong. So now we have no money and are waiting to hear back from the bank.

H seems positive it'll be back this week but I'm not so sure.

OP posts:
CeriseClementine · 06/04/2020 22:55

It depends - if it’s credited an actual account then the person whose account it went into will need to give their permission for the funds to be debited.

If it’s not gone into an actual account (much more likely if it’s just a digit or two wrong) then the sender will have to ask their bank to recall it.

It should be the payment sender looking into it though, your husbands bank won’t be able to tell him anything.

Original poster
MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 22:59

Thanks. Yes, I mean we are waiting to hear what the bank say to his HR dept. They don't know where it's gone yet. If it's just floating around any idea how long it may take to get it back? If it has gone to someone and they say no, what then? can we prove it's DH's?

OP posts:
Waterandlemonjuice · 06/04/2020 23:00

The person whose account it is has to agree to refund it. Pretty sure their bank can’t just take it out without their permission so you’ll have to hope they agree. I could be wrong, banks vary in their approach.

BrooHaHa · 06/04/2020 23:02

There's no guarantee as it's an error on your DH's part. Fingers crossed for you!

PleasantVille · 06/04/2020 23:09

No one can say, if it wasn't a valid account number it would most likely have bounced straight back to the employers account, if by bad luck it was someone else's account number I wouldn't be holding my breath to get it back at the moment.

I may be wrong but if it was literally a one digit error and the account has a check digit it's less likely to be a valid account number.

Original poster
MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 23:09

Thanks. I've googled it and Which says

'A code of best practice on ‘misdirected payments’ has been introduced, and it outlines how your bank should act in the unfortunate event that you send money to the wrong account.
It's the first time banks have agreed a common process to recover money transferred to the wrong account.'

So I hope that is positive. I think it's relatively new and before people could choose not to give it back but now you can legally pursue it. I was hoping someone ere would know more about any new procedures.

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whatdayisitandotherquestions · 06/04/2020 23:13

This happened to me years ago and I never got the money back. My bank (Santander) was less than helpful. (The account it went into was also Santander).

I could have kicked up more of a stink, I have a feeling that perhaps had I have done, I might have got further with them.

They told me, if it wasn't a valid bank number the money would come back to me quickly. If it was, then there was nothing they could do and I would need to hop the person it was sent to alerted the bank.

This was over 1 years ago, I hope things have improved since. Good luck!

whatdayisitandotherquestions · 06/04/2020 23:14

Sorry, stupid broken keyboard!!

This was over 12 years ago not 1!

browzingss · 06/04/2020 23:17

^That might not necessarily apply in your situation because it’s not consumer to consumer, it’s business (the employer) to consumer so might have different laws governing the transaction.

Realistically he still needs to be paid, so they should pay him and continue to chase it up separately. However if he gave the wrong account number, I do wonder if he would be liable if his employer suffers a loss.

I did something similar in my first ever job, gave completely erroneous bank details (no associated account) but my employer picked up on it straight away. In fact I don’t remember being paid late as a result, they noticed beforehand. I think as soon as they entered my new starter/account details into their payroll system it flagged up. So I’m worried that the wrong account details in your situation does actually correspond to someone’s account.

Trying2019 · 06/04/2020 23:18

Its in the terms and conditions of your bank account that if you receive money that isnt yours you have to give it back. Unless you can prove it was meant for you. So you will definitely get it back. It will just take a while e
, especially if it involves two different banks having to communicate with each other. I think the maximum time the bank have to trace the payment is 20 days. Although with staff in isolation it may take longer x

Original poster
MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 23:22

They have said they aren't going to pay him again and we just have to wait and see if it comes back. It's very lucky in a way that we are locked down because he has no fares and we have no expenses but it's pushed us to the top of our overdraft with all our bills coming out and it'll be a long April with not a penny.

OP posts:
Theyweretheworstoftimes · 06/04/2020 23:22

You husband should still be paid.

The fact they made a mistake when sending the funds is between them and the bank.

If the company made a mistake and keyed the payment wrong then they will approach the bank and they will write to the customer asking permission to remove the funds from the account. That's if it was sent to a valid account if it wasn't it will be in a suspense account.

If the bank made the mistake for example a member of staff keyed it wrong then the bank should refund the company.

Lots of ifs and buts but all for the company and bank to sort.

If your husband gave correct details then he should be paid for the work that's been done.

Original poster
MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 23:23

Thanks everyone for the help.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsKoala · 06/04/2020 23:24

But he gave them the wrong details. So it's entirely his fault.

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PleasantVille · 06/04/2020 23:26

Its in the terms and conditions of your bank account that if you receive money that isnt yours you have to give it back

But that isn't what happened in the recent-ish case of the very large amount that was paid to the wrong account. Iirc the person who got the money wrongly said that he genuinely thought it related to something that he was expecting, it went all the way through the courts.

If the person who gets it has spent the money I'm not sure what would happen.

CanadaPolice · 06/04/2020 23:27

This happened to my son a few years ago. He gave the correct account details but the sender got one digit wrong.
The money went into a different account and the recipient refused to return it.
£1K gone.
I hope things have changed now. DS never got his money back.

Trying2019 · 06/04/2020 23:34

I work for a high street bank. Its definitely in our terms and conditions. I can't remember the regulation the covers it off the top of my head but its in our procedures. Something like the payment services directive. Its very unlikely to be in someone elses account. Its probably stuck in a holding account somewhere and will bounce back.

PleasantVille · 06/04/2020 23:40

Google suggests that it's best practice rather than a guarantee that you'll get your money back which fits with the cases we hear about where money isn't recovered.

AngeloMysterioso · 06/04/2020 23:42

I remember once reading about a woman who received a HUGE (and I do mean huge) payment from I think it was DWP who had got the bank details wrong.
In her case it wasn’t a case of tough luck... she was threatened with a criminal record if she didn’t give back every penny!

Trying2019 · 06/04/2020 23:45

I've never known anyone to refuse to give it back when ive done a trace and quoted the T and C's but I suppose it can happen. Hopefully in this case the OP gets it back.

PleasantVille · 06/04/2020 23:51

This is the case I was referring to

www.theguardian.com/money/2019/dec/07/i-lost-my-193000-inheritance-with-one-wrong-digit-on-my-sort-code

I see that ultimately it was resolved but I suspect that was because of the huge amount of publicity, it certainly isn't straight forward

whatdayisitandotherquestions · 07/04/2020 01:06

Its in the terms and conditions of your bank account that if you receive money that isnt yours you have to give it back. Unless you can prove it was meant for you. So you will definitely get it back. It will just take a while

Not if the bank refuses to communicate with the other customer (of the same bank in my case). It may well be against the rules, but if the bank do diddly squat to enforce them, it's academic.

Never got my money back.

safariboot · 07/04/2020 01:21

It can be very difficult. Chiefly because as mentioned, if the bank neither passes on messages nor tells you who the account belongs too (and they're unlikely to do the latter) you're kind of stuffed. You can't chase the wrongful recipient for the money back when you don't even know who they are!

Obviously in some cases the recipients details are found, but it's not effortless to get them.

This is why, when I transfer money between my own accounts or to friends and family, I send a £1 test payment first. Only once that's seen to have arrived do I transfer any significant money (with my online banking which has saved the payee details).

Original poster
MrsKoala · 09/04/2020 11:06

Just wanted to say thank you all. The money bounced back to the company today and they are going to transfer it to us asap. Phew! That'll teach him not to triple check. H is dyslexic so this kind of thing frequently happens, I wish he'd ask me to proof the info before he sends it.

OP posts: