Something similar happened to me and I told them. I didn't like the idea that someone could have accused me of theft, even if I was initially an unwitting recipient. My view was that once I knew about it, I couldn't, with a clear conscience, keep the cash.
Just my view!
How long would one have to wait before the bank could not ask for the money back - does the 6 year rule apply?
There's no problem here. If you'd made the mistake would you expect or want the money back? If you'd given someone too much change would you feel they should give it back to you? Is it dishonest, in your view, to keep the money? Act accordingly.
Rob Graham
But the money hasn't been 'taken' - it's still sitting in the bank account waiting to be 'collected'.
Why not open a 90 day savings account and transfer the money so it's earning intrest.
What - the same ethics the financial services industry (including banks) apply to their customers - let's get away with it until someone (usually the regulator or the Government) tells us to stop. And then spend the next several years squirming out of their obligations. Want examples - let's start at pensions, overcharging on credit card interest, overcharging bank charges for business, next endowments. Where next?
Ethics is not an issue here - the money is not being spent - it is just sitting there waiting to be collected.
Very noble but why give the bank the power to send you to jail?
I'd hang on and keep schtum but make sure you remember its not yours and one day will likely be gone :-).
A similar thing happened to me a few years ago but in that case I was sent 2 cheques so couldnt really claim not to have noticed had I cashed both, especially as they were each several times my salary. So I took one back witha letter and insisted on a receipt, and they did pay me ( a tiny amount) in recognition. Which made me wonder if they'd ever have noticed :-) FWIW the cheque was for 5k and the recompense was 20.
In message , Dudley writes
What was the point in making the original posting if you are so prejudiced then?
The bank almost certainly will spot it, and you certainly have to give it back when they do. However, I don't think you are under any particular duty to point it out, and I doubt very much that you will get any credit (monetary or moral) if you do ...
Many activists have done worse things to make a point.
I think you might be misinterpreting that. The Act goes on to define what it means by "wrongful credit", and that doesn't appear to include situations where someone has made a genuine mistake. What is says is:
"(3) A credit to an account is wr "15A. - (1) A person is guilty of an offence if by any deception he dishonestly obtains a money transfer for himself or another."
So the way I read it is that its only a "wrongful credit" if that credit has been obtained by deception. If the bank has made an error then the money might have been wrongly credited, but that doesn't make it a "wrongful credit" under the meaning of the law.
Chris
... When I did a temporary job once, the company paid me for a week beyond the period for which I had worked. They weren't particularly grateful when I phoned and told them, so I decided I shouldn't bother being so helpful in future (but it's never happened again, unsurprisingly)
Tim
From your original tone you obviously felt that this might be dubious practice, else you wouldn't have asked. Now you are saying you just want to join the rest of the rabble. I give up.
Rob
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