How would you react if you unexpectedly came into some money that wasn’t yours?
Some would hand the cash over to the authorities with no hesitation, but it can be trickier if you could do with financial help. And that’s exactly the situation one parent found herself in recently.
The anonymous woman took to Mumsnet to share her dilemma after stumbling upon £600 in their bank account they couldn’t account for. They looked into the transfer details, but couldn’t find a connection to their friends or family.
The parent knows it’s the ‘right thing to do’ is report this, but she has other things to worry about. She explained: “I desperately need a plumber to come out and unblock some outside pipes and it’s been causing me a lot of stress as I can’t afford it. I’m off sick from work after a life-altering accident and I’m a single parent to three, including a disabled child, my savings have been eaten by this and there’s no telling when or even if I’ll be able to return to work.”
In a dream world, the mum said she’d use £150 of the cash for the work and then pay it back through a setup plan. They continued: “I know I should report this money to my bank… is this awful? It’s awful isn’t it? And yet it’s just….there.”
The post caught a lot of attention on Mumsnet, –with some admitting they wouldn’t be honest about the situation. One confessed: “Honestly I’d spend it. You’re not responsible for making the mistake. Your priority is yourself, your children and your home. If someone can’t properly check bank details when sending a transaction, that’s on them. The bank will recover it eventually anyway so you’d better move it to another account or withdraw it quickly.”
Another strongly disagreed, writing: “Phone the bank. If it’s a mistake they’re going to work it out & take it back anyway. If on the other hand it’s a payment due to you you can call a plumber and have extra money left over to take the pressure off you.”
And a third chimed in: “Please report it, you wouldn’t want to lose £600 if it was the other way around. I totally get that you’re in dire straits but you don’t know how the person at the other end of that bank transfer is doing either. Please do the right thing.”
According to Harding Evans Solicitors, if money is accidentally paid to your account and you know it doesn’t belong to you, reporting this is vital. Not doing so could land you in some serious legal trouble under the Theft Act 1968. “No matter how tempting it is to say nothing and see if the mistake gets noticed, you should always inform your bank immediately,” experts at the firm say.
“Even if the money is from your employer or from the taxman, you still need to let your bank know as you could get into trouble for just leaving the money in your account if you know it should not be there. Instead, you are expected to take reasonable steps to cancel the transfer or return it to the sender.”