They aren't
Of the 120 k wasn't spent it would be corrected and they wouldn't be penalized
But they spent the money....
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Couple must return $120,000 after bank error prompted spending spree
- Thread starter Sqrt
- Start date
Of the 120 k wasn't spent it would be corrected and they wouldn't be penalized
But they spent the money....
Lol "finders keepers" isn't really a thing in adult life. If someone leaves their wallet at your house, you kinda still need to give it back if they ask about it.
Time to use some more of that money, change your identities and go on the run. Depending on how much they have left there's no way they should give it all back to the bank willingly.
They spent money they knew was not theirs. To me it's like finding someone else's credit card. You know it's not yours, you know you shouldn't use it.
LOL no one forced them to buy a Chevy SUV, a camper, a car trailer, a race car and two four-wheelers all in the span of a couple months.
You don't just get free money because someone screwed up, that's not how it works. If your employer screws up and pays you extra one pay period you don't get to keep that extra money, it's not yours. Your employer will either dock pay from your future checks or ask for the money back outright. The Navy was notorious for this when I was in, and they always said "check your paystubs because if there's an error it's on you to report it". Because when they find out they've been paying you more than they should the government don't hesitate to take it back.
The bank's only mistake was the original accounting error. They're not in trouble for that. They're in trouble for noticing the bank's mistake and using it to take $100k and spend it
Sure, that would be the smart thing to do. At the same time, I don't understand people comparing it to a lost credit card. I assume the money was just placed into their account. They didn't find someone else's bank details lying around and transfer the funds themselves.
Important detail in the article for the "why are they being punished for the bank's mistake?" crowd.
They weren't in trouble until the woman decided to run away after agreeing to repay the money.
They weren't in trouble until the woman decided to run away after agreeing to repay the money.
"It'S aLL tHe BanK's FAulT"
Why are they not comparable? Say someone leaves their car in your driveway with the keys in it. Is it yours now, "finder's keepers"? Does the world suddenly operate on 3rd grade rules now? In what way is there any expectation that a clerical/technological error should result in a windfall for the recipient of those funds, rather than the injured party reclaiming that lost property once the error has been recognized?
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I don't think this loophole would work ... they'd probably still consider it theft if you transferred it and recognized any interest from it.
Keeping the money was wrong, but not that bad all things considered. Banks are predatory and also wouldn't feel compelled to give you your money back due to an error of yours if they could get away with it. A shopping spree would be stupid. I like the idea of paying off my debt with it though. That might also be stupid, but it has right amount of irony that I'd be tempted to try.
And people saying they'd put the money in a money market account wouldn't make much anyway....probably about $200.
The bank found the error after 3 weeks. Even at a generous 2.5% interest rate on 120k that would be $3k a year/12 at $250 a month...
Not worth the potential fallout.
The bank found the error after 3 weeks. Even at a generous 2.5% interest rate on 120k that would be $3k a year/12 at $250 a month...
Not worth the potential fallout.
It bogles my mind that someone would get $120k dropped in their account and think "cool, I'll spend it all". You've gotta be pretty damn stupid. It would be one thing if they used the money on their sick kid or something. At least then I'd understand. But they bought frivolous stupid shit.
This. Banks have done way worse than walk away with $120,000 because of someone else's mistake. Wells Fargo can create millions of fraudulent accounts and stay in business, but they'll gladly ruin your life for something like this.
I had ~$1000 deposited in my bank account as a kid. I was a goody two shoes and told my mom and returned it the next day.
Not comparable either. A bank is literally in charge of handling and holding my funds. They're kind of like a position of authority here.
Aside from the money obviously not being legal to spend, I don't understand how someone would look at $120,000 and decide to spend it like fuck-you-money. Buying a racecar, really?
They knew what they were doing. I don't know if felony theft is the right charge but they should pay the money back with a penalty. If you found someone else's debit card with the PIN written on the card and went on a spending spree, well, it's not that different. The $120k was someone else's money, and they obviously knew that based on their irresponsible behavior with the money.
Related story: I lost my wallet on a bus once and the person returned it with the cash still inside. I was quite poor at the time so I was immensely grateful.
Related story: I lost my wallet on a bus once and the person returned it with the cash still inside. I was quite poor at the time so I was immensely grateful.
You might just be better off telling them and hoping they give you a reward.
Your personal opinion on banks isn't really relevant to how fucking monumentally stupid it was for them to spend money that isn't theirs. I'm still curious how you think it's the bank that is ruining these idiots' lives and not the aforementioned idiots themselves, given that their first instinct was to spend the money like mad, almost like they knew they were in the wrong and wanted to spend it all before the bank realized they had misplaced the money.
Now that I think about it, I'd probably fund every urgent life saving medical procedure I could find and maybe pay off my small debt. If I did anything other than return it of course.
The couple are in their mid 30s. It doesn't take a genius to tell you NOT to spend the money that is NOT yours and was given to you due to a mistake.
Last year, we received a statement from a charity we donated to showing we gave $150,000. You can knock 3 zeros off that as we weren't even close to donating that much, so I contacted the charity to let them know there was a mistake. They insisted it was correct and it took me 3 or 4 times to get them to send a corrected statement.
Could have cleaned up on my taxes.
Could have cleaned up on my taxes.
Sure but then the people who got the money made a second mistake of using it instead of calling the bank to be like "what's this about". Their mistake is illegal, the banks is a simple error.
The comparison is receiving something that you know wasn't intended for you. How you came into possession of it is irrelevant.
🤷♂️Didn't we already go over this? It was stupid to spend the money. A felony theft charge for it also sucks.
You are ultimately the final authority on the disposition of your own money. If you spend money that you know for a fact isn't yours, that is 100% on you. Imagine if the bank was actually "literally in charge of handling your funds," and they blocked you from purchasing goods or withdrawing money as they saw fit. The bank provides a service where they give your money a place to sit, accrue interest, and be employed through digital means across the world through debit transactions. They do not have any significant authority over where and when you spend your money, or the amount of money you can deposit or withdraw (beyond some limited accounts).
It is also 100% the most legally accurate charge for someone that spends $120000 of your money and refuses to return it. The bank would not be bringing these charges if the couple had simply reported the error and returned the money to its rightful owner. What charge do you believe better suits their crime?
This was over 5 years ago now but I once got an accidental $20,000 deposit in my bank account that I noticed when I was doing my daily online account checking. After laughing and smiling for a couple minutes and taking a screenshot of the deposit I called my bank asap, asked them why such a large amount of money was deposited in my account, they put me on hold, told me they accidentally deposited that money in to my account and thanked me for letting them know and took it out/sent the money to the proper bank account.
After pondering what person was depositing more then I make in 2 years income wise(it still is btw) in a single transaction I went on my day like nothing happened. The thought about using that money never once occurred to me as I knew it wasn't mine and I wanted to do the right thing and make sure the person got their money back.
After pondering what person was depositing more then I make in 2 years income wise(it still is btw) in a single transaction I went on my day like nothing happened. The thought about using that money never once occurred to me as I knew it wasn't mine and I wanted to do the right thing and make sure the person got their money back.
Man, some in this thread who are OK with this have no moral compass- go fuck yourselves! I bet you're the type of person who finds a wallet loaded with cash and the persons ID and has fun with it instead of bringing it to the police or trying to contact said person.
Seriously, stop wasting oxygen.
PS- as someone who lost their wallet.
Seriously, stop wasting oxygen.
PS- as someone who lost their wallet.
Shit no way would i touched that money, I would be scared looking at the statement. Either the bank is going to come look for their money or someone else that might not be as nice.
You would have been audited to hell and back
I think it's dumb that they thought spending it was ever a good idea, but uh, even dumber how they thought to spend it?
Pretty much everything they bought quickly depreciates in value, so yeah, they have problems now.
Pretty much everything they bought quickly depreciates in value, so yeah, they have problems now.
I mean, look at this thread.
Wait..you said grown adults. Nevermind!
I think a fair comparison would be you paying someone to hold your wallet, and that person gives the money in your wallet to someone else. I wouldn't be pissed if the person then spent the money, I'd be pissed at the person who was in charge of holding my wallet.
Not a fair comparison. If you have money deposited that is not yours, it's still not yours. If your employer makes a mistake and deposits an extra paycheck into your bank account, it's not yours and you damn well better let them know.
I do have to say if this ever happened to me but with life changing money (1+ million) I'd probably take it and run.
Would be easy enough to just start life over in another country, and as long as its not in some hundreds of millions range, its not like I'm gonna get hunted down over a rounding error.
Just relocate and start over.
Would be easy enough to just start life over in another country, and as long as its not in some hundreds of millions range, its not like I'm gonna get hunted down over a rounding error.
Just relocate and start over.
A better comparison would be you paying someone to hold your wallet, that person dropping the wallet out of their pocket, and someone else seeing the money drop from the pocket, picking it up and rather than telling the person or giving it back, spending the money. You should be pissed at both parties.