I sent £2k with wrong account details, where is it? Crane on the Case

My wife sadly passed away in 2021 and I spent some time arranging her finances. She kept her savings in NS&I’s Premium Bonds, which can be held by someone’s estate for a year after death.

When that time was up, the money was transferred to my Barclays checking account. I decided I had to put it to work and earn better interest so I opened a savings account with Coventry Building Society.

In October 2022 I transferred £2,000 to the new account using the Barclays banking app but I made a mistake. I used the correct Coventry sort code for the transfer, but I entered my Barclays account number by mistake.

I’m 75 and not the best at using technology, and I was also suffering from Covid at the time, which gave me ‘brain fog’ – but I accept this was my fault.

I called the Coventry first thing the next morning and was relieved to be told not to worry and the transfer would not go through as no account existed with those details. The person said the money would probably go into a holding account and go back to Barclays.

I called Barclays and was told it could take up to 20 days for the money to be refunded.

I called back 20 days later after not getting the money. This time, Barclays told me that despite what the Coventry said earlier, the money had been deposited into someone else’s account. This person had not responded to Coventry’s request to return the money, Barclays said, so it could not be returned.

I have made many complaints to Coventry and Barclays but they have fallen on deaf ears. I have been a Barclays customer for 50 years, as has my late wife.

Does anyone else have my money and will I ever see it again? A.K., Lancashire

Helen Crane from This is Money replies: It can be very difficult to get a loved one’s finances in order after they pass away, and I know this confusion about transferring money will have made it even more challenging.

Entering the account number incorrectly was an easy mistake – and one that you freely admit.

When you’re 75, you say you’re not particularly tech-savvy, but with big banks gaining momentum, going online often seems like the only option for many.

I don’t know if your local branch is one of those affected, but Barclays is closing 41 in 2023 alone.

Accidents will inevitably happen when sending money online.

This is why some banks now check the account information that customers enter to confirm that there is a real person’s account on the other end and that the money isn’t just being tossed into the ether – or worse, to someone who isn’t is who they are. say they are.

This is done under a system called Confirmation of Payee, which the UK’s six largest banking groups were required to sign by 2020.

These are Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group (including RBS), Santander, HSBC (including First Direct) and Nationwide Building Society. Some other banks and building societies have since chosen to join, but many have not. Unfortunately for you, that list includes the Coventry.

When transferring money to and from someone who has an account with one of these organisations, the bank’s online system checks whether there is a ‘match’ between the name provided and the account number.

If the bank cannot confirm that there is an account with the same name and account number, the customer will be told that there is no match. In the end, they can still choose to go ahead and send the money, but they will have been given a warning.

If the bank, like Coventry, is not part of this system, a message will usually appear stating that the account cannot be verified.

In your case, you realized very quickly that you had sent £2,000 of your late wife’s money to the wrong place. You called the Coventry in a panic, understandably concerned about the money appearing in a stranger’s bank account.

I’m sure you breathed a sigh of relief when the person on the line told you that hadn’t happened – but unfortunately this story doesn’t end there.

You were told that the money was probably in an account and that Barclays, as the original bank, would have to request the money back and then pay it back to you.

But when you checked in after the 20 days you were asked to wait had passed, you were shocked to be told you couldn’t get your money.

After all, it had gone into someone else’s account, Barclays said — and that person had gone quiet when the Coventry asked for the money back.

As a Barclays account customer of over 50 years, you would have expected better, but your ensuing questions and complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Unfortunately, by law, a bank is not required to return money in cases where it was sent in error.

You’ve made countless phone calls to both Barclays and the Coventry, and sent letters to find out more.

You asked them to confirm once and for all whether or not the money had been deposited into someone else’s account, who that person was and whether the money had been spent – but both said they wouldn’t because of data protection.

When you contacted me you said you were sure you would never see the money again.

I contacted both Barclays and the Coventry to see if they would help.

With the first, I’m afraid I was out of luck. It told me it had followed proper procedures and made no mistake.

A spokesperson says: ‘We fully understand our customer who accidentally sent money to an unintended recipient because an incorrect account number was entered.

“We realize this can be very annoying and we encourage customers to always check that they have the correct account details before making a payment. We acted quickly by approaching the receiving bank to recover the remaining funds, but were unsuccessful.”

However, the Coventry was more sympathetic when I got involved. It admitted that the money had gone into another customer’s account and refunded you the full £2,000 you transferred, as well as a £200 goodwill gesture.

A spokesperson said: ‘We are truly sorry that AK’s money was not returned to him sooner.

“Instances like this are rare, but when they do occur, we usually resolve them quickly. We put the money in [their] account and we apologize to him for the concern and inconvenience this has caused.”

You have told me that you are delighted and have asked me to give Coventry a ‘shout out’ for finally solving your problem.

You also expressed your disappointment that as such a long-time checking account customer of Barclays – which was also your late wife – the bank has not considered repaying your money itself.

I am glad that this bank transfer blunder has been rectified.