Santander is warning customers who have paid wages twice that they MUST return the money
- Santander is still trying to recover money it accidentally sent to customers in 2021
Santander is still trying to recover £130 million it accidentally paid to customers more than three years ago.
A payment error on Christmas Day 2021 caused approximately 75,000 payment transactions, with an average value of €1,733 each, to be incorrectly executed twice.
The money had been sent by about 2,000 people and companies.
It meant some customers were paid twice their salary for the month, with some of the money coming directly from Santander’s own reserves.
The bank struggled to get its money back because much of it was sent to customers of other banks.
And Santander’s efforts to recover the money it wrongly sent to customers are still ongoing more than three years later, The Sun reports has reported.
It means that some customers will still have to pay back the money they received in error.
Blunder: Santander accidentally paid around 75,000 customers twice. Can they keep the money even if they were happy with it?
A Santander spokesperson said: ‘We worked with the recipient banks immediately following the issuance to recover the majority of the funds, but some recovery activities are still ongoing.’
This is Money spoke to two consumer champions to find out whether you have to pay back money if you receive money you don’t owe from a bank, or if your job pays you too much, and what your rights are.
Do you have to repay excess wages?
Martyn James, a consumer champion, says: ‘Sorry to disappoint you all, but there really is no such thing as free money. In fact, you are legally obliged to pay it back.
‘Of all the urban financial myths, this is the one people cling to the hardest. If the bank or company over-deposited your account, you will have to pay the money back, even if months have passed since the error.
‘It is illegal for customers to retain the wrongly accredited money and if they spend it they will be charged with retaining unlawful credit under the Theft Act 1968.’
Scott Dixon, who runs the website The Complaints Resolver, added: ‘Employers have the right to reclaim any overpaid earnings as you are not legally entitled to withhold money wrongly paid to you, although if they need help with a monthly payment plan.
Martyn James added: ‘If you’ve spent some or all of the money ‘accidentally’, you can expect your bank or card provider to come up with an affordable repayment plan, ideally without interest.
‘This should not damage your credit file either. Sometimes you can show that you expected a lump sum payment, such as an inheritance, and assumed that the deposit made in error was that amount.
‘This could result in some of the money you spent being forgiven, but this is very rare.
‘In cases where a long time has passed, the bank will have to justify why it took so long. In these cases you can file a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman.
“The bank may be forced to accept a smaller payment, or in rare cases be told it has waited too long.”
Have you been paid too much by Santander? Contact us: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
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