With the rise of online banking, it’s become so much easier for customers to transfer funds between accounts, pay off bills over the internet and so much more. However, it’s also become a lot easier to make a mistake as well, and see your funds end up somewhere entirely different to where you expect.
You might have done it yourself, putting a figure wrong in an account number or sort code and being unaware that your cash has disappeared into a stranger’s bank account. However, you’d hope that when this does happen, the banks would cooperate and help find your money and get it back to you. Shockingly, this does not appear to be the case.
There are stories emerging of people losing thousands of pounds through innocent mistakes. In one instance, a customer put in the correct account details but failed to provide a reference on the transfer, something which Nationwide, the bank she was transferring the money to, require. The money didn’t appear in her account and instead got lost in the system. It wasn’t until she launched a formal complaint that they fixed the issue.
Other customers have had to jump through even more hoops, having to get the financial ombudsman involved before they finally had their issues resolved. Obviously, being out of pocket by thousands of pounds whilst the issue is resolved is not a situation that anybody wants to find themselves in.
Until regulations or standard practices are brought in to address this problem, the onus is on the customer to make sure they do not make a mistake. To avoid it, double or triple checking is a good start, but you could also send a small amount through as a test, then ask the intended recipient if they’ve received it before you send the rest. When it comes to your finances, vigilance is key.