I transferred some money to someone who was doing some work in my garden and unknowingly – and rather stupidly – managed to get the account number wrong.
With hindsight I should probably have transferred a smaller value as a test, but instead sent £1,000.
Having checked on the Barclays website, it states that transfers are generally instant, but sometimes may take up to two days.
Faster payments, like the name suggests, are often instantaneous, meaning if you send money to someone the money arrives straightaway. It’s a little slower to try and get it back
After two days I gave Barclays a call and managed to speak to someone. They advised the transfer had been successful and I needed to contact the man I had intended to send the money to, giving him a reference number, which was at least 20 digits long.
I did this, but he came back after visiting his own bank, stating he was told there was nothing that could be done and the onus was on me to chase it with my own bank.
I appreciate I made a mistake using the wrong account number, but I foolishly assumed there would be a level of validation for money transfers, as you also have to include the account name in addition to the sort code and account number.
Is there anything I can do? J.V., via email
George Nixon, This is Money, replies: Whether it’s due to fat fingers or because we’re distracted by something else, accidentally sending money to the wrong person happens frequently after inputting incorrect bank details.
While sending money by bank transfer through faster payments is just that, fast, trying to reclaim that money can be a far slower process.
Interestingly, a system known as Confirmation of Payee, due to be introduced by the end of March, which is supposed to help crack down on impersonation fraud could help stop situations like this.
This is because the system will alert anyone making a payment if the recipient’s name doesn’t match their bank details.
If you’d entered the name of your gardener, for example, but input the wrong account details which brought up someone else’s name, you would be notified.
Unfortunately, until that comes in, situations such as yours may remain fairly common.
You told us that after you were told to chase it with your own bank, your local Barclays branch in East Sussex said they would contact the receiving bank to try and recover the money.
This can take up to 21 days.
It is worth noting then that this suggests that money sent to the wrong person by mistake can be recovered.
You said you didn’t hear anything for four weeks, despite them saying they would aim to get back to you in 20.
Unfortunately, it was the case that when they tried to recover the money, there was not enough left in the account to take back your £1,000, as Barclays could not force the lucky recipient into their overdraft.
It is possible then that the person who ended up receiving the £1,000 out of the blue realised it was not meant to be sent to them, and quickly transferred it out of that account or withdrew it as cash, opting to keep it rather than return it.
Barclays told us in a statement: ‘As soon as Mr V let us know about the mistaken payment, we acted swiftly to contact the receiving bank to see if this money could be recovered for him.
‘They informed us the funds had already been removed from the account and there was no money remaining.
‘Therefore, unfortunately we have been unable to return the payment to Mr V.’
In a letter sent to you by Barclays, it added the next option is making a legal claim against the customer you accidentally sent the money to, and recommended if you do that you obtain independent legal advice.
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