$1,200 was credited to my credit card. All it says is "Branch Deposit"- I have no idea why I have the money.

Question

What should I do? Should I call the bank and ask why or should I just consider it a benefit of good karma?

Most importantly, am I legally responsible if I don't notify the bank/credit company of their mistake?

Could the credit card company just take the money back out whenever they catch the mistake? Is there a time limit on this?

Some people ride on rather high horses. My real question is what I'm legally liable for. Sorry, but I have little use for your opinion on ethics- I'm just asking for help with legalities.

Answer 1

There is no such thing as "Bank Error in your Favor".

I work for a bank and have seen deposits into the wrong account. When the bank finally realizes it was a mistake they will remove the money and deposit it into the correct account.

If you spend the money you could become overdrawn and receive fees for it.

It's likely when someone went into the branch they entered the account number incorrectly. You did not make the money so don't spend it or you could have problems. Just politely call the bank and ask them if they can submit a research request on the deposit because you didn't make it and you want to make sure it's credited to the correct account.

Answer 2

Well, Mark, if you don't want to hear about the ethics of the situation, I won't waste my time on that because you already know it's sleazy. All I will say is that you should just keep it nice and safe there and not spend it, because once an audit uncovers the error, or the rightful owner asks the bank where it is, it'll be pulled right back out, and, if you don't have enough in the account, you can deal with the late charges. Or, if you decide to close the account and take off with the money, then you can deal with the felony fraud charges that are possible if it's not your money and they can demonstrate you had knowledge...like the Internet record you've just left here. Good luck in life...with your approach you're going to need a lot of it.

I suggest you ask the bank about it. Maybe it is your money from some forgotten source (income tax return? Overdue refund?). If it were me I'd resolve it one way or another rather than going from day-to-day trying to rationalize shady behavior for $1200.

Answer 3

Yes, you can be held legally liable. The odds are someone else's account is going to show up short in that amount and they will follow the paper trail to you. They can take the money right back out and if it is not there bring suite against you. However, $1200 is small change in that world. There would be limits on how much any company is willing to spend to retrieve such a relatively small amount of money. You can check what the small claims statute is in you state. It is usually between 7 and 10 thousand dollars. But that takes up their time and time is money. Collection agencies can charge up to 50% so there is little chance of anything too serious happening. Perhaps a blip on your credit repot.

Answer 4

The credit card co. may have made a deposit of 1200.00 to your branch bank, and they will bill you for it next month. That happen to my daughter with out her realizing what was going on, she ended up paying interest on money to credit card co. she didn't want to start with. Maybe this is not your case.She was trying to understand how she got that money in the bank and kinda like you, didn;t know what to do, come to find out she had basically told them she wanted to do it when she got the card and they also will do it and you don't make a payment for a certain length of time on your credit card but they are adding u[ interest. So follow your own feelings. Hope it works out for the good.

Answer 5

Be honest : You need to go to your bank and find out about this money. It maybe someone else money but It ended up in your account by mistake, and you should notify your credit card company too.

Answer 6

No they will find the mistake and take it back. I would say that you are responsible for the money and if you spend it they would have the question to you that why did you spend it when you knew that it was not yours. I would say if they dont notice it then it would not be your fault but I am not sure how long you would want to wait to make sure. On the safe side give them a call.

Answer 7

yes u are responsible legally..its your account and if u spend the money it will be theft...although when the mistake is caught they will just take it back and u will be in the hole. and no they wont always notify u prior to taking the money back. i dont know about time limits but i do know the sooner u report this the better it will look for u.

Answer 8

'Fess up and tell the credit card company. You will be responsible for it in the end. You KNOW it's a mistake. Straighten things out. Talking about Karma...don't you think it would be bad karma to use money that's not yours?

Answer 9

Sounds like a cash check was drawn on your credit card and the money deposited into your account. Call your credit card company and find out if a cash withdrawal was made on your account and if you did not authorize it then reverse th transaction immediately.

Answer 10

Just don't spend, what you know is not yours. Or you might end up with a room next to my son, serving 6 yrs. They can't do anything to you for their mistake, as long as you don't spend it. wait for your next statement, if it doesn't fix itself. Take the money out and put it in your savings account. Let it work for you, until the problem is solved. For your sake, I hope never, and it terns into an automatic nest egg.