A friend has transferred £423.50 to me, but I gave him the wrong account number. Because I am the recipient and not the sender, none of the banks will talk to me to help trace it. I am a PhD student renting out my room while I study abroad for three months. The cash was for rent and for my bike, which he sold. I gave him the correct sort code (Santander) but, unfortunately, the incorrect account number.
The money has gone to an account at my branch of Santander. But, as it was transferred from a NatWest account, Santander will not help me. And as I am not a NatWest customer, it won’t help me either!
My friend has written to NatWest, which now says that the person who received the money won’t return it. It would appear that as my friend made the transfer he has to continue to pursue it, even though it was my mistake.
Is there any way I can follow this claim through and where should I start? AM, Bristol
This is the latest in a growing mountain of complaints from readers who have encountered problems arising from electronic bank transfers.
Sometimes we find that the person making the payment has – through the slip of a finger – inserted a wrong digit or transposed a couple of figures. But in your case the number is completely different as it relates to an account you have with a separate bank.
But we can understand your frustration trying to communicate with banks who refuse to talk to you, claiming data protection rules. You noted that Santander refused to provide you with any information during the process, as the money originated from an external financial institution. It also wouldn’t comment on the fact that another Santander customer has received the money, as it says this would breach data protection regulations.
We were geared up to contacting both Santander and NatWest. But in the end Santander resolved the case and told us it tracked the money down and sent it back to your friend who made the original transfer.
It said in a statement that it confirmed the issue has been resolved, and that the funds have been returned to the NatWest account from which the money was originally sent.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
