Checking your bank accounts for errors

What would you do if you saw an extra charge on your credit card's statement? Most of us would call the bank and scream until it was removed. But when bank errors are in our favour, we may find it harder to reach for the phone.

Years ago I found an additional 20,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately Dh14,000) in my payroll account.

Since I had used the account for no purpose other than the salary transfer, I immediately informed the company's finance department. Their alarm did not last long. They doubled-checked their accounts and found no errors.

Sharing my story with a colleague, his first reaction was: "Withdraw all the money and close the account before the bank finds out about the transaction." I rejected this suggestion on the spot.

It was not an attempt to present a model of honesty, but it seemed a kind of criminal act to me, which he would not do himself if he had been in my shoes.

Suggestions

More moderate advice was to wait and see, or go to the bank and reverse the transaction. Since I have always been an internet-banking user and an ATM long-time fan, making a trip to the bank wasn't my first choice.

The waiting option did not turn out to be comforting either. All possible scenarios for the money - from being part of a money-laundering scheme, a scam or a transfer for a life-or-death emergency - crossed my mind.

Two days later I decided to end my dilemma and head to the bank. Since it was a wire-transfer, the bank could easily find the source of the transfer, check the recipient's account number and name (which were not mine) and reverse the transfer. In a couple of days, I received a special statement with the reversed transfer only.

My honesty test probably seems to be an easy one. The sum of Dh14,000, even though a nice chunk of money, does not have the impact of something like a million dirhams.

But whatever the amount is, I would not ever touch this money even if I were in a financial bind. Honesty aside, I knew that I would not get away with an attempt to take advantage of such an error.

Liability

I don't recommend the wait-and-see game either. You are liable for funds in your accounts. If they are part of a scam, for example, ignorance wouldn't put you in a good position in a police investigation.

So try to report the money to the bank as soon as you know about it. Like any dispute on your account, you may get a grace period of only 30 or 60 days from the date of the statement which shows the error.

Based on each country's regulations, you may or may not be arrested. But be sure the bank and its lawyers will hassle you until you return the money with any additional costs and interest.

It is also important that when you report the transaction, you don't just call up the bank and tell whoever picks up the phone that this money isn't yours.

You do not know who is on the other end. If you don't want the money in your account, somebody else may want it.

So take the time to go in person, see a senior employee and make sure that the transfer is correctly reversed. If you're told that nothing can be done on the spot, it won't hurt to ask for a confirmation letter that you've reported the error.

Finally, remember that banks handle millions of transactions every month, so there is a possible margin for error. Unfortunately, when it happens, the blame can rest with you.