Santander warns customers who paid salaries twice that they DO have to return the cash

Santander is still in the process of recovering £130 million it accidentally paid out to customers more than three years ago.

A payment error on Christmas Day 2021 meant that around 75,000 payment transactions, at an average of £1,733 each, were made in error twice.

The money was sent by about 2,000 people and companies.

This meant that some customers were paid their wages for that month twice, with some of the money coming directly from Santander’s own reserves.

The bank had difficulty recovering its money because much of it was sent to customers of other banks.

And Santander’s efforts to recover money it mistakenly sent to customers continue more than three years later, The Sun has reported.

This means that some customers have yet to return funds they received in error.

A Santander spokesperson said: “We worked collaboratively with the recipient banks immediately after the issuance occurred to recover the majority of the funds, but some recovery activities are still in progress.”

This is Money spoke to two consumer advocates to find out if you’ll have to pay back money if you receive money a bank doesn’t owe you, or if you’re overpaid by your job, and what your rights are.

Do you have to repay overpaid wages?

Martyn James, a consumer advocate, says: “I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but there really is no such thing as free money.” In fact, you are legally obligated to return it.

‘Of all the urban financial myths, this is the one that people cling to the most. If the bank or a company overpays your account, you will have to return the cash, even if months have passed since the error.

“It is illegal for customers to keep money wrongly credited to them and if they spend it they will face charges of improper credit retention under the Theft Act 1968.”

Scott Dixon, who runs the website The Complaints Resolver, added: “Employers have the right to recover overpaid earnings as they are not legally entitled to keep money they were paid in error, although they must help with a monthly payment plan if necessary.

Martyn James added: “If you have ‘accidentally’ spent some or all of the cash, you can expect your bank or card provider to present you with an affordable payment plan, ideally interest-free.”

‘This shouldn’t hurt your credit file either. Sometimes you may be able to show that you were expecting a lump sum payment as an inheritance and assumed that the deposit made in error was that sum.

“This could – could – result in you giving up some of the money you have spent, but this is very, very rare.

‘In cases where a long time has passed, the bank will have to justify why it has taken so long. In these cases, complain to the Financial Ombudsman.

“The bank may be forced to accept a smaller payment or, in rare cases, be told it has waited too long.”

Did Santander overpay you? Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk