A company made a dupe payment direct to my bank & I notified them but they said they didn't. Is it mine now?
I notified them several times in writing that the payment was a duplicate but they insisted it wasn't. After several months, I went ahead and spent the money. Now they've discovered their error and are billing me. Is that legal or was the money mine?
It's all yours! If you tried to get them to take it back and they didn't, it belongs to you. Have fun with it!
Unfortunately I think they are in the right. Even though they didn't see the error when you mentioned it, it was still their money.
Answer:
No, the money is not yours. You will have make restitution,
Keep the return letters as proof of your intent and perhaps the money could be repaid over a period of time. You may also want to consult with an attorney.
For being honest the bank should not charged you any interest or penalties, but, simply accept their responsibility and mutually agree to the common sharing of the mistake and your honest intent.
When did it become yours? They would have had to intend to make you a gift, which they never did. They were in error and you knew they were. Just because some clerk failed to find that what you were telling them was true doesn't make it a gift.
Was the amount worth going to court over? Do you have copies of all correspondence where you told them and they responded and said No they hadn't made a mistake?You could take it to court but if it would cost more than you got,and you could afford to pay it back -- maybe you should just to stop the aggravation...Because depending on how far they want to take it....they could garnish your wages or maybe they will just drop it. You could wait and see.
