need some opinions

[CarzMellon]

OK, on December 28th I was looking at my checking account online and saw something very strange. It listed all of my withdrawls, etc. but the newest addition was a deposit for five thousand dollars. First thing I have to say is that I never made such a deposit. My maximum deposit is much much lower. So since my dad and I share a joint account (where he is the administrator) I assumed that he had accidentally made a deposit in the wrong account. So I called him up and asked why he deposited into my account. He claimed that he had not, and would call the bank and inquire about it. A couple of hours later he returns my call and says that he talked with the bank and they would have it fixed in a few hours. According to my dad someone had entered the wrong account numbers when making a deposit. Nothing hapenned. So impulsively 2 days later I went out and made a few large purchases totalling almost 2 grand. Yeah, it was stupid, but I've never had access to so much money before. I know I should have just sat and waited, but I got very excited.

 

So today my dad calls saying that he looked at my account and saw that I has spent a good deal of it. He was livid. He said that I could go to jail for doing this and he was very angry at me for doing this especially since his name is part of my account. Since I rent a condo from my dad's father he threatened to kick me out (I live here because he had kicked ne out of his own house in July) if I did not rectify this.

 

I went and cancelled a couple of my pending orders online so I saved around 1600 doing that. A couple of other order I could not cancel but when they arrive I can easilly return them for all the money back.

 

So basically I would like to know how exactly the bank would fix something like this. How would they find out who made the deposit? And if they do have a way to transfer the funds back to whoever made the deposit, what can they do if I do not have all five thousand back in time for them to get the money?

 

Go ahead and lecture me for being impulsive and stupid about this, but above all please give me some ideas on what you think could happen now.

 

Thanks.

 

By the way, I know I'm an extreme noob here but I thought this would be an ideal place to talk about his because for the past 2 years I have been reading this board and always found a wide range of subjects to talk about and figured at least a few people might know something about this.

[manoman81]

Let me first welcome you to the swamp.

 

Next is the lecture. Yes, very dumb of you to spend anny of that money. I can't remember the site but some guy thought it would be funny to deposit a non-negotiable cheack as a joke. Well, it went through and he spent a lot of the money. Once the bank woke up and realized what had happened, they wanted all of the money back. He was almost arrested except he found a law proffessor that took his case and kept him out of prison. I forget how everything worked out but the bank cleared everything up and he turned out ok as well.

 

Now, as for what to do, go talk to the bank ASAP. Tell them what has happened. EVERYTHING. Including the purchases you made and that you have returned them. If someone did deposit that money into the wrong account and you spend it, you could end up in jail. It's still stealing.

 

Take all of this for what it is: my own opinion. And again, welcome to the swamp and remember to keep an eye on your pants. I'm sure someone will be by here soon to expalin that one.

[Bob Lion54]

Next is the lecture. Yes, very dumb of you to spend anny of that money. I can't remember the site but some guy thought it would be funny to deposit a non-negotiable cheack as a joke. Well, it went through and he spent a lot of the money. Once the bank woke up and realized what had happened, they wanted all of the money back. He was almost arrested except he found a law proffessor that took his case and kept him out of prison. I forget how everything worked out but the bank cleared everything up and he turned out ok as well.

 

Yea, I remember reading that. He was never almost arrested, though the bank threatened it. Basically, the bank has a certain time frame (like 30 days or 60days or whatever, I don't remember exactly) to rectify the error. If they don't, you get to keep the money. The bank had credited the amount, I think it was 90k, to his account. It slipped through the cracks and when he told them what happened, it was past the time they had to recover the money.

 

They said they would sue him and alot of jazz, but they couldn't legaly do anything. In fact, HE GOT TO KEEP THE MONEY! I think he gave most of it to charity, though.

 

Now for the advise: Don't worry about it. As long as there is enough money in the account when they try to take it out, you won't have to worry about anything. If there isn't enough, you'll just get charged an overdraft fee.

 

EDIT: I found the story. I forgot this part, but it seems the company that printed it accidentally made a real check. Thats why it was exepted by the bank. Anyways, heres the link - http://www.goodthink.com/writing/view_stories.cfm?id=11&page_id=2

[narfblat]

I think that $5,000 was mine. Any chance of returning it?

 

Getting serious though, good luck. I hope they are able to clear this up. If you get to keep the $5,000 you should be careful, as you may become addicted to spending.

[Tyrion]

I think that $5,000 was mine. Any chance of returning it?

 

Getting serious though, good luck. I hope they are able to clear this up. If you get to keep the $5,000 you should be careful, as you may become addicted to spending.

 

I'd advise to donate half to charity.