Woman, 21, arrested after $4.6m was wrongly transferred into her bank account

[Karaoke]

Exactly this. I have no qualms about a bank error... This is different from the "bag of money on the street" (in which I'd turn in the bag contents untouched) scenario to me as well.

They're not exactly the same but pretty damn similar.

You have (1) access to money (2) you didn't earn (3) or given by gift (4) you can easily take. That's the situation. Everything else about how it got there is irrelevant.

[Jotaux]

Because having money is good? Duh. Common sense. Why let an opportunity like this slip away?

But wait, I already know your answer. You think its better to be without and feel all morally superior and pat yourself on the back than to enjoy the the money, right?

Yes, fortunately I can feel morally superior and still enjoy the money I do have. They are not mutually exclusive and you will find that doing what you think is right because its the right thing instead of whether its legal will afford you many opportunities. You don't have to cheat at life to win.

[TheTaurenOrc]

My opinion of this changed greatly when I learned these two facts:

1. No money was deposited into her account.
2. This is the second time the bank has made this mistake.

Banks fault; she should have to pay up or finagle any legal way of absolving herself of the debt. But jail time... I dunno, the bank needs to sort its shit out. Dangle millions of $ under peoples noses they're gonna spend it!

[Deleted]

Yes, fortunately I can feel morally superior and still enjoy the money I do have. They are not mutually exclusive and you will find that doing what you think is right because its the right thing instead of whether its legal will afford you many opportunities. You don't have to cheat at life to win.

Wait wait, so some kind of deity will reward me if Id follow YOUR personal moral code?

[Karaoke]

Because having money is good? Duh. Common sense. Why let an opportunity like this slip away?

But wait, I already know your answer. You think its better to be without and feel all morally superior and pat yourself on the back than to enjoy the the money, right?

Sounds like logic from someone who uses welfare and doesn't need it.

I can't speak for everyone but I enjoy money I've made a lot more than money I've been gifted.

[DesMephisto]

She looks like the type of broad with no brain.

She deserves her arrest, and jail time.

If you notice a sudden surge of money into your bank account, YOU REPORT IT.

You don't go out and spend it on stupid, worthless vanity items.

What a moron. It wasn't her money. She can now suffer the consequences for her own stupidity.

No you take it out and gamble it/invest it. You'll never get this opportunity again, might as well make a profit off of it.

[Rizendragon]

They're not exactly the same but pretty damn similar.

You have (1) access to money (2) you didn't earn (3) or given by gift (4) you can easily take. That's the situation. Everything else about how it got there is irrelevant.

Legally it isn't irrelevant though. If it's a legitimate error then the person that the error is in favor of does have some legal stake to the money.

[Jotaux]

Wait wait, so some kind of deity will reward me if Id follow YOUR personal moral code?

No, I'm an atheist, I don't believe in such nonsense. When people know they can rely on you and trust you they are more likely to give you a reference, be your client, hire you, etc.

When I left my last firm I could have easily opened up an accounting firm with just the clients that were willing to follow me. I also had accountants wanting to partner with me. I decided on trying out industry instead of public practice however for the experience.

[Karaoke]

Legally it isn't irrelevant though. If it's a legitimate error then the person that the error is in favor of does have some legal stake to the money.

Good to know. I'll become silent friends with someone who has the ability to transfer funds into my account, have them commit a 'legitimate error', and then split the 'legal stake' with them.

[crakerjack]

There's a good lesson in life and it goes like this: If something is too good to be true, then it's probably too good to be true. If 4.3 million dollars lands itself in your bank account, that is textbook definition of too good to be true. She should have reported it as soon as she noticed it.

[Deleted]

No, I'm an atheist, I don't believe in such nonsense. When people know they can rely on you and trust you they are more likely to give you a reference, be your client, hire you, etc.

When I left my last firm I could have easily opened up an accounting firm with just the clients that were willing to follow me. I also had accountants wanting to partner with me. I decided on trying out industry instead of public practice however for the experience.

You dont need stupid dogooder morals to be trustworthy. Its like saying, "we dont do refunds", even if that person really needs that money back cause they made a stupid mistake of buying a new vacuum cleaner instead of food. Not giving it back doesnt make one dishonest. Its just good business.

[derpkitteh]

to hell with the banks, i'll take the side of the woman.

if banks lose money due to their own fuck up, i'm happy.

[Jotaux]

You dont need stupid dogooder morals to be trustworthy. Its like saying, "we dont do refunds", even if that person really needs that money back cause they made a stupid mistake of buying a new vacuum cleaner instead of food. Not giving it back doesnt make one dishonest. Its just good business.

That's completely incomparable to this situation. Mistakenly buying a vacuum cleaner over food is a conscious decision. A typo when transferring funds isn't

[Karaoke]

You dont need stupid dogooder morals to be trustworthy. Its like saying, "we dont do refunds", even if that person really needs that money back cause they made a stupid mistake of buying a new vacuum cleaner instead of food. Not giving it back doesnt make one dishonest. Its just good business.

um...what? Jot is talking about reliance and trust...and you're talking about a business refusing to give the customer a refund. As that customer, I wouldn't think you have my interests in mind, only your profits. That doesn't build reliance or trust.

Seriously what are you talking about

[DesMephisto]

Man, I wonder what would happen if you put it in an untouchable bond for 25 years. Do you get the excess cash after?

[Karaoke]

to hell with the banks, i'll take the side of the woman.

if banks lose money due to their own fuck up, i'm happy.

Even if you owned the bank? If so I'd like to open an account with you.

[rogueMatthias]

to hell with the banks, i'll take the side of the woman.

if banks lose money due to their own fuck up, i'm happy.

I think people are interpretting it wrongly.

IF the bank had accidently "given" her 4.6 million, they could take as much as they wanted back but they'd be hard pushed to take back what she's spent already. It may have been an accident, but they still did give it to her. If a shop accidentally gives you too much change they can't later arrest you for it when they find out at the end of the day, if you've spent the change already.

The problem is it was just a massively extended overdraft. She didn't actually have additional money in her account, just the ability to be able to spend 3 million of the 4.6 million overdraft before they worked it out. So she just got herself millions more pounts in to debt than any bank would actually allow a person to get. So yeah, she screwed herself over on that one.

[saltytoes718]

I am not going to take the moral high ground and say I would of not of spent some of the money if this happened to me but what I do know is that some of the MOFOs on this thread would not be allowed anywhere near my house.

[Nillah]

Uhoh. Upon further reading they didn't give her 4.6 million dollars. They accidentally extended her credit line to 4.6 million dollars. This isn't an issue of theft. It's a consumer credit issue.

In that case she's definitely to blame. Obviously you're going to have to pay it back at some point if it's on a credit card, why the fuck would you spend that much?

[breadisfunny]

Corporations are considered people, and money is considered a form of speech, so if a corporation gives you millions of dollars, they are just saying "Hello"

no no no they are saying "we love you"