He intended to use the windfall to renovate the house.
Russell Alexander was startled to find £30 000 mysteriously
lodged in his bank account in December last year.
According to reports, the bank realised the mistake nine
months after the cash started appearing in Alexander's account.
Over time, more strange payments started to appear –
leading the handyman, of Sutton, Norfolk, to contact Barclays, who incorrectly
told him the money was his to keep.
The bank has now ordered the 54-year-old to pay it all
back.
After he queried the deposits, he claimed a bank worker
told him a few weeks later that he could spend the money as it looked like
direct inheritance funds.
According to the Daily Mail, the bank admitted that the
money was transferred by another person erroneously and that Russell was
"incorrectly advised that he could keep the funds".
They were able to get back the money from the man's account
as he left its equivalent there along with some extra cash. The bank has gone
on to offer him £500 (R10 420) as compensation.
In June, he used his own savings to buy a £237 500
doer-upper new home and kept the £110 000 windfall to one side, expecting to
use it to fund extensive repairs before opening the property as a B&B.
But in September, a former customer of Alexander's revealed
they were the accidental benefactor and Barclays took the money back out of
Alexander's account.
A dumbfounded Alexander said: "I never would have
bought [the house] if I didn't have the extra money. Barclays have stolen my
future plans and left me living like a stowaway."
He added: "It's been sat there nine months and they
said if I'd spent it they couldn't do anything, but because I didn't they've
just taken it back."
"It made no sense to me when the money just arrived,
but I checked with the bank twice and with an accountant – they all said spend
it.
"I pulled the house to bits and planned to use the
money to do it up, but now they've taken it back and I have to live in one room
of a derelict house."
Alexander blames the bank and said he's now been left
living in a semi-derelict home with no heating, and no funds to renovate it.
Barclays has admitted the money was transferred by another
sender in error and Alexander was "incorrectly advised that he could keep
the funds".
A shocked Alexander added that he was "totally
outraged" at the bank's offer of £500 (R10 420) compensation.
He said: "I've been a loyal customer for 40 years and
they clearly told me twice the money was mine to spend. I planned to renovate
the house to rent out rooms on Airbnb, but I'll need to work now to earn the
money and it will take years."
Mr Alexander is himself a former B&B owner and ran a
hotel business with his ex-fiancee, who he split up with in March last year.
He says the debacle around his finances began on December
29, 2020, when a mysterious payment of £30,000 (R632 215,64) landed into his
account, with the reference 'last of mum's' - which meant nothing to the
handyman.
On January 15, he received further payments of £30 000
(R632 215,64) and £777 (R16 352,24).
At this time, he queried the sums with Barclays and a few
weeks later, a bank worker called to say the transfers looked like direct
inheritance payments to him and he could spend it.
Five months later, Mr Alexander used his own money from a
property sale to buy a £237,500 (R4 994 601,25) doer-upper new home. He said he
kept the pot of mystery cash aside to fund the extensive repairs.
Alexander moved into his project house on June 23. His new
home needs rewiring throughout, the heating system and the plumbing needs to be
replaced, as do the roof, and foundations, he claims.
Another £50,000 (R1 052 088,27) landed in his account in
August - bringing the total mystery payment up to £110,000 (R2 315 195,84).
But in September a customer of Alexander's former business
rang him up and confessed he'd been the one to accidentally give the money to
him and Barclays took the £110 000 back.
The bank mistakenly took an extra £6 000 (R126 448,45) of
Alexander's own money, which was later reimbursed.
Alexander called Barclays who confirmed they had made a
mistake and offered him £500 (R10 420) compensation, he said.
"I've had sleepless nights over this for weeks. I
don't know what the matter is with Barclays. This is no way to run a bank. I'm
disgusted that this is how they treat their loyal customers. After giving me
nine months of false hope, their £500 (R10 420) compensation is a total insult.
They make billions of pounds a year.
A spokesperson from Barclays said: "We're sorry to
hear about this customer's experience. It is evident that the sender of the
funds had selected the incorrect intended recipient from their payee list when
completing the online payment instructions.
"There is a verification page displayed to allow the
customers to check that the details entered online are valid and correct before
proceeding to confirm the payment is to be made. Unfortunately, when the
recipient sought clarity regarding the unexpected funds being received in his
account, he was incorrectly advised that he could keep the funds.
"Subsequently the funds were removed from the account
following a claim from the original sender. However due to our error an
additional £6 000 (R632 215,64) above the intended sum received was incorrectly
removed. This will be returned to our customer together with lost
interest."
They urged customers to report unexpected funds
immediately, and to regularly delete one-off payees from the app or online
banking site.
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