Bank blunder pays Shennanton childminder £360,000
Mega rich for two days, Diane Hainey. GG 0310017 12
A CHILDMINDER near Kirkcowan managed to resist temptation last week after £360,000 was accidentally deposited into her bank account.
And the Wigtownshire mum has been rewarded for her honesty - with just a £50 cash gesture from the bank.
Diane Hainey, 41, of Low Shennanton near Kirkcowan had expected to find £121.41 in her Santander business account when she checked the balance from her mobile phone last Monday, but was left flabberghasted when the numbers flashed up to say she had a few quid more than that.
Diane, a mother of three, told The Gazette: “I rarely use the account, it’s really for paying in small cheques and to keep an eye on childminding money. But I checked it to see if a cheque had cleared and here was this £360,000 showing.
“I phoned the Stranraer branch but they just fobbed me off and told me it must have been a banking error from higher up.
“It was showing as pending all week until Friday, at which point it cleared and I had full access to the money. The idea of what we could do with that amount of cash did jump through my mind but I knew immediately that we’d have to give it back - I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Someone at the bank would have realised eventually.”
But it took Santander three hours to remove the cash again after it had cleared, and a reversal for the full amount was placed on Diane’s account on Friday.
Now Santander have offered a £50 gesture of thanks. Diane said: “I’ve still had no explanation.”
A Santander spokeswoman said: “An administration error led to an incorrect credit being applied to the account.
“This was rectified and we have spoken to the customer to apologise for any concern caused.
“Written confirmation will be sent to the customer and a goodwill gesture has been agreed to apologise.”
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 6 C to 14 C
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Sunny spells
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