# Credit union lodged money to wrong account



## 40girl (18 Jun 2019)

Hi
I have a credit union loan that I have been very bad at paying over the years.  There is about 5k remaining on the loan.  

I transferred €2400 from my bank account to my partners credit union account by bank transfer indicating my partners credit union account number in the reference field to indicate the account that was to be credited.  

The money never made it to my partners account and when I rang to query it transpires that the money was put into my own account and has been offset against the outstanding loan and they are not willing to transfer it across to my partners account.  My partners credit union account number was clearly indicated on the transfer.

Can they legally do this?  Surely the money should go to the account indicated on the transfer and they can't just decide to put it against my loan.  This money is not my money it is my partners.  Surely it's the same as if I lodged it into my partners account in person at the desk and because they recognise me that they decide to put it off my loan once the cash exchanges hands.

They are ringing me back shortly so just want to check that I am within my rights to tell them I will be lodging a complaint with the financial regulator if they do not transfer it to my partners account.

Thank you.


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## Palerider (18 Jun 2019)

They should apply it where it was intended.

You should get better at paying your credit union loan, it is the other members from your local community you are not paying back not some faceless entity.


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## 40girl (18 Jun 2019)

Palerider said:


> They should apply it where it was intended.
> 
> You should get better at paying your credit union loan, it is the other members from your local community you are not paying back not some faceless entity.


Yes I understand what you are saying - I have paid 75% of this loan but have not been making regular payments over the last year.

I am really just looking to see if what they have done is legal as they said it was something to do with the system recognising my IBAN number from a previous payment which is why it was put into the wrong account.  

Thank you for replying.


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## Feemar5 (18 Jun 2019)

Your partner should have transferred the money as IBAN numbers are recognised by the computer system.    However, if they say they made a mistake they should correct it.    If you  are not able to make the agreed repayments you should try and negotiate a new schedule as this may affect you getting another loan in the future.


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## RedOnion (18 Jun 2019)

Feemar5 said:


> as IBAN numbers are recognised by the computer system.


Really? Why would they have done that?


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## Monbretia (18 Jun 2019)

What sort of bank transfer was it?  What account number did you put that it was to go to?  Putting something in the reference field may not make it go to the right place.  Normally an online transfer will go from your account to whatever sort code/account no/iban you put on it.  The reference is just that, a reference and might only be a note to yourself or the receiver as to what it was for.

However because it's a credit union it might be a different system to normal online banking but if it isn;t then it should go to the account number you put as the receiving account.


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## Peanuts20 (18 Jun 2019)

No point in lodging a claim with the regulator until you have exhausted the CU's complaints procedures. Reg won't look at it until you have.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (18 Jun 2019)

Does your credit union a/c have an IBAN?

Or does the credit union itself have one IBAN and you have an a/c no that's specific to the credit union?

If it's the second case *and* you put your partner's  own specific credit union a/c no in the narrative *then* I think that's a pretty clear instruction to credit the funds to his a/c, not yours.

I would write a letter to the credit union manager immediately.


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## Freelance (23 Jun 2019)

If the facts are as you state the CU determining a destination for the transfer on the basis of the inbound IBAN is totally wrong.Your partner is currently at the loss of €2,400. He/She has a very strong case and he/she should make a formal complaint to the CU (and later to the FR if the CU do not resolve the issue). Make sure that consequential loss is mentioned (i.e. what he/she could be doing with the money if they had it) as the CU will ultimately be liable for his as well as lost interest/dividend.


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## peemac (28 Jun 2019)

I would guess that the op got it wrong and transferred into her loan account. Putting something in a reference field is just for the account holder to know what the transfer is. 

Eg, if I send a payment to a sports club credit union account, I'd put my club membership number as reference. This means that the club secretary knows the member number. 

Each cu account has an individual Iban, so before blaming the cu, maybe check everything on your side first. My guess is that the error is yours.


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## MrEarl (28 Jun 2019)

Monbretia said:


> What sort of bank transfer was it?  What account number did you put that it was to go to?  Putting something in the reference field may not make it go to the right place.  Normally an online transfer will go from your account to whatever sort code/account no/iban you put on it.  The reference is just that, a reference and might only be a note to yourself or the receiver as to what it was for.





peemac said:


> I would guess that the op got it wrong and transferred into her loan account. Putting something in a reference field is just for the account holder to know what the transfer is.
> 
> Eg, if I send a payment to a sports club credit union account, I'd put my club membership number as reference. This means that the club secretary knows the member number.
> 
> Each cu account has an individual Iban, so before blaming the cu, maybe check everything on your side first. My guess is that the error is yours.




Hello,

I agree with both of the above posters, putting a number in a reference field could mean anything.  It's not a clear instruction to credit a nominated account at the Credit Union.

At least the money is gone against your arrears on your loan, so you've got a benefit from the transfer in that regard - it may have saved you from having a debt collector or solicitor appointed to collect the arrears on your account, for example.

As an aside, I can't help but wonder why you were giving priority to transferring funds to your partner's credit union account, ahead of paying your overdue loan repayments btw ?


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