Unidentified Bank credits

When I pay by bacs the bank insist on having the account holder’s name as well as account and branch numbers. This is to prevent paying into the wrong account. If it was Bacs there should be a name.

Your letter must be accepted, keep a copy and simply post it through to them. Do not spend any of the money until you know where it’s arriving from.

It’s probably down to privacy laws why they can’t tell you. As others have said keep a log. I suppose you could instruct the bank not to accept payments into your account from that source.

If HSBC says it cannot trace it, the depositor must be filling out a paying in slip and handing over cash. I thought the cashier was supposed to check the account name against the account number before proceeding.

At the very least, surely the bank knows where the deposit was made, even the actual cashier, and remind them to make this important check.

They said there was nothing they could do.
Yes they can although i think HSBC still allow cash deposits by third parties.

Even if they just log it and keep an eye on your account they must do that.

At least two banks have banned cash deposits by third parties, I think Nationwide as well as Santander.

Many years ago, way before online banking and in the days before debit cards, my six-monthly bank statement arrived and I was astonished to see that I had several thousand pounds credited to my account, in monthly payments.
I went to the bank who assured me it wasn't a mistake, it had come from a bank in S Rhodesia.
'We don't make mistakes, madam' said the bank clerk.
I did persist and it turned out that a woman with nearly the same name as me had been transferring money to her English bank account before she returned from overseas. It went into mine instead.
It would have been enough to buy a small house in those days.

The bank can definitely trace it Auntieflo. It sounds as though it was sent by BACS so HSBC will definitely have the originators bank sort code and account number. If it was paid into your account as cash then it is probably impossible to trace, it could be that someone has got your account number but the wrong bank code. I would be inclined to ask HSBC if it was paid in cash or by BACS. If it was BACS then the bank should have the originators name but if it was cash it would depend how it was paid in. HSBC have cash paying in machines but unfortunately they do not record any details of the person paying the cash in. If it was paid in over the counter there is the option of asking for a copy of the bank credit. Hope you can get it resolved.

Happened to me last year and I reported it in writing to Santander- they couldn’t give me any info either but at least it’s been registered should anything untoward happen in future.

Yes MB unless it was cash being paid in of course the bank can trace it. What are they talking about? I’d email customer services and repeat if it happens again.

Keep an eye on your account - sometimes fraudsters will put in small amounts to see if the account is accessible/working and may then start using it if nothing is done about it.

We did have an issue with a bank some years ago where they were paying our mortgage into someone else's account - we wouldn't have noticed as we didn't use the account for anything else but my husband happened to be checking it one day and queried it. The account owner obviously hadn't done anything to query it!

Maybe it’s that generous billionaire in Nigeria softening you up?
Seriously you should log your communications with the bank because as I understand it if a bank transfer goes to the wrong account and is knowingly retained by the recipient, you can be held liable.
If it is a bank transfer, of course, the bank should be able to trace it and I can’t understand why they claim they cannot.