“This was a very expensive mistake.”
The error meant that, rather than landing as intended in his Westpac account, the money was deposited into the account of a random Auckland mother.
While Westpac was able to recover $28,000, police told Che that the woman – a beneficiary – used the rest of the money to buy two cars, transfer $60,000 to her boyfriend, and send $20,000 to a relative in Samoa.
Desperate to recoup his money and blaming the banks for not checking that the recipient account name matched that on the payment transfer, Che tried to negotiate compensation.
But his attempts were knocked back by Westpac and Barclays, which both denied liability because the mistake was his. The Banking Ombudsman also ruled that Westpac was not at fault.
In a dream turn of events this week, however, Che received a call from the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, informing him that Barclays had reconsidered its position and was now refunding his cash.
Che told the Herald he was stunned by the unexpected news and was still in disbelief.
“He said, ‘Mr Che, I have good news for you. Barclays is going to refund all your money that you lost, plus £500 ($1200).’ I was really hit by a tonne of bricks.
“I came over to my daughter’s in a daze, but I didn’t want to get too happy in case they might change their mind.”
He needn’t have worried. When Che checked his account, he was delighted to find the outstanding $130,000 had been returned – plus a £500 goodwill payment in recognition of the stress he had endured over the past 15 months.
“There’s a lot of zeros,” he said.
A beaming Che met the Herald yesterday to discuss his unexpected windfall and to thank the newspaper for its coverage of his plight.
He said he had lost 10kg due to anxiety and had many sleepless nights.
He believed media pressure helped to secure the return of his savings. “You are such an angel.”
He was now deciding how best to invest the money to secure his financial future. Having it returned was a huge relief.
“I am over the moon. I’m jumping for joy, at my age.
“I will be happier. You can see that I’m smiling more now.”
‘Wrongful recipient’ went on ‘spending spree’
Because of Che’s payment error, the account number provided to Westpac had only 15 digits, not the intended 16. So Westpac added a zero to the suffix, as is its usual protocol.
When he realised the money had not arrived in his account, he said he contacted Barclays in February 2024 and Westpac the following month.
In a letter denying liability for Che’s loss, Westpac said it was unfortunate the account number provided was for a valid Westpac account, albeit that of another customer.
Westpac said it had repeatedly contacted the woman in a bid to recoup his funds.
“The wrongful recipient understands the severity of the situation and are aware that the police at some stage may be contacted.”
Westpac recommended that Che alert police and offered to contribute $3000 towards his legal costs “on receipt of an invoice” if he wished to pursue civil proceedings against the woman.
Che did contact police, who initially refused to investigate – saying it was a civil dispute – until Mt Roskill MP Carlos Cheung intervened and convinced police to re-examine Che’s file.
It’s understood the woman is now under investigation. A retired law professor believes she has no right to the money, and could face theft charges which could result in jail time.
A Westpac NZ spokeswoman said the bank had been helping Che to try to recover the money.
“That has included freezing funds in the recipient’s account, contacting Barclays Bank, encouraging Mr Che to contact police, communicating with the recipient on his behalf and offering him assistance to take a civil case to recover his money.”
While a matching service to confirm payees’ names was being rolled out by NZ banks, Westpac said this was not available for international payments.
‘It doesn’t pay to be a thief’
Che says he is glad police are now investigating the case and hopes the woman who received his money faces justice.
“It doesn’t pay to be a thief.”
He said banks should be responsible for checking account names when processing large money transfers to ensure funds don’t go to the wrong person.
The failure to carry out these checks was an “inadequacy in the banking system”.
Asked what advice he had for other bank customers, Che urged people to be “very careful”.
“When you fill in a form, please do not use an old computer with a sticky keyboard. Use a new one. Because this was a very expensive mistake for me.”
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
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