Question Details

No question body available.

Tags

united-kingdom dividends

Answers (2)

Accepted Answer Available
Accepted Answer
May 17, 2026 Score: 2 Rep: 3,109 Quality: Medium Completeness: 40%

See Section 24a of the Theft Act of 1968, which clearly applies to this situation in the UK.

Knowingly retaining funds that have been accidentally deposited to your account, after being so informed, is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Spending those funds is the additional crime of theft.

So take the high road! To be sure it's not a scam of some kind, verify the identity of those claiming that the payment was made in error, and then return the funds forthwith.

May 17, 2026 Score: 2 Rep: 30,627 Quality: Low Completeness: 20%

It's a general principle of law - at least in the UK but probably in most jurisdictions - that if you receive something you are not entitled to you can't just keep it.

There are lots of possible exceptions, for example you might claim "change of position" where you genuinely thought you were entitled to it and have spent the money on something you wouldn't have done otherwise. Or when a company sends you goods unsolicited there are stricter rules in the UK to avoid it turning into pressure selling.

It's unlikely any exception would apply here. Since it was their mistake and will cause you some hassle you could in theory demand an admin fee or similar but that's unlikely to be worth the effort or be particularly reasonable in the case of a simple one-off mistake that they have quickly corrected.