Bank gaffe leaves customer in handcuffs

Christmas seemed to come early for a man when his bank accidentally transferred about £250,000 into his account.

The Bank of Ireland gave the man more than €300,000 instead of 300,000 Spanish pesetas when he asked them to exchange a sum and put it in an account in Spain.

But his good fortune was short-lived when he found himself in handcuffs being interviewed by Spanish police over the affair.

The Dubliner, who is emigrating to the tiny resort of L’Ampolla on the east coast near Salou, is David Hickey.

He said he went into a Bank of Ireland branch on November 10 and asked them to transfer £1,500 in pesetas to an account in Spain.

But instead €316,900 euros were sent.

Bank officials called in the gardai and even sent an investigator to Spain in a bid to track down their customer.

Mr Hickey, 49, said he had no idea of his new-found fortune until he got a call from the bank on November 18, alerting him to the fact the official was in the country.

Following the call he went to a local police station in the Spanish resort to explain his situation.

But he was soon in handcuffs, interviewed through an interpreter and arrested and brought before a court.

He was released but asked to report every two weeks until a decision was made about how to proceed with the case.

Police sources said the man was guilty of no offence and they could not help the bank.

One said the problem was of the bank’s own making and written consent was needed from the customer before they could retrieve the money.

Mr Hickey, 49, from Tallaght, Dublin, said: ‘‘I have broken no laws but I have suffered because of the bank’s mistake.

‘‘I have taken a bite out of the cherry,’’ he said, and explained the money had been put in ‘‘a secure place’’.

A Bank of Ireland spokesman confirmed they were pursuing the recovery of the money.