[aeroamit]

Originally Posted by autotranny

This is indeed a very curious case, but should be straight forward.

I shall guide you on the process. Its actually just a continuation of what many others have said.
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In case of any queries please feel free to PM me.

@ Autotranny
Thanks a lot for your valuable advice. I will surely follow the guidelines and send a Registered Letter to the responsible Bank Authority.

Regards
Amit

[esteem_lover]

Amit, from your side, I will tell you what is wrong. Why did your dad accept those documents (NOC etc) as if the loan has been fore closed ? If you did not do it, you should not have accepted that. When you did accept those documents and free yourself of your liabilities, you have no right to set the rules for the reversal. The PNB manager is a very clever and dirty soul and he knows he is out of this one even though some clerk or the system made a mistake.

My suggestion would be first (immediately, tomorrow itself) send back those documents (NOC etc) with a covering letter lending your profound apology for the misunderstanding (your father could say that he presumed you had sent the money and fore closed) and explaining the case (take photocopies of everything) by registered post (not speed post) with acknowledgement due. If as I presume that your father accepted those documents, then the ball is well and truly in your court, so be cautious and do what I have suggested. A Lawyer's advice would be priceless here.

[drsnt]

I haven't gone through all the replies but I want to place few points.

1> Bank can withdraw money from your account which has been placed by mistake of their own i.e clerical error etc. but not which was due to third party error but since your account is closed, bank cannot do anything even if it was their mistake.If it was clerical mistake from bank side you would have received a notice for refund of amount.

2> If you find any discrepancy in your account statement it's your responsibility to point it out to bank, even if it by money deposit by any other person which you are not aware of, you will become responsible for it after it comes in your notice and you do not take any action for it.

3> If you knew that you have more EMI to pay and when you see that your loan has been cleared you should have raised problem with bank and not asked for NOC/ closure of account

4> Finally you will have to give back money to it's rightful owner which ever way you may want legally or amicably. Being a Indian citizen and not being in India you may face more hardship if the matter goes for legal proceedings and if court issues a summon in your name.

5> Remember you have someones money in your account, even though it is by mistake, you have acknowledged it through your emails, unless you are incapable to return it immediately you might have to give interest if other person goes for court and decree is in his favor.


These are few basic points which i believe you need to be prepared of, if things not go in amicable way.

Bank Manager is right that Bank cannot do anything in this matter but it can only be solved between you and other party

I would advise you to make it turn in healthy way after asking your CA,tax adviser and return the money to the person considering your tax liabilities.

In extreme situation ( you know how lawyers can make things turn) you are also liable for fraud as you have got NOC knowing well that you have not paid your loan but (since you have accepted it) it was paid under mistake by someone else and you seeing that opportunity quickly got your NOC thinking that you may consume that money which never belonged to you.

regards

[ike]

There's very little the bank can do once an account has been closed but in this case, the bank cannot wash It's hands off because even if it is in receipt of money, it cannot foreclose a loan account without your written request for the same. If you were at fault, you would've received a registered letter asking you to repay. As for the ombudsman, it is reasonable to assume that the aggrieved party will approach them since nobody will let go of hard earned money without a fight. And I believe that since you have not requested to close the loan, the bank will probably have to compensate the other guy. And since you have the noc and with the account closed, there's very little the bank can do to recover anything from you.

[shubhakant]

This might be off track but if it is possible to confirm 'genuineness' the party that made the mistake, you could consider selling your car to them, for value of a 'new car' - 2L.

You can then use the sale money + the excess in your account to buy a new car, which may be considered as benefit in honor of goodwill on your part.

The person who made the mistake will get a car that he can sell right away for a higher price, and recover some (if not all) of the 2L. The loss they suffer could be considered the penalty for the mistake.

This might help keep the paperwork clean for both parties.

[autoholic]

Here is my advice in the matter:

PLZ give the person's hard earned money back to him as soon as possible, BUT only while keeping yourself fully secure.

The way I suggest is:

Have an informal talk with the Branch Manager. Ask him for two things from the third person(Mr Amit Kumar Singh),

FIRST- A letter from Mr.Singh's branch confirming that the said Rupees Two lakh cheque(with complete details) was drawn from his account and deposited to your loan account. It will help if the letter mentions the full details of the account holder like his postal address and his PAN number. This way you know the depositor for sure.

SECOND - An Affidavit cum Indemnity Bond from the third person on a stamp paper(I dont know the value of stamp paper to be used, a lawyer can advice best on this matter) in which he states that the said cheque was deposited in your account by HIS own mistake and he indemnifies you of any interest/charges and any legal proceedings on a later date in the said matter. Also he should indemnify you from any legal action by the bank against you because of the person's mistake.(Legal action by bank is most unlikely, but still its good to keep yourself safe.)

If the person agrees to your conditions, ask him to have a draft made and sent to you or your lawyer for checking and confirmation.

I think these two documents will help you both in legal and taxation matters that may arise at a later date.

A list of some more docs you can ask for-
1. Bank statement for the period attested by bank manager.
2. Address proof
3. PAN Card

NOTE: I am NOT a lawyer/CA. So plz do take some professional advice.

[Brix]

There is an institution called Banking Ombudsman or Insurance Ombudsman which can take care of any issues with the bank as they are a legal extension of the Govt. So they can guide you with the correct procedure.

The Bank and the customer have to be involved as far as I see it.

[malgudi]

IMO, Do not directly interact with the Third person. Let the third person get his issue resolved by the bank as it is between him and the bank. On your part only interact with the bank as your agreement was with the bank only. Under no circumstance should you directly give any money(cash/cheque/dd/or any other means) to the third party.

[autoholic]

Aeroamit, I forgot to mention these points in my previous post.

scenario 1 - The Bank takes money from your account and deposits the same to the third person's account.
Result - Most unlikely to happen as this will be treated as admission of mistake by the bank, which they won't do, until and unless the depositor wrote the correct account number and the bank by mistake deposited it in another account.

scenario 2 - You give a cheque directly to third party in his account.
Result - If any IT matter arises how will you prove the deposit of Rs2lakh by the third party was a mistake? As you know when you buy a car you have to give your PAN number and that Rs2Lakh single transaction now reflects against your PAN somewhere in their records waiting to be found. If found, you will be milked by the IT men for sure then.

scenario 3 - The Third person starts legal proceedings against you and the bank.
Result - The bank will steer itself clear if they show the wrong deposit slip or cheque of the third party. Also if I guess correct, you had not sent a letter to the bank explaining the situation to them that the EMIs were not getting deducted from your account before your father took delivery of the NOC.
Would like to quote "drsnt" at this stage
In extreme situation ( you know how lawyers can make things turn) you are also liable for fraud as you have got NOC knowing well that you have not paid your loan but (since you have accepted it) it was paid under mistake by someone else and you seeing that opportunity quickly got your NOC thinking that you may consume that money which never belonged to you.


Final result - Though you have not done anything wrong(maybe a little by taking delivery of NOC, while knowing that you were not entitled for it.) But you can/may get into a whole lot of problems if the matter is not resolved soon. Just think by putting yourself in the other man's shoes, will you wait till Jan 2013 before taking any legal action???

Till you find your solution/answer, plz maintain a clear balance of Rs2L+ in your account at all times.

[Grace]

Well.. Folks, it happened to my wife too. We took a personal loan for Rs 73000.00 from XXXX bank(name masked) in 2008, after a couple of years, when my wife went to foreclose the account, we were pleasantly/ rudely shocked to know that bank had put in 26000 of some innocent soul and credited the money it to us, despite our consistent followup with the branch, we have been curtly told by the manager to get out and not create a scene, Wonder is there anything more to it than meets the eye? Anyhow, we closed the account with a mere Rs 210 and took NOC from the bank same day itself.

Regards
Andy

[yogeshnagpal]

Lets put it this way - This is not the first time PNB has made such an error. I had seen earlier this year that somewhere in a village, PNB deposited 964 crores in a farmers account and once they realized the mistake they immediately contacted the farmer and reversed the transaction-

Bank error makes farmer a billionaire, but for 40 minutes - Times Of India


My opinion here would be to follow the below procedure-

1. Draft a letter mentioning all facts in chronological order
2. Take photo-copies of all loan related documents
3. Probably give an NOC to the bank stating that you consent reversal of the amount deposited to your account (take legal opinion on this)

Send 'Hard Copies' of all of the above to the PNB officials at a senior most position. Branch head might not suffice, probably you may want to escalate it to the 'regional head'.

You need not transact with the 3rd party in any manner whatsoever. Let the bank officials deal with this mess.

Your job is limited to consenting the bank to reverse the amount accidentally credited to your account. That's it!.


Cheers,
Yogesh.

[Saptarshi B]

Originally Posted by aeroamit

Thanks a lot everyone for your suggestions. From our side we never initiated any sort of process for the Closure of Car Loan , and to be frank we were not aware until, my Father went to get the Passbook updated. Also, when my Father visited Retail Asset Branch for more information, he was given NOC and the Cheques given by myself at the time of availing loan were also returned back to him as the Car Loan account was closed. I do not want to initiate any kind of in-person talks with either Bank or the other Party and also do not want my Parents to be running for the issue. I will be able to take up the issue , only once I am back to India in Jan-2013. I had provide Bank with my Contact details in Canada, so that they can call me or if other party wants , then they can also reach me over phone. I am very clear that deposited money is not ours and should be returned to the person who deposited in the Bank. But at the same time ,why should we take unnecessary tension for no fault of ours.

Amit

Well, to be a bit blunt here: Someone has made a mistake. You should at least have the basic courtesy to attempt to sort out the issue. If nothing else then this guy has accidentally 'helped' you out and saved you some interest.

While you should in no way be doing any charity, if you are made aware of this case and the money is not yours, take a basic attempt to return the money to the poor guy who might have his car repossessed !

Of course your money and what you decide to do with it. IMHO try and help out someone who has made a mistake as only you can in this situation.

[joshuakeys]

Don't even think about the direct contact with the third party, Things might go wrong, Its not your fault, Its other person's problem, Its his mistake, let him deal with it, He can take your bank's assistance with your permission.

Why did he take such a long time? I would say he is an irresponsible person.

[Mallya_2010]

Most of these points have been already covered by other posters but to highlight what I think is best
1.Do not contact the other person directly. Always assume the worst and safeguard yourself and your parents first.The other persons welfare is not your concern
2.Correct your IT returns / audit statements to reflect the unexplained source of income.Legal/ CA opinion will be a must.
3.Correct your transactions with the bank by legal notice or registered post stating the fact that the deposit made in your account is by unknown sources.Please include the interactions your dad had at the bank even if they are not supported by documents. It is better if you can recall the dates and places. Again legal opinion would help.
4.How will you deal directly with the other person unless the bank documents his genuineness. What if another person then comes up to claim its his money. You will have to collect proof of identity , proof of deposit and many other things I am sure under a proper legal agreement , if you decide to do so.

One possible solution would be to have a loan agreement drawn up and shown as being repaid ( between you and the other party). All solutions are going to be messy.

The only thing I can fault on your side is that you must have immediately informed them in writing through proper channels and documented the same.Anyways dont feel sad about the other person,just imagine what a tangle he has put you in with his "mistake"

[somubj]

Do not contact the other person as others have righteously recommended.
Bank has complete responsibility of sorting this matter.

Contact an attorney right away and get some legal move in place before wither the other party or bank thinks of something. This should safeguard you against any possible legal issue.

Again, lots of suggestions from the forum, but don't depend and contact an attorney immediately. Since you are not in India, ask someone else to reah out to an attorney on your behalf.