Location: California
A bit of a long story, but on thursday at 12:02 AM PST I received a payroll deposit of $6,600 to my bank account at the local credit union. Which was a bit more than the $1,000 I was expecting. I then also got $600 taken out of my account because of a delinquent debt. I withdrew 3k to my cashapp (the maximum limit per day) and drove to the bank at 12 in the morning because I knew if I left money in there they would take it to pay the rest of my debt. And since the company I work for had obviously overpaid me by a large amount I knew I would need to pay that back. I could only withdraw 200 per day so I moved the money to my savings and drove home. My hope was they would not take more out as I slept.
In the morning I decided I wanted a job more than I wanted 6k so I messaged my supervisor and told him I was overpaid by a lot. He said he would talk to payroll and I left to the bank again. It was my hope that they would see that I was overpaid and refund the NOT MY MONEY that they took out for the debt. The clerk talked to a supervisor and both of them told me the same thing. I should have told the bank I was having financial difficulties (lost my roommate, lost my job, had to borrow money to pay the full amount of rent until I got a 30 hr a week job in January. All of that meant no payments in over 6 months.) Because they have programs for financial assistance. The bank just assumed I didn't WANT to pay the money and took it as soon as they could. The money would NOT be refunded (sorry!) and it was too late to do more than request assistance for paying in the future. But that I could likely ask to pay back the money in installments.They also advised me that I should move my money back to checking so that when my work goes to get the money back, that they can access it. I asked if the bank would just take more money to pay my other debts and she said
"I marked down that you were seeking financial assistance! But . . . They could."
So I withdrew 200 cash from the atm (maximum daily amount) and left.
I went home and was trying to figure out how I was going to pay back the money to my company when I got a message from my supervisor. It was a screenshot of the convo between him and someone in payroll. He told them what happened and they said "Wow! And he told you right away? Damn." So at least I wasn't getting canned just yet. He sent me the number for payroll which I immediately dialed. I talked to a delightful woman who heard my situation and said
"Oh ok. Guess we'll just have to cancel that payment then."
I asked if I could pay back in installments because my bank took some out already and she was confused.
"Don't you get paid Friday?"
" . . . Yeah, but I always get the direct deposit on thursday at 12am."
"Huh. Because the deposit hasn't been sent yet. I'm just gonna cancel the 6k and send your regular check."
At this point I realized that whatever happened from this point forward it had nothing to do with my company. I said thank you very much and hung up.
As far as I can tell, this is what happened:
My bank saw I had a deposit on the way.
They fronted the money directly to my account.
They then took 600 off the top to pay for the delinquent debt.
Then once the deposit cleared, it would be picked up to cover what they put into my account.
So they used their money to pay themselves?
So I ended up paying my car loan payment so they wouldn't repo it, paid my rent, and then waited until 12am friday. Which is when I moved the rest of the money into my cashapp. I had my kids Friday so I had my phone on silent. Pretty sure they called a dozen times trying to get a hold of me. But I can't be sure it was them because they didn't leave any messages and the number was unlisted. Saturday comes around and I receive a payment of "0" from direct deposit. I'm guessing they saw my company canceled the deposit and took my check. I'm not looking forward to talking to them come tomorrow because I have a strong feeling it's gonna be a lot of
"Give us the full amount including the money we took!"
Is there anything I can do about this? Seems to me that I don't owe them $6,600 because they took 600, and at least 1,000 from my check. I've spent a small amount because my check didn't come in, so really I've got about 4,800. Maybe I can ask to pay in installments? Lol. Also since I've only got like 1,200 left on my car payment, could I pay that off with this money? Or is that fraud? Really not sure about what to do, and open to some legal advice that may not be strictly "ethical".
TL;DR
Got 6k in my direct deposit (supposed to be 1k) bank took money out for a debt then refuses to refund it so I can pay my job back. Turns out my job hadn't sent the money yet. Bank was covering until deposit processed. Company cancels payment and I kept the money in a different bank. Now the bank wants it's money back. What should I do?