• An Auckland beneficiary is under investigation for an alleged “spending spree” after $158,000 was mistakenly transferred to her account.
• Mt Roskill pensioner Andrew Che Sit Bong lost his life savings due to an account number error.
• Westpac recovered $28,000 but the rest was spent on cars and cash transfers.

An Auckland beneficiary who accidentally received $158,000 after an account transfer error allegedly went on a “spending spree” with the money, refused to give it back and is now under police investigation.

Mt Roskill pensioner Andrew Che Sit Bong, 78, says he “lost everything” after sending his retirement savings to the wrong account number when transferring money back to New Zealand from a UK bank.

When entering payment instructions for his own Westpac account in January last year, the retired electrical engineer accidentally missed out one digit - meaning his money landed in the account of an Auckland mother-of-five.

The account number provided to Westpac had only 15 digits, not the intended 16, so Westpac added a zero to the suffice as per its usual protocols.

Che only realised his error two months later. Westpac immediately froze the woman’s account and was able to recover $28,000.

Police told Che the woman used the rest of the money to purchase two cars, transfer $60,000 to her boyfriend, and send $20,000 to a relative in Samoa.

Westpac refused to disclose the woman’s name to Che due to privacy, but eventually gave it to police after being served court production orders.

Che says officers are now preparing to interview the woman and her boyfriend and he hopes she will face criminal charges.

“Their happiness is built on my misery.

“I am a pensioner and I am unable to work. I need this money to tie me through my old age and I am devastated.”

While he acknowledges making the account error, he blamed Westpac for not checking the name provided on payment instructions and the bank swift code matched that of the recipient account.

Andrew Che Sit Bong acknowledges making the bank transfer error but believes Westpac is also liable for not cross-checking the recipient name and account. Photo / Michael Craig

He also believed the missing suffix number should have prompted extra scrutiny by Westpac and was a missed opportunity to prevent his loss.

In a final response letter denying liability for Che’s loss, 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 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 last year but a Financial Crime Unit officer emailed him four five days later saying police would not investigate as it was a civil dispute.

He also complained to the Banking Ombudsman, who after investigating found Westpac was not at fault.

Victim turns to local MPs after failed attempts to recoup cash

Frustrated by the lack of action, Che turned to his local MPs.

National MP for Mt Roskill Carlos Cheung swung into bat for his constituent. He contacted police and convinced them in September to reexamine Che’s file.

Cheung told the Herald he felt banks should have a responsibility to match recipient names with the right account - whether for domestic or international money transfers - “because sometimes there can be human error”.

Meanwhile, Labour list MP Camilla Belich wrote to Westpac CEO Catherine McGrath last month highlighting the “unjust and unfair situation” of an elderly man losing his retirement savings in such unfortunate circumstances.

She said best practice suggested it was prudent to check the recipient account name matched the account number “to minimise the likelihood of human error when manually entering a lengthy number, or when the bank themselves is required to alter the suffix for international compatibility”.

She also noted that Westpac required people making money transfers to enter details like the recipient’s name, “which suggests that these details are checked as part of best practice banking”.

Labour list MP Camilla Belich wrote to Westpac's CEO last month imploring the bank to help rectify the victim's unfortunate loss.

Belich said she understood Westpac had a “strong commitment to their customers to act in a reasonable and fair way”.

She hoped Westpac would act in Che’s interests and find a way to rectify the situation.

The Herald asked Westpac whether - in light of its $1 billion profit last year - it would consider compensating Che for his loss.

A Westpac NZ spokeswoman said the bank empathised with Che and had been assisting him to try to recover the money.

“That has included freezing funds in the recipient’s account, contacting [the overseas 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 confirmation of payee name matching service was being rolled out by NZ banks, Westpac said this was not available for international payment.

Unfortunately, the incorrect bank account number provided by Che was a valid account number for another customer, Westpac said.

“As soon as Mr Che alerted us to the issue, we traced the payment and froze the remaining funds.”

But Westpac was unable to recover the rest of Che’s money due to the seven-week delay in reporting his error to the banks.

Police said an investigation was under way and declined to answer questions about the case.

Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.