Debating Myself

Benjamin Lovell went to the bank attempting to add to the $800 in his Commerce Bank checking account only to discover something pleasantly surprising–$5 million + dollars. Some guys have all the luck. Apparently Commerce Bank is really trying to live up to its slogan “America’s Most Convenient Bank.”

Naturally, Mr. Lovell did what any sane human being would do on discovering his new found wealth–he withdrew over $2 million over the next few days. For his part he made a series of sound investments, including some expensive jewelry for his girlfriend.

Unfortunately for Mr. Lovell this story does not have a happy end. The bank, noticing this unusual activity, realized that an error had been made–involving a mix-up with the account of another more fortunate and much richer Benjamin Lovell–and contacted the authorities. Mr. Lovell was promptly arrested and is being held on charges of grand larceny with bail set at $3 million, which Mr. Lovell unfortunately cannot use his accidental millions to pay. But, here is the kicker–Mr. Lovell faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. New York is supposed to be tough on crime, but come on! People convicted of accidental homicide (though that case is another story) face less time than Mr. Lovell.

The penal code is a reflection of the values of our society, and apparently our society has chosen to really protect big corporate banks from their own mistakes. Just don’t expect the same treatment from the bank when you make a banking error. Bank of America apparently doesn’t seem keen on helping customers who make costly typos while conducting online banking. Wells Fargo is notorious for signing customers up for extra account features (and their subsequent monthly charges) without notice–meaning the consumer has to go through the time-wasting effort of getting those charges refunded and removing the extra account features by telephone. In fact, according the Ripoff Report, banks make a lot of mistakes, and often leave their consumers with the bill.

Do I think Mr. Lovell should go to prison? Not particularly. Should he give the money back, now that he knows it isn’t his? Absolutely. The burden should be on the bank to fix their own mistake. There is no reason Mr. Lovell should be held responsible. Once he was notified by the bank that an error occurred, he became responsible, but until then it is the bank’s job to figure out where the money went.

I don’t see any jury in their right mind convicting Mr. Lovell, and rightfully so. People learn from their financial mistakes the hard way, and a multi-billion dollar bank should too. And Mr. Lovell should probably do his banking elsewhere.