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Topics: Money
James Moorhouse
A man who was paid a wage which was 330 times more than expected has won a legal fight to keep it.
Despite quitting just three days after the abnormally large sum was deposited into his bank account, the worker looks to have secured the dream outcome after it was ruled he could keep the money.
Although we all dream of happy accidents such as this one, there are actually a lot of legalities involved when it comes to money, even when it's something as simple as finding a fiver on the street.
You'd think with all the financial departments at companies these days that it would be near impossible to mess up this badly, and you rarely hear of it because the lucky winners probably aren't all that keen to share the news around, over fears that they'd have to pay it back.
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One woman from South Africa decided to spend the money after £850,000 landed in her bank account rather than £85, describing it as a 'gift from God'.
For one man in Chile however, it was the happiest of accidents when he received the equivalent of £127,000 back in May 2022, despite his usual monthly wage being around £386.
The man, who worked as an office assistant at food company Dan Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos de Chile, promised to pay the money back but then handed in his notice just three days later, and who can really blame him.
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Although there would have been a temptation to build a new identity in Jason Bourne fashion and move to another country, he was very easily discoverable by the company, who understandably wanted the money back.
However, after a three-year legal battle, a judge in Santiago has ruled that it was not stealing but instead ‘unauthorised collection’, which means the court cannot prosecute him as it is not a crime.
While he might be celebrating with a glass of bubbly, or perhaps with some delicious Mate, it seems as if the war isn't completely won, as his bosses remain determined to get the money back despite the judge's decision.
In a statement to Diario Financiero, they said: "We will take all possible legal steps, particularly an application for annulment, to have the ruling reviewed."