Bank Issues 'Account Error' Denial

Lloyds TSB has spoken out against reports that a 16-year-old customer's account was wrongly credited with £2 million by the bank.
The firm said today that the actual amount which William Bower was allowed to withdraw stood at just £300. It also termed the process which allowed the Telford student to take the money out an "isolated fault".

Mr Bower, who bought an mp3 player and clothes with his unexpected windfall, has since been re-credited by the withdrawal amount so that he does not fall into debt due to the mistake.

However, the student's claim that a later check of his account balance revealed that he was £2 million in credit was denied by Lloyds TSB. A spokeswoman added: "Our systems show that Mr Bowen's account never displayed a balance of £2 million. We are investigating how this fault occurred."

The teenager's mother, Joanne, also explained how the fault was first made public today. "As soon as I realised, as a mother, I took him straight down to sort the situation out," she said.

"It was their money and I did the right thing."