‘What’s the oddest way you’ve come into money?’ – 23 strange financial flukes that you’ll be wishing would happen to you
13.
‘A couple of years ago while saving for my mortgage deposit I received a random phone call from someone claiming that I’d won £1,000 because I bought a Muller yoghurt from Sainsbury’s and scanned my nNctar card on the purchase. Instantly told them to leave it out and asked if they wanted my card number, mum’s maiden name etc and that I’m not falling for it.
‘They laughed and said no, we just need you to confirm you’re happy with Nectar sharing your email address so they can contact me further. Received an email, thoroughly investigated it and then a few days later BOOM. £1,000 in my account.’
–Pavvy92
14.
‘My wife and I when we just started dating booked to go to France for a long weekend on a Ryanair flight (about £12 each) and a tiny one room Airbnb for about £60 for three nights. We didn’t have any money really at 18/19 so we’re just planning on going to a supermarket and buying the cheapest wine and bread etc for a few days and walking around.
‘We got a coach to the airport and the only one we could afford got us in five hours before our flight at about 1am. Naturally we sat in the waiting area and both nodded off. When we woke up there was €80 sat in our laps. We looked around for people and there was absolutely no one around, we were alone in the waiting area. We used it to have a really special dinner and loads of nice wine and drinks on our second night, absolutely made the trip. Winner.’
–Prestigious-Box-8360
15.
‘Found £15 next to some dog poop near my house. You know I took it.’
–PorkVale
16.
‘Lost my mp3 player in a pub and went in the next day. Whilst in their lost property room with the manager, I noticed an old jacket of mine hanging on the rack. It was just a flimsy piece of shit with a rip on the shoulder so I never cared when I lost it about five months prior. Still, might as well grab it while I’m there, eh?
‘£270 in the inside pocket. The rent payment I’d inexplicably missed about five months prior.’
–Icy_Obligation4293
17.
‘I claimed for an mis-sold PPI thing through my bank. They settled for about £400 which was nice and it was legit mis-sold. Fast forward six months later and I had £1500 deposited into my account. Apparently they had miscalculated and this was the additional I was owed.’
–Deanosaur12
18.
‘I thought I’d won £50 on a scratchcard, The lady scanned it and said congratulations on your £150 win. I’d forgotten to scratch off something and it was a X3 multiplier.’
–BarnesyBorr
19.
‘£120 in a portaloo at Boomtown. Gross, yes, but everyone is gross at Boomtown so there is that.’
–fucking_booooooo
20.
‘My Dad had this happen to him. In the 90s he worked for an insurance firm and was there about 4 years. Turns out they took part of his salary each month and invested it into the same stuff he was selling. He never knew this. He gets a call 20 years later asking if he knows he’s got £20,000 sat there. My dad lived basically hand to mouth so this was huge for him. He gave me £100.’
–Sweet-Geologist9168
21.
‘For around nine months in a row, Uber was paying me for driving a taxi. Except I had never worked for Uber – somebody had clearly typed in some incorrect bank details. It wasn’t a huge amount as such, an odd £30 to £80 each month, but it was enough to treat myself to a night out every now and then.
‘I took things as far as I could with them. Upon receiving the first payment, I called them up and explained that the money wasn’t mine – dreading the thought of some poor taxi worker not being paid for the work they had put in. Uber told me to effectively just keep the money and that they would sort it out on their end. I complained every month and it was always the same story. Eventually something must have changed because the payments stopped, but it was a fun ride while it lasted.’
–spezisdumb42069
22.
‘About five years ago a former boss phoned me: ‘Do you remember when we opted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme for about three years in the 90s?’
‘I did, vaguely. We had to decide what we wanted our money to be invested in and being young we chose the riskiest option there was. My ex-boss gave me the name of company to call, to track this fund down. There was over £60k in it.
Result.’
–DeadBallDescendant
23.
‘Threw a ball for my dog. He came back with a £20 note.’
–MikeSizemore
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