Calamitous bank blunder sees Irish teen accidentally become millionaire as Porsche among major spending spree plans
AN IRISH teen was left stunned after accidentally becoming a millionaire from a massive bank blunder.
Dane Gillespie, 18, from Belfast, saw his bank balance hit a jaw-dropping saw when a bank transferred the wrong amount into his account.
The incident occurred after he received a cheque from his grandmother, but ended up cashing in on a much higher sum.
The 18-year-old lodged the cheque worth £8,900 (€10,300) to his Nationwide bank account.
He received the cheque from his grandmother,
But he was left shocked after checking his balance to make sure the money had made its way into his account.
An incredible £8.9million (€10.3million) was lodged into his bank account.
Caroline, Dane’s mum, said she couldn’t believe what had happened, and was shocked to see the bank balance.
Speaking to Belfast Live she said: “We couldn’t believe it.
“My son thought he was a millionaire for a few hours. There was £8.9million in his account on Wednesday morning.
“It’s as well he told us and didn’t go and blow it all. He’s only 18. He got a cheque from his grandmother for £8,900 and put the cheque in last Thursday.
“I said to him this morning, ‘that cheque should be cleared in your savings’ and he went, ‘right’.
“Next minute my husband messaged me with the photograph of his bank account details. It took me a wee while to click. He’s going to me, ‘I’m gonna order a Porsche’ and I said, ‘don’t be daft, that’s not our money, we need to get this sorted’.”
Just a few hours later, the bank realised the mistake and a cheque correction was issued.
The bank in question was the Nationwide branch at Donegall Place in the city centre, according to Caroline.
She added: “It was like that for a good few hours. For an 18-year-old being a millionaire for the day, he just can’t believe it.
“He just wanted to go out and spend, but if you do then you have to pay it back. He thought all his birthdays came at once this morning. It’s mad.”