16 September 2023 , 11:16
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A lucky teenager was shocked to find he'd become an overnight millionaire when a banking error meant he was paid £8.9million.
Dane Gillespie had cashed an £8,900 cheque from his grandmother into his Nationwide account. But the 18-year-old was staggered to find millions had gone in by mistake. His mum Caroline, from Belfast, spoke of her shock after seeing a screenshot of Dane's balance.
“We couldn’t believe it," she said. “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'."
The Belfast Met student's millionaire status lasted only a few hours, with the bank realising their mistake and issuing a cheque correction. "It was Nationwide in the city centre at Donegall Place," his mum 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.”
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