English Lessons

New Zealand police are hunting for a couple who received nearly US$8 million by mistake from their bank. The couple applied to Westpac Bank for a NZ$10,000 overdraft. Bank employees made a huge mistake. They deposited NZ$10 million into their customers’ bank account instead of giving them the loan facility. The couple probably thanked their lucky stars. They took the money and ran. The pair, an Asian man and his New Zealand girlfriend, left the country immediately. However, they did not take all of the money with them. New Zealand police have told Interpol about the couple leaving the country, so there is now an international manhunt for them. Westpac officials are keeping how much the couple took a secret.

The couple lives in the town of Rotorua on New Zealand’s north island. They ran a gas station which had money problems. They applied for the overdraft to help with their financial difficulties. Locals say the pair left a note on the door of the gas station saying it had closed down. A banking lecturer, Claire Matthews from New Zealand’s Massey University, told the local Newstalk ZB radio station that the couple’s luck would soon run out. She said: "They've taken funds that they're not entitled to, that are not theirs….They've [really] become thieves.” She said it would only be a matter of time before the police caught them. A Westpac Bank spokesman said the bank and police were treating the couple as criminals.

MISTAKES DISCUSSION:

• What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘mistake’?
• Has a bank ever made a mistake with your bank account?
• What would you do if you saw $10,000,000 in your bank account?
• What do you think will happen to the person who made the mistake?
• Have you ever had a loan or overdraft?
• How often do you have money problems or experience financial difficulties?
• Do you think this mistake will damage Westpac Bank’s reputation?
• If a bank mistakenly gave you $10,000,000, would you take the money and run?
• Are you lucky or unlucky with money? Why do you think so?
• Do you think the couple in this story is really thieves?
• What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your life?
• What was the last mistake you made?

PHOTO CREDIT: www.katv.com

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