Bank apologizes for $145B overdraft error

IRVINE, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Scottish man said his bank has apologized after his online statement showed his account was overdrawn by $145 billion.

Donald Moffat, 38, a full-time student and part-time care worker, said his account with bank Barclay's showed two withdrawals Tuesday morning of about $72 billion each, the BBC reported Tuesday.

"We knew we still had quite a bit left in the account as we checked last night before we went out," Moffat said Tuesday. "This morning I went out to get a few things, then, when I came back, my account was overdrawn by that amount."

Moffat said the bank apologized, blaming a "technical error" for the mistaken statement. He said the bank offered him $14 in compensation for the phone calls he made to resolve the matter.

Barclay's said the problem was not limited to Moffat's account.

"Earlier today a technical error caused some customer accounts to be incorrectly debited," the bank said in a statement. "The problem was immediately identified and corrected within less than an hour, and all affected customer accounts are now showing correct balances."