"I thought it was funny with the credit crunch," Kaylie Coomber said of the astonishing mistake.
A bank has apologised to one of its customers - after accidentally offering her an overdraft of £84 million.
However, Kaylie Coomber from Highnam in Gloucestershire has laughed off the shocking news, which came in a reply letter from Alliance & Leicester (A&L) after she applied to have her overdraft extended by £50 to £200. She said that the incident was "funny" and "like all my Christmases coming at once".
Despite the official-looking offer, it was instantly apparent to the 20-year-old careworker that her eight-figure overdraft would not, in fact, be usable. She explained: "I needed the overdraft because of the time - it's just before Christmas and I have to pay my car tax and MOT.
"I thought it was funny with the credit crunch. They have obviously made a mistake - if they were right I could be one of the richest people in the country."
A&L's original letter read: "We are pleased to confirm that we have arranged an overdraft limit of £84,480,090.00 on your account." A spokesperson for the bank said that they apologised for "any inconvenience or upset" the erroneous letter had caused Ms Coomber and termed the incident "unfortunate".
With the onset of the credit crunch, most UK banks have faced losses of revenue and balance sheet worries. A&L itself has agreed to a merger deal with Banco Santander, a large Spanish financial services group which also owns Abbey, due to the financial crisis.
