Accidently Sent Thousands of Dollars to a Random Person. Any Advice?

watupman on 07/01/2021 - 12:28
Last edited 07/01/2021 - 14:19 by 1 other user

Hi guys,

I've sent the money to a wrong account. I am such a silly sausage:(

I've contacted my bank, they took about a month to reply and and said the receiver's bank declined our request to recall as no response from their customer.

I asked them to investigate it again and 5 weeks later my bank said 'their bank again declined our request to recall the funds due to no response from their customer', 'I can confirm that we are not liable to cover for any loss incurred'. My bank said there was nothing else they could do from now on.

I thought they would have offered me other options since I've been their customer for almost 20 years and currently hold fairly large amount in their savings account. However, I also understand it is 100% my fault for sending money to a wrong account. I'm thinking of changing bank after this incident. Other banks offer much better interest rate anyways.

Fortunately, after months of researching, I finally found out my money was sent to a travel company.

I want to be fully prepared before I approach this company. what should I do? I've printed out my bank statement and that is all about it.

  1. Should I visit his bank first?
  2. Should I tell my bank? If so, what can my bank do?
  3. Should I report to ombudsman NSW or police first?

Sorry for having so many questions. I am extremely worry that travel company will have an attitude of "sorry we can't give you money back since it's your mistake, not ours". They may even create fake invoice to say I was their customer (I dont' even know if that's possible haha).

I read some articles about people getting charged with a theft or going to jail after they spending the money that was mistakenly sent to their bank account.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys. Thank you :)

Love you all !

Financial

Comments

  • dogboy on 07/01/2021 - 12:34
    +23

    Bikies

  • avoidfullprice on 07/01/2021 - 12:35
    +50

    Contact the ombudsman. They will help you out. Calm down. I made that mistake before.

    Edit: HELP FROM OMBUDSMAN IS FREE.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 12:53
      +2

      Thank you so much. seems like Ombudsman isn't answering calls this week but I will try to reach them next week. I just spoke to AFCA and she has been extremely thorough and kind. I can just lodge my complaint to AFCA right?

      • avoidfullprice on 07/01/2021 - 12:57
        +54

        Yes. Include succinct facts, date time transaction reference number, bank account number, date of correspondence, what your desired outcome is.

        Exclude irrelevant parts like been with them for 20 years or you assumed the bank would do X, Y, Z

        • watupman on 12/01/2021 - 18:34
          +3

          Hey, I gave flight company a call and they checked the transaction, acknowledged it and gave the money back straight away. It was much easier than I thought :)

          Thanks so much for your help. Good people like you will change the world !

      • bmerigan on 09/01/2021 - 22:30
        +1

        Why on earth would you contact the ombudsman? Are you hoping they will blame the bank?
        Just go ask the travel agent.

        • SnakeCasablanca on 11/01/2021 - 10:02
          -3

          The Ombudsman will unfortunately most likely resolve the situation. They will probably force the bank to give back the money out of their own pocket which makes no sense and will essentially be a hit to shareholders for a mistake that the OP made. If the OP sent the money by mail the Post Office would not reimburse.

          I would also suggest calling the police. If the person is refusing to return the money or has spent it, this is essentially theft by finding which is against the law. This person should be charged.

          • bmerigan on 11/01/2021 - 10:16

            @SnakeCasablanca: I agree with the 'theft' analogy but as far as I can tell the OP has not yet asked the travel agent for the money back, so not theft yet.

            • SnakeCasablanca on 11/01/2021 - 10:23

              @bmerigan: The bank has made requests to recall the funds. This has been declined. Therefore the money has been asked to be returned and the travel agents have said no.

              • GG57 on 11/01/2021 - 10:40

                @SnakeCasablanca: The travel agents have apparently not responded (according to OP's post), they have not said 'no'.
                A slight but important difference.

                • watupman on 12/01/2021 - 18:35
                  -1

                  @GG57: When I gave them a call, they said their bank never notified them. Not sure if it's true or not but I did get the money back from the travel company. Happy days :) you guys are awesome

  • garetz on 07/01/2021 - 12:39
    +21

    Why did you wait for months ? Go straight to the ombudsman.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 12:54
      +3

      I was just waiting for Nab to call me back. but as usual, their "we will call you within 5 business days" got delayed a lot. I so silly :(

      • garetz on 07/01/2021 - 12:57
        +39

        You can either be reactive or proactive in these situations.

        If you are reactive then it will take alot longer to resolve the issue than you anticipate. It always pays to do everything proactively in these kind of situations.

        You also need to give them timelines you will take action not the other way around.

        If they say it will take 5 business days to get back to you, you tell them if you do not recieve a response within that time you will be making a complaint to afca/ombudsman. Then do what you say. Otherwise they will walk all over you.

        • watupman on 12/01/2021 - 18:36

          Thanks for your help my friend :) I got my money back yay!

      • capslock janitor on 09/01/2021 - 13:27
        +4

        so it's NAB huh

  • pndl on 07/01/2021 - 12:42
    +22

    Next step is to escalate a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. It costs you nothing whether you suceed or not. Try and get them to compensate you under ePayments code which sets out some instances where the bank might refund you for a mistake. However alternatively at the very least get the detail of the person that received your money as the only other way I see you getting this is through a court application which will set you back few hundred dollars.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 12:55

      Thank you so much sir !

      • pndl on 07/01/2021 - 12:59
        +2

        Look at clause 32 of the ePayments code, even if the account doesn't have the full money anymore, the receiving bank needs to use 'reasonable endeavours' to help you. I'd try and push line. For example, does it have a partial amount? Do they receive a salary in that account? Do they hold other accounts? Maybe a loan account? Did they provide you with the account holders details?

  • mbck on 07/01/2021 - 12:43
    +2

    Sorry to hear and it must be stressful the last few months. Definitely go to the financial ombudsman. There's a chance you may end up with a refund as gesture of goodwill. But you being a customer of xx years will not help you with anything.

    Hence why better offers are given to new customers only

    • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 12:53
      +14

      Ombudsman is the only way.

      "…refund as gesture of goodwill…"
      Why would a bank even consider that?
      They provided all of the infrastructure to facilitate account holders having the ability to transfer funds.
      They employ multiple points of authentication and other verifications to 'assist' customers in avoiding fraudulent or erroneous payments.
      They processed this payment as instructed.
      They have twice attempted to recover the funds.
      The bank has done absolutely nothing wrong. Why would they even consider 'refunding'?

      • mbck on 07/01/2021 - 13:01
        +1

        I mean by going through ombudsman, the bank may do that. Ofc it's not, it's just to keep the customer quiet and make the problem go away. But they won't do this if you don't go via ombudsman

      • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:03

        Yes sir! I will definitely contact Ombudsman.Police officers cannot do anything about this matter right?

        • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 13:27
          -1

          What specific law do you think has been broken?

          • orangetrain on 07/01/2021 - 14:37
            +15

            @GG57: Are you allowed to keep a million dollars if it lands in your bank account?

            • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 14:49

              @orangetrain: I don't know; that is why I asked the question.
              Is it classed as 'theft by finding' or something similar?

              • orangetrain on 07/01/2021 - 14:52

                @GG57: Yeah, theft and whatever the receiver does with it.

                See: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19364838#:~:text=A%20New…)%20overdraft.

                • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 15:38

                  @orangetrain: Slightly different circumstances in that case, but I did my own research and found this:
                  https://www.gotocourt.com.au/criminal-law/vic/stealing-by-fi…
                  I assume other states have the same laws. This site mentions:

                  "…when an accused comes across property innocently, if they later assume the right to it by keeping it or dealing with it as an owner, they will be taken to have appropriated it and may be found guilty of stealing by finding…"

                  The onus is probably on OP, in this case, to prove that the payee was not entitled to the payment made by OP.

                  • picklewizard on 08/01/2021 - 18:57

                    @GG57:

                    The onus is probably on OP, in this case, to prove that the payee was not entitled to the payment made by OP.

                    I don't think this is the case, how can you prove you don't owe money to someone? I don't owe money to you, @GG57, but I can't prove that I don't. That's kind of like a courier asking to prove a package wasn't delivered.

                  • TilacVIP on 09/01/2021 - 08:53
                    +2

                    @GG57: Well that will be quite easy to do, considering it was sent to a travel company but there "should" be no evidence of any bookings made in the system

                    • chriskq on 10/01/2021 - 06:15

                      @TilacVIP: thats also different as its the other party that would have to willingly confirm that, as Picklewizard said the OP can't prove he didnt do something….

                      E.G.
                      Me: How can you prove you didnt eat my weetbix this morning
                      Other party: I didnt eat weetbix i had toast.
                      Me: that doesnt prove you didnt eat my weetbbix!

                      • TilacVIP on 10/01/2021 - 08:52

                        @chriskq: Not sure what you're on about here!!!

                        There would be no booking to such person in their system. As its a company that sells a service, they would need to prove they received the money in a legit manner for a service they provided, where the OP will claim he sent it to them accidently.

                        OP: I sent the money to XYZ travel by accident & I asked for my money to be given back to me
                        Travel Agency: It was for a service provided (if they wanted to spin some BS)
                        Ombuds: Can you provide details of that service - ie. booking details,

        • sd4f on 11/01/2021 - 06:03

          Not unless it's the bank that made the mistake, and accidentally deposit the money into your account; then the police will definitely get involved to track you down.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:06

      I will definitely go to financial ombudsman next week. they aren't answering phone calls at the moment. Do you think it is better to approach the travel company first before going to financial ombudsman?

      • mbck on 07/01/2021 - 13:46
        +2

        Travel company may or may not refund it. They may also ignore you. Just deal with the ombudsman. Pretty sure there's a form you have to fill out online.

        You'll need to attach screenshots of your previous efforts with the bank to come with a solution (eg, emails).

        • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 14:00

          Yes, sir. Thank you so much. I will keep you updated with the outcome. Thanks so much for your help.

      • Meho2026 on 07/01/2021 - 17:33
        +10

        Next week!
        Are you crazy?
        Don’t wait till next week
        Go on the AFCA website right now and lodge a complaint.
        You’ve already made this a bigger issue by not chasing the bank. Don’t delay any further

  • paranoidguy on 07/01/2021 - 12:45
    +2

    Should I tell my bank? If so, what can my bank do?

    You already have answer.

    My bank said there was nothing else they could do from now on.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:01

      You are right. Thanks for your help :)

      • paranoidguy on 07/01/2021 - 13:02

        I hope you get your money back. :)

        • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:03
          +1

          Thank you so much! I hope so too haha
          It has been a stressful months

  • Bargainbattles on 07/01/2021 - 12:49
    -2

    You need to take legal action against them

  • Hithere on 07/01/2021 - 12:54

    Apart from approaching the travel company and hoping you'll get a sympathetic Manager, because you've got no one to blame, (I feel for you) I very much doubt if you'll reach a positive outcome.

    Your bank has done nothing wrong and followed the rules, an email to the head of their PR department 'may' achieve something but again doubtful.

    Legal action will be throwing good money after bad as the bank has followed the rules.

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:08

      I agree with you. Bank did not do anything wrong. Maybe I was hoping for a miracle. It was 100% my fault. Hopefully i will get a positive outcome.

      • Wiser on 10/01/2021 - 20:15

        What was type of payment?
        Pay anyone, paying using mobile number?
        Did you provide BSB ,account number and account name.
        Or was this travel company in your saved payees list.
        It is impossible to match BSB, account number and account name if you are manually entering details.
        Previously banks always reject if there is a mismatch. Nowadays account name is not checked, I believe.

  • MrHyde on 07/01/2021 - 13:01
    +9

    I am interested in knowing how you found out that the recepient is a travel company. How does one go about finding out who a BSB and account number belongs to?

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 07/01/2021 - 13:10
      +2

      BSB is easy …account number is harder!

      • CyberMurning on 07/01/2021 - 13:10
        +1

        unless they are business and advsertise their banking details on google

        • MrHyde on 07/01/2021 - 13:18
          +8

          I haven't really seen many businesses that advertise their banking details on their websites… hence my query.

          I'm almost thinking the transfer was legitimate; but because of lockdowns, etc, the OP had to cancel their trip and are now trying to figure out alternative ways to get their money back.

          • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:33
            +3

            @MrHyde: I wish this was the case but it isn't. My bank provided me the receiver's bank branch. On my bank statement, they had partial company's name on the transaction. I went through a lot of the companies and finally found it :) Also it matched their BSB and Acct number. But I do get where you coming from

            • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 13:36
              +3

              @watupman: Surely your bank statement would only show the details that you input for the transfer (the same that you most likely had to review / authorise). The bank-to-bank transfer system does not validate the recipient at the time of sending it (AFAIK).

              • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:40
                +1

                @GG57: it shows their partial name of the company followed by some reference number V829340**** and their account is still on my payee list.

                • GG57 on 07/01/2021 - 14:22
                  +13

                  @watupman: Ok. Sounds like it was already on your payee list, and you selected (and reviewed / authorised) the payee from that list?
                  The payee list isn't validated against the payee's bank account details, so you must have created it?

                  • rarelyscene on 09/01/2021 - 17:54

                    @GG57: It could still be on their payee list now because at the time of payment they selected save payee.

            • sleet on 11/01/2021 - 17:01

              @watupman: So where were you meant to send the money to originally?

          • spk-chelsea on 10/01/2021 - 10:53
            +1

            @MrHyde: Ha ha… I would have never thought in this angle.. very clever.. this seems more plausible than what OP is saying.

          • sleet on 11/01/2021 - 14:32

            @MrHyde: I agree. There is more to this story that the OP isn't telling. We only hear of one partial side of the story.

            • watupman on 12/01/2021 - 18:32

              @sleet: I gave company a call, they checked the transaction and gave the money back straight away. It was much easier than I thought :)

          • watupman on 12/01/2021 - 18:47

            @MrHyde: Got my money back yay! Thanks for your concern my man. Have a great one :)

  • CyberMurning on 07/01/2021 - 13:10
    +2

    what was the mistake?
    wrong 1 single digit in the account number?

    • MrHyde on 07/01/2021 - 13:15
      +5

      A single digit won't cause the mistake. Most banks utilise parity check digits; so a single digit change to a number would lead to an invalid bank account and the fund transfers being rejected.

      I've made single digit mistakes many times and in all cases, money has been refunded automatically after a couple of days and then I get charged a fee of some sort for the invalid transaction.

      • avoidfullprice on 07/01/2021 - 13:23

        My case was a single digit mistake, bank transfer back in 2009. Did not reject.

      • Cyberninja on 09/01/2021 - 07:40
        +1

        Check digit validations are on credit card numbers. No such validation is done on account numbers.

        • 811b11e8 on 10/01/2021 - 16:13
          +1

          Depends on the bank to they are responsible for their own account numbers.

          Pretty sure most banks use a check number the bank I worked for did for all transaction accounts.

          • Settero on 10/01/2021 - 17:03

            @811b11e8: All Australian accounts are digit checked (9) however if you forget a digit or provide less than 9 digits it's read as zeros followed by account number, also not all banks use all 9 digits e.g. you try to pay account 123 456 but only type 23 456 , it will try to pay account 000 (023 456) if that makes sense!

            Which I guess does not really serve as a good digit check in regards to missing a digit.

            I think varying account length is more common with older accounts so you generally won't run into this issue.

            • Cyberninja on 12/01/2021 - 10:55

              @Settero: check digit is different than digit check 😊

  • tsunamisurfer on 07/01/2021 - 13:19
    +12

    The OP's biggest worry is not that he'll get the money back, is that the travel agent will remain solvent until this is taken care of.

  • Hellfire on 07/01/2021 - 13:27
    +23

    It's called a mistaken internet payment and here is a fact sheet that outlines the process; https://www.afca.org.au/media/829/download

    • watupman on 07/01/2021 - 13:29

      You are a lifesaver. Thank you so much. I might take this form to the travel agency

    • capslock on 07/01/2021 - 16:16

      The bit where it says you get your money back if you contact your bank within 10 business days is interesting.

      Anyone out there want to start transferring thousands of dollars 'by mistake' to their family and friends?

  • bobbified on 07/01/2021 - 14:39
    +6

    I read some articles about people getting charged with a theft or going to jail after they spending the money that was mistakenly sent to their bank account.

    I've never understood this. They only seem to go after criminal prosecutions when it's the bank's money. When it comes to an individual's money, like in your case, they just go "bad luck, your screwup". I would've assumed that they would both be civil or both be criminal matters - not one and the other.

    • Rockets84 on 08/01/2021 - 12:55
      +1

      That confuses me too. Spend money that a bank accidentally puts in your account and the police charge you with fraud. If you OP knows the business that received the funds and they aren't responding to the banks requests, I'd contact the business directly and threaten to go to the police for fraudulent activity. But I'd go in on the sly at first and get the business to confirm that they are the owners of the account that incorrectly received funds first.

      • Brendoo on 08/01/2021 - 15:00
        +4

        The travel company may not even realise the money is there. They may be getting thousands of deposits a week into their account which may be transacting millions of dollars in a month. It would only be when they do a periodic reconciliation of invoices to payments would it pop-up as an anomaly. Even then they may take time to work out where this unaccounted for money came from. Sometimes if you can't work it out you just move it into a holding account to work out later and it sits in the queue of an accounts receivable clerk to take care of with the hundred other things they need to check.

    • gromit on 08/01/2021 - 16:59
      +1

      In the case of the banks money they have a reason to chase it, when you screw up the responsibility/problem is for you to chase. They can still be prosecuted if they refuse to return the money as they don't have a right to keep it or refuse its return.

      • OzJD on 08/01/2021 - 21:48

        I've worked for a few travel companies and we've done reconciliation daily. It's not uncommon for money to appear and no one is sure where it came from, and it sits there until the money is claimed.

        This may not be the case for smaller agencies who aren't dealing with as many daily transactions.

      • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 12:28

        In the case of the banks money they have a reason to chase it,

        What reason is that? They screw up and put the money into your account. It's no different to an individual screwing up. Why do they get the criminal system backing them?

        when you screw up the responsibility/problem is for you to chase.

        The bank generally won't provide information on where the money has gone because "privacy" and the police won't get involved because it's a "civil matter".

        Why is the bank's screwup different to mine or your screwup?

        • gromit on 09/01/2021 - 12:33

          Why do they get the criminal system backing them?

          It isn't, both cases have the weight of the law behind them. The difference is purely in the means by which the bank has to pursue the matter. Both screw ups are the same, both have the right to pursue through the law the second party that has illegally obtained the benefit

          • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 12:36

            @gromit: In theory, it's true. In practice, the police won't get involved.

            To even start, you will need to launch a civil case to subpoena the bank for information on where funds have gone.

            There are certain circumstances where the incorrect recipient has to agree to return an individual's money. If it's the bank's money, they won't be asking - the will just debit it out of the account!

            • gromit on 09/01/2021 - 12:39

              @bobbified: yes, which is exactly how it should be. It is painful for the OP but a bank should not be giving out customer information without either the customers approval or a legal subpoena. likewise the police aren't their to chase up your debts/mistakes, once you have done all the legal correct actions and then the individual or company refuses to return the money then you can go about reporting to the police.

              • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 12:50

                @gromit:

                ..refuses to return the money then you can go about reporting to the police.

                And this is what I mean - good luck getting the police to care!

                • Settero on 09/01/2021 - 13:13

                  @bobbified: For a civil matter ? They won't . Once you get a judgement against the recipient then they law can help you.

                  I'm pretty sure no one is allowed to seek legal action on another person's behalf except for their lawyer.

                  Why are people expecting a bank to seek legal action on their behalf?

                  • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 13:15

                    @Settero:

                    For a civil matter ? They won't .

                    This is what I'm getting. Is the bank screwing up and placing money into an account not also a civil matter? Why do the police get involved in that?

                    • gromit on 09/01/2021 - 13:16

                      @bobbified:

                      Is the bank screwing up and placing money into an account not also a civil matter?

                      yes, right up until the point the person who received the money refuses to return it. At that point it is a criminal matter.

                      • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 13:19

                        @gromit: Has anyone successfully got the police involved in recovering some money after they've made a mistake during a transfer? I think the cops will just tell you it's your screwup and your bad luck.

                        • gromit on 09/01/2021 - 13:26

                          @bobbified: yes, my step father got the police to help reclaim a double refund he issued to someone for around $3k after they refused to return it claiming the old "finders keepers" BS. from memory he had to get a court order or something and in the end the person was not only forced to return the $3k but then also forced to pay costs after the police threatened to lay charges against them.

                          • bobbified on 09/01/2021 - 14:19

                            @gromit: Pretty good that you were able to get the cops to respond. How hard was it to get the details of the person the money went to? Was the bank very co-operative? Or did you need to get that court order first?

                            • gromit on 09/01/2021 - 14:38
                              +1

                              @bobbified: In that case he had the details already so bank didn't need to provide details, police were not to bad, he went to them first and they told him what he had to do before he comes back to them as it wasn't their problem till he had taken all the legal steps first. ended up taking about 3 months to get money back and another 6 months for costs..

                    • Settero on 09/01/2021 - 14:15

                      @bobbified: because the bank seeks legal action against the person…

                      as i mentioned , they can not seek legal action on behalf of one of their customers.

  • Porker on 07/01/2021 - 15:23
    +25

    I once had tens of thousands of dollars transferred to my mortgage account by an unknown.

    I contacted my bank to let them investigate it only after a few days of having reduced interest and internal struggles about keeping it.

    The money was returned back to the owner.

    I felt good about it in the hope that if ever I made that mistake, that that is how I would want things to pan out.

    Hope you get your money

  • boomramada on 07/01/2021 - 15:48
    +3

    Ok, so you contact the bank, since you know, how about contacting the travel company?
    I made this mistake twice, First time, sender (which was a company) they returned it.
    second time I contact the bank soon after, they revert it.

    • GaryG on 07/01/2021 - 19:34
      +2

      I was going to post this as well. Given it was a mistake and it has gone to a legit company (I presume), I would have thought contacting them and asking them for it back would be an obvious option. If they are not dodgy, they should co-operate and return it, possibly with no cost unless it does cost them some money but even then.

    • Ramrunner on 08/01/2021 - 14:26
      +2

      Yeah was wondering this myself. A simple call to the travel company first may have avoided this whole dang post and thread :)

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