Experience with Accidentally Sending Money to The Wrong Bank Account

Ueki23 on 05/09/2022 - 13:20

Greetings everyone. I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience with sending money to the wrong bank account and how long it took for y'all to get your money back or if you ever did?

My situation:
Mother asks for financial help, so I sent 1k but entered the wrong number (I had put 7 instead of 1). Only realised this because she said she hadn't received anything after 30 minutes and it was an Osko payment. I checked again and that's when I saw my mistake. Unfortunately, the money didn't bounce back, meaning someone else has that account number and so I immediately contacted my bank that same night (I'm with UP). They told me that it can take up to 6 weeks and there's no guarantee that I'll get my money back.

It has been 3 weeks since and they said they haven't heard back from the other bank (People's Choice) and now I'm worried that the longer it goes, the less likely I'll see that money. I considered contacting the other bank to tell them of the situation but unsure if that would just complicate things.

Has anyone had a similar experience and could advice what the best course of action to do?
I can't really afford losing 1k to some random tbh.

Thanks everyone!

Financial Bank Account

Comments

  • Kremleen on 06/09/2022 - 12:20

    If you are with UP, they give you the ability to check the recipient details (full name) after you put in their bank details. Why didn't you notice then?

    • gromit on 06/09/2022 - 13:41

      when you transfer between banks the banks have no visibility of the persons name, it is a meaningless field. only the numbers matter. something like payid you get the name.

      • Kremleen on 06/09/2022 - 13:45

        In UP, when you pop in the bsb and account number, before you hit send you need to hit check bank details and it'll show up the bank name and account holder's full name. So it's really hard to get it wrong unless their name are identical

        • gromit on 06/09/2022 - 13:46
          +1

          how are they going to do that? they have no access to other peoples bank account details in other banks. That is possible if same bank only.

          • Kremleen on 06/09/2022 - 13:48

            @gromit: I stand corrected. My apologies. Did a dummy test in the app and no name is found

            • gromit on 06/09/2022 - 13:50

              @Kremleen: no probs, was having second thoughts, didn't think banks would permit such a huge security and privacy hole, but would not be their first mistake.

    • Tomhaigh1 on 06/09/2022 - 14:52
      +1

      are you talking about payid?

  • bigbadboogieman on 06/09/2022 - 14:49
    +1

    I go through the painful process of always transfering $1 in the first go and obtain confirmation of receipt before transferring the rest of it.

    • Poor Ass on 06/09/2022 - 14:57
      +1

      lol 2 transaction boogie

  • FiDad on 06/09/2022 - 15:32
    +4

    One of my work colleague did this mistake ouple of years ago but his error was typing wrong Account number. He then sent few .5c payments to same account number with messages to return his money back(dont remember exact details) but it worked and he got the money back from other party in less then a week.

    • trapper on 06/09/2022 - 18:45
      +3

      If that happened to me I would think it was some kind of scam lol

    • Ridiculous Panda on 06/09/2022 - 18:55
      +1

      I would be happy I am getting more free money!

  • Ughhh on 06/09/2022 - 16:52
    +3

    For large $amounts where instant payment is available, I transfer $1 first and confirm with recipient that they've received it before sending larger amounts.

    • preferredusername on 07/09/2022 - 13:28
      +1

      Yes 100%! This comment and suggestion is so underrated!

    • Hahuh on 07/09/2022 - 20:12

      Never got flagged?

      I think banks are weary of such transfers as a lot of scammers do it for first time transfers.

      • Ughhh on 07/09/2022 - 20:20
        +1

        Never. I don't make random transfers all the time though. Only for first time transfers between my own accounts and people I know. If $1 exactly is suspicious, you can always to 60c or $5. Point is to transfer a small amount as a test, so you only lose a small amount if you do unfortunately mistyped the account number.

  • drprox on 06/09/2022 - 18:16
    -1

    Sorry OP in all likelihood it's gone. Call the cops which will be the bank advice.

    • jimbler on 06/09/2022 - 20:40
      +2

      Call the cops? They will tell you there is nothing they can do after they stop laughing…

  • cenakhoa on 06/09/2022 - 19:06
    +1

    When you enter the numbers, break it into different way to tripple check. For example 1234567890, check #1 123-456-789-0, check #2 1234-5678-90, check #3 12-3456-7890

    • WhyAmICommenting on 08/09/2022 - 19:42

      I do a backwards read of the number sometimes

  • skidexa on 06/09/2022 - 20:08

    Put it through as a mistaken internet payment with your bank

  • jpee on 06/09/2022 - 20:15
    +1

    I once send 27k to the wrong account (1 digit wrong in bsb)

    Logged a recovery
    (Wait 8 weeks)
    No response after a few follow ups
    Outcome - sorry we incorrectly raised the request.
    Went to customer relations- ended up getting it back.
    Was about 3 months.
    Was obviously ready to go to FSO for that amount.

    Hope you get your money back soon.

  • digitalbath on 06/09/2022 - 20:35

    They told you up to 6 weeks. It’s only been 3 weeks………

  • Zapwap on 06/09/2022 - 21:37
    +1

    Wow, did that mistake in the past and recently again and was lucky both the times, wasn't an osko payment so might not help in your situation, but YMMV

    Paid from CBA > transaction showed pending > realised the mistake after 13 hours > called the back > transaction was reversed

    Paid from MCQ > transaction showed pending > realised in 20 minutes > called the bank > transaction was reversed

    • sauce2k on 07/09/2022 - 09:22

      nice. It takes 24 hours for payments to clear if first time transferring to a new account.

  • hasher22 on 06/09/2022 - 22:20
    +4

    This is why I ask for PayID - phone number or email

    nearly all banks will show the full name of the PayID'er. I hate dealing with BSB/ACC numbers.

    Set up a payid for your mother, you'll be happy that when you transfer to a PayID their account name will appear on your end. It's the best!

    I had a customer that PayID me and I accidentally gave the wrong number and she said "you said it will say (name), but the name is Mandy Moore".. and im like "OMG WRONG ID!"

  • kgree92 on 06/09/2022 - 22:36
    +1

    This is why I always pay $1 to new banks accounts first to confirm

  • Dack Smith on 07/09/2022 - 06:58
    -8

    Ridiculous - it should be finders keepers

    If you’re dumb enough to send money by error you should by right lose that money

    • Ueki23 on 07/09/2022 - 09:32
      +1

      Lol who hurt you

      • Baysew on 07/09/2022 - 11:04
        +1

        I think we have found where the OP's money has gone.

  • xr8td on 07/09/2022 - 08:43
    +1

    In OPs case i actually think there is a good likiehood of recovery if the funds were in the account when he first lodged his request with his bank. The rules for Mistaken Internet Payments are based on the time that has passed. Yes it is OPs reaponsibility to make sure the account number is correct however the Bank also has a responsibility to follow up with the other bank. Eg if op contacted his bank within 10 days to advise of the mistekn internet payment they have an obligation to lodge the request with the other bank. If they drag their feet with this and by the time they chase the other bank the money is gone, they may have contributed to your loss. The only way to get the full story would to lodge a case woth AFCA and let them investigste that way you will find out how long it took from when you contacted your bank to when they contacted the other

    From memory the rules are within 10 business days if the funds are available the other bank should return to your bank with out seeking consent.

    • Brianqpr on 07/09/2022 - 11:01

      This is true, but most banks have processes to send the request quickly, as there's a lot of fraud and scams out there where the money is withdrawn immediately when it hits the other account and the bank's can be found liable if they haven't followed correct process.

  • Brianqpr on 07/09/2022 - 10:59
    +4

    Its basically on you if you make this mistake. You just have to hope that the recipient is honest enough to return the money when asked. All your bank can do is request the money back but its ultimately up to the other person whether they do this or not. Your bank's app or website would have included warnings about entering the wrong details.

    It can definitely take a few weeks though, that isn't unusual. I deal with financial complaints and see a few about this sort of thing. One guy transferred $5k to the wrong account, we requested it back and it took a few weeks but the funds were returned to him. Cheeky git then demanded another $5k because it took a while, instead of being grateful for his good luck that the money was returned. Far too many clowns like this clogging up AFCA with complaints based on greed.

    If you don't get it back you could try your luck with AFCA, but unless your bank has made an error (like not including a warning) its unlikely to be successful.

    • xr8td on 07/09/2022 - 11:15
      +1

      Couldnt agree more with clowns clogging up AFCA. but in saying that, i have had AFCA rule against the bank because they deemed that if the customer advised of the error on day 1 and the bank (bank A) submitted the request on day 3 that it was too long and if the money was available in the other account on day 3 (noting the other bank (bank B) may take a day or 2 to action the request) that bank A was too slow and contributed to the loss i.e. the money not being recovered.

      It was extremely frustrating but it all came back to what the case manager at AFCA deemed reasonable in terms of timing.

      OP hope you get ur money back but unfortunately there are also alot of ppl out there that would keep it and not with twice. OPs bank should be able to say whats going on with his case though i.e. we contacted the other bank on X Date they have until we are waitjng for a response, if nothing is received by X we will follow up

      • Brianqpr on 07/09/2022 - 11:36
        +1

        True. OP should ask his bank to confirm when it contacted the other bank about the issue. If there was any delay, he may have a case.

        • Ueki23 on 07/09/2022 - 22:40

          I believe they told me that they lodged a recall request the day after I contacted them because their accounts team were closed. And then a week after they said that they don't have an update until the other bank gets back to them.

          • Brianqpr on 07/09/2022 - 23:05

            @Ueki23: That's pretty standard. The other bank has to contact it's customer and then the customer has to respond.

          • xr8td on 08/09/2022 - 21:24
            +1

            @Ueki23: Recalls and Mistaken Internet Payments are 2 different things
            Recall = u sent fund to the correct intended recipient and your trying to recover the funds. A recall requires consent from the other account holder

            Mistaken Interner Payment = funds sent to an uninteded Recipient. And if your bank lodges the request within 10 days. If the funds are availavle when the other bank receives the request they should debit and return the funds to your bank without seeking consent.

            So the question is why did they lodge a recall and not a mistaken internet payment. Did the bank make a mistake or did you not provide enough info ? Either way you should question them as this could impact your chances of recovery

            • Ueki23 on 08/09/2022 - 22:32

              @xr8td: I told them I sent it to the wrong account and the wrong person but I'll reclarify with them

              • xr8td on 08/09/2022 - 22:53
                +1

                @Ueki23: I think the way u need to structure your conversation with the bank is to clarify what they have done and if they say recall ask them why and tell them when you first called you confirmed the funds were sent to an unintended recipient.

                If they dont have a satisfactory answer i would proceed with telling them that they have contributed to you not recovering your money and expect to be reimbsured and subsequently u may need to lodge a complaint with AFCA

                • Yola on 09/09/2022 - 06:47
                  +1

                  @xr8td: Correct, people need to plan their enquiries to obtain the information they need not just to barge in.

  • CauseNEffect on 07/09/2022 - 13:06

    I once gave the wrong bsb to someone who transferred a couple of hundred to the wrong place. My fault…
    Thankfully the bsb didn’t exist so they got their money back after a few days..

    I learnt to double / triple check numbers provided from then on.

    If the account and bsb dont match up this might happen to your transfer.

  • coztopia on 07/09/2022 - 18:19

    I made a similar mistake once, it bounced back but did take weeks to do so.

  • Mibo on 07/09/2022 - 21:50

    I recently had two random $10 transactions sent to my hiver account. I sent a message to hiver support about it and they took about a month to get back to me. They reversed the transaction once I gave them to okay to proceed.

  • yamahamoto on 07/09/2022 - 22:59

    I once transfered 5k to a relative and was given incorrect details by them. Lucky for us the wrong account doesn’t exist so the money bounced back after 5 days.

  • haggertm on 07/09/2022 - 23:32

    I used to work for a bank and they basically contact the other bank, that bank try's to contact their customer and if they do manage to get in contact with them, the customer has to confirm that its not their money and give permission to send it back. If they can't get in contact with them then they won't do anything. If the customer says no that is my money then they also won't do anything. They also will not give you any details of the person whos account the money went into e.g. name, contact number ect. So you won't be able to get legal recourse in order to get your money back. Best bet is to wait and hope the person who received the money is honest and their contact details are up to date with their bank. Otherwise, I'm sorry but you probably won't be seeing that money back.

  • Punda on 08/09/2022 - 04:44

    Did the same. No luck getting the money back. I thought I would as it was only a day later and from what I read. But ANZ didn’t get it back from westpac

  • jerjergege on 08/09/2022 - 11:34

    Measure twice, cut once.

    But also using PAYID is the way to go, would be less likely to make a mistake with phone number, as the name with come up for confirmation before you say yes.

  • herysoe on 08/09/2022 - 13:23
    +2

    If I was doing transfer from pc, the easiest would be to copy and paste the account number, then recheck. Copy and paste minimise incorrect typo. You can do copy and paste with mobile but bit tedious but doable.

  • Dack Smith on 08/09/2022 - 15:32
    +2

    R U OK OP ?

  • xr8td on 14/09/2022 - 19:56

    Any update OP?

    • Ueki23 on 14/09/2022 - 23:38

      Nope :( They have not replied back. I'll have to call them when I'm able.

      • 28kb on 25/10/2022 - 22:21

        any update OP? I just transferred 3k to the wrong account, I hope ubank are responsive ><

        • 28kb on 26/10/2022 - 21:53

          update: thank goodness money transferred back next day

        • Ueki23 on 29/10/2022 - 22:06

          I have so far only got back $200.
          But WOOPH if I accidentally sent 3k to someone I would unalive myself.

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