Mistaken wire transfer/payment error

It’s not on the bank. The account holder actually has to agree to return the funds.

If it doesn't sit right, then sue ☕

I’m hoping this doesn't escalate into a lawsuit—those drag on forever and I simply don't have the patience... though it feels like we're heading that way given how long this is stalling... clearly someone is playing games... They told me they're "working on it" but wouldn't give me any specifics due to privacy policies... just the same old line about needing another two or three days... It’s ridiculous—if there's a specific issue, why won't they just tell me so I know where I stand? All I know is I'm closing my account at Chase once this is over—I want absolutely nothing to do with them... A friend of mine applied for a loan there just last month and it's still stuck in processing... their bureaucracy is just incredibly slow...

The issue really boils down to the sender. When a payer messes up the transfer—like typing in the wrong account number—you’re basically at the mercy of the recipient's good graces to get that money back. The bank just acts as a free mediator, essentially providing a courtesy service. You end up having to plead with the recipient, appeal to their sense of ethics, or even threaten legal action for unjust enrichment, and it just drags on forever.

Now, if the sender provided the correct account number but a bank clerk's mistake sent the funds to some random account instead, then the bank is actually liable because it was their blunder. In that scenario, you'd have every right to be frustrated with how slow the bank is moving.

How is it even possible to wire money to the wrong account number? Don't standard account numbers have some kind of check digit built in, similar to an IBAN?

They do.
The account number was probably right, but the owner wasn't the one actually waiting for the cash.

placidmaker6 said:They do.
The account number was probably right, but the owner wasn't the one actually waiting for the cash.

That’s exactly why check digits exist, isn't it? It’s virtually impossible to stumble upon the exact right combination of control digits and the rest of the sequence by pure accident.

Joseph Watson3 said:That’s exactly why check digits exist, isn't it? It’s virtually impossible to stumble upon the exact right combination of control digits and the rest of the sequence by pure accident.

Fair question, I guess 🤔...

Hey everyone!

Here’s the deal. Last year, during my senior year of college, I was getting a monthly scholarship from a specific company. The contract was set for one year, ending in July 2012, which was when my final payment hit.
But about two months ago, I noticed the exact same amount dropped into my bank account again! Since then, two more payments have landed. I checked with a buddy who was also on a scholarship last year, and he hasn't received anything. Neither of us are students anymore, and we aren't even working for the company that was sponsoring us.
The money went through our university—basically, the company paid the full lump sum to the school upfront, and then the school distributed it to us in monthly installments.
As far as I can tell, here’s what might be happening:

1) The company screwed up and sent me another payment, and the university didn't bother checking if I was still a student or if I even deserved the money anymore (this seems unlikely to me).

2) The company just has extra cash lying around and decided to hand it out 🙂... and again, the university isn't paying attention.

3) The company didn't actually pay, and the university messed up by sending my payment to me instead of some other scholarship recipient (like the younger students). This feels pretty unlikely because the person who was *supposed* to get the money would probably complain and expose the mistake.

4) The company didn't pay, and the university was sloppy and forgot to take me off their payout list. In this case, the school is losing money, and they'll probably catch the error during an audit eventually. It's not exactly pocket change either.

So, here are my questions:

Can I just spend this money and later play dumb like I had no idea what was going on, or am I not obligated to answer to anyone? I'm a little nervous about spending it. 🙂

Am I legally required to pay it back if they find the mistake? And is it actually possible for university staff to be that incompetent?

p.s. If this is just a mistake made by the company or the bank, I can't wrap my head around why I should give it back. However, if this error means some university clerk or another student loses out, I'm totally willing to return the funds!
For now, I'm planning to stay quiet and keep taking the payments, but I want to know what you guys think about withdrawing the cash from my account.

Thanks,

Lorenzo

Don't just blow your cash—put it in a CD or something. After five years, if nobody comes knocking, the money is yours (the statute of limitations will have run out).

If they actually do show up, though, you'll have to cough it back up.

thanks!

So what, I actually have to pay them back even if they screwed up? Look, I get the whole moral thing—it’s not my money, so playing fair is the right move
BUT (there's always a but) the real question is what the law says about it. Morally? Yeah, I hear you, it's clear enough 🙂
If the law says I have to return it, fine, I'll do it. No big deal. But if not? Then I'm gonna have to think about it depending on how things shake out.
My main priority is making sure they don't come after me with criminal charges or try to pull some fast one later by slapping me with interest on top of it! 🙂

If they come asking for it back, you have to pay up. If they wait more than five years, though, the statute of limitations kicks in and you're off the hook. I’m giving you the legal breakdown—I'll leave the moral compass part entirely up to you. 🙂

So, my tax refund ended up hitting someone else's account—it’s a bit of a mess. The larger portion of the refund went to my actual account at JPMorgan Chase, but the rest somehow landed in an account at Wells Fargo instead. I think my accountant might have misspoken when I asked him to handle the filing—either he typed the wrong bank name or I gave him the wrong info during our call—the names are similar enough that it was an easy slip-up. It’s on me, not the IRS. The teller at my branch reached out to the personal banker for the account holder who received the funds, and since the money hasn't been withdrawn yet, it's still sitting there. Honestly, it seems a little reckless not to verify the recipient's name for a tax refund, though the folks at the IRS told me these kinds of errors happen constantly—sometimes even due to their own mistakes. Now, I'm stuck dealing with someone who isn't exactly eager to hand the money back. I'll get his details eventually—I have a few connections at the bank—so I'm hoping they can resolve this internally within a day or two. If not, I'll just take matters into my own hands and call him myself. Does anyone have any advice?

This whole mess is exactly why we’re moving to IBAN. It stops this kind of nonsense dead in its tracks.

It’s kind of ridiculous that they don't verify someone's name before sending out a tax refund.

There's just no way for them to check!

placidmaker6 said:This whole mess is exactly why we’re moving to IBAN. It stops this kind of nonsense dead in its tracks.

It’s kind of ridiculous that they don't verify someone's name before sending out a tax refund.

There's just no way for them to check!

My local branch manager actually called me—turns out my personal banker reached out to the individual directly, and he signed off on returning the funds. It happened incredibly fast, too; I filed my complaint at 4:00 PM, and by 8:00 PM, she was calling to say the guy had signed everything and the money would be sent back to the IRS—from there, it's easy for me to handle, as I already spoke with them today.

I tried sending money to my wife for her summer vacation back home in the States. She gave me her foreign currency account details at JPMorgan Chase, including the IBAN. I went through my online banking with my Wells Fargo account and transferred the agreed amount. On my end, the interface just asks for the receiving bank and the account number—it doesn't even give me a field to input the full IBAN here. 🤷 Instead of the funds landing in her account, the money bounced back to me the next day. The transaction note says "refund of XX dollars per request," listing the sender as JPMorgan Chase. Can someone explain why this happened? Everything was entered correctly. Could it be because it’s a foreign currency account? I’ve only ever done domestic transfers before. I don't get it. Help!

I guess you can't really deposit into someone else's foreign currency account. Only the owner or an authorized representative can do that, I suppose!

How should I know? My wife asked me to pay the deposit, so fine, I asked for the account number. She just handed me the one they give to all the tourists.
It’s probably because I tried paying in local currency, which is apparently what they prefer for out-of-towners. I just asked her for the Google account info; hopefully, that clears things up.

Hi there.
I’m trying to wrap my head around how these deposit fees work. Basically, I’m transferring money from one bank to another—they aren't the same institution, like moving funds from Erste Bank to Bank of America. When I went to the teller at Erste Bank, she warned me that if I intended to make the deposit right there, I’d be hit with a $2.75 fee. She suggested I just head over to Bank of America instead, since I wouldn't have to pay anything if I was depositing into an account within the same banking system, plus the funds would land in the destination account instantly. But then, after all that, the lady at Bank of America ends up telling me $2.75 fees. Hahaha! I'm honestly confused. What's the deal? I didn't even ask why I had to pay a fee, but is it actually true that if you're depositing money from one bank (Erste Bank) to another (Erste Bank), you don't have to pay a fee at all?
The exact same thing happened to me today when I was moving money from one credit union to another credit union, where the account was internal, yet I still had to pay a fee?

stormycrane3 said:Hi there.
I’m trying to wrap my head around how these deposit fees work. Basically, I’m transferring money from one bank to another—they aren't the same institution, like moving funds from Erste Bank to Bank of America. When I went to the teller at Erste Bank, she warned me that if I intended to make the deposit right there, I’d be hit with a $2.75 fee. She suggested I just head over to Bank of America instead, since I wouldn't have to pay anything if I was depositing into an account within the same banking system, plus the funds would land in the destination account instantly. But then, after all that, the lady at Bank of America ends up telling me $2.75 fees. Hahaha! I'm honestly confused. What's the deal? I didn't even ask why I had to pay a fee, but is it actually true that if you're depositing money from one bank (Erste Bank) to another (Erste Bank), you don't have to pay a fee at all?
The exact same thing happened to me today when I was moving money from one credit union to another credit union, where the account was internal, yet I still had to pay a fee?

If you are making a deposit into a savings account, whether it belongs to an individual or a business, you are almost always going to face a fee, regardless of which bank you walk into. Deposits made into a checking account generally don't incur fees if you're staying within the same bank, so I’m guessing you were attempting a transfer into a savings account.