Mistaken wire transfer/payment error

Kenneth Brooks5 said:checking my checking account-standing order

On March 13, 2009, someone accidentally dropped about $0.67 into my account—basically just some random person's paycheck.

Then, on September 19, 2009, the bank went ahead and reversed that whole $0.67
.
The thing is, nobody asked me for permission—not verbally, not in writing—and they didn't even bother to notify me that they were pulling the money back.

Is a bank actually allowed to do that when the cash had been sitting in my account for six days?

If they aren't allowed, can I demand that the money they snatched from my account be put back so I can donate it to charity instead? (They could just deposit it directly to the charity so I don't look like a jerk.)

My take is that once money sits in an account for six days, it belongs to the account holder. It’s straight-up rude that they didn't give me a heads-up.

If anyone knows the actual banking regulations regarding this kind of situation, let me know what you think.

Thanks

Look, if you see the deposit hit your account, just walk into Chase or Bank of America and ask. One look at the transaction history and the date, and they'll tell you exactly where it came from. If money just "vanished," they can track the exact payout and how it happened. It’s not rocket science; you just gotta ask.

Honestly, just head down to Chase and ask them directly. You’ll get the actual facts there, whereas this forum is just a mess of conflicting info and rumors that'll only leave you more confused. Go hit up the branch and let me know what they say.

Here’s the link to my saga regarding those unauthorized account fees:

So, after wasting a ridiculous amount of time trying to talk sense into the Chase management, I finally got a hold of my personal banker on the phone today, only for them to deadpan tell me that I should have opted out of paper statements... which don't even exist, because they never even issued them in the first place. Honestly, until I had online banking and could actually see how they calculate these monthly service charges, I had no clue they were charging me for phantom statements and some other nonsense NKS messages or whatever else they feel like tacking on.

I'm filing a formal written complaint now, and if they try to play games with me—which they already did a few times by acting like it was somehow my own fault—I’m just going to pack my bags and move my money over to Bank of America. And yeah, I might just tip off a few journalists while I'm at it.

¨@brisktinker15 ... look, what you're dealing with has absolutely nothing to do with this discussion... from what I can gather, your whole situation is about being charged for a service that didn't even exist in the first place... but again, like I said, that's not what we're talking about here 🙂

My bad

Lately, I’ve been noticing some strange activity on my checking account—money is just disappearing. Does anyone know if I have the legal right to demand a full breakdown of every single transaction from, say, the last six months? I need to see every balance change and movement on this account.

Of course you can request a transaction history... and please, for heaven's sake, give me an update because I am dying to know what's happening here

To put it briefly:

A deposit showed up in my account that doesn't belong to me—which is always a bit unsettling, I suppose. I've already reached out to my personal banker at Chase, but she can't really see much beyond the fact that the funds were deposited at a specific local branch (it was clearly a cash transaction). Is there any actual way for me to track down who the sender might be?

Thanks,
best regards,

Nah.

But honestly, once the sender realizes they sent the cash to the wrong person, they’re probably going to come looking for you 🙂—trust me, I've been through this exact thing myself, both as the one sending and the one receiving 😁...

Jose Miller3 said:Nah.

But honestly, once the sender realizes they sent the cash to the wrong person, they’re probably going to come looking for you 🙂—trust me, I've been through this exact thing myself, both as the one sending and the one receiving 😁...

So, how does that actually work? Does the bank just automatically reverse the transaction, or am I expected to physically go down to a branch? I'd appreciate it if you could walk me through the process—maybe provide a few more details?

I've honestly never found myself in a situation like this—neither as the sender nor the recipient.

If someone accidentally wires you money that isn't yours, the bank usually just automates the reversal. Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal to prove it hit the wrong account and get them to fix the mistake...

Most of the time, there isn't much of a headache involved—well, except for one time I dealt with it, but that was only because I used an account that was already having issues—but from what I've seen, it's pretty much a "no harm, no foul" situation 😁

Honestly, there isn't even much to prove here—I actually want to return the money myself. It’s certainly not in my interest to spend anyone else's funds.🙂

It's just... I guess it's a bit of a silly situation to find yourself with an unexpected deposit in your account without having any clue how to actually send it back. If this had been handled via a credit card or something similar, we could have probably settled it in a heartbeat through a quick reversal. But since it's a direct transfer, things feel a little more complicated.

Also, I was wondering if there are specific deadlines for when this needs to be resolved? I have an automatic payment set up for a mortgage on that same account, so I really want to make sure those funds don't get mismanaged or accidentally used for the wrong thing.

It really boils down to where the screw-up happened. If this John Doe entered your account number incorrectly on the transfer slip—making it entirely his mistake—then the bank actually needs to get your permission before touching anything. However, if a teller at Chase misread the number right off the slip and it's their blunder—well, then they just snatch the funds without even asking you.

Nicholas Turner said:It really boils down to where the screw-up happened. If this John Doe entered your account number incorrectly on the transfer slip—making it entirely his mistake—then the bank actually needs to get your permission before touching anything. However, if a teller at Chase misread the number right off the slip and it's their blunder—well, then they just snatch the funds without even asking you.

I see—I hadn't really considered that distinction, and it makes a massive difference, obviously.

What happens, though, if they don't bother reaching out before my mortgage payment hits and just wipes out my balance?

A few years back, my dad had this bizarre experience where his paycheck was accidentally bumped up by $3333. Honestly, when we first saw the balance at the ATM, we thought there must be some kind of glitch or hidden camera watching us—it just felt too surreal. He went straight to his bank to clear things up, but they just shrugged and told him it was a legitimate payroll deposit. Not wanting to spend money that wasn't his—mostly because he didn't want some legal headache or a demand for repayment hanging over his head later—he headed over to his office to set the record straight. To his surprise, HR insisted everything was perfectly fine; they claimed all payroll transfers were accurate and that nobody was missing any funds, so the extra cash just... stayed with him. From what I gathered, apparently, that money was actually intended for someone else as part of some shady internal shuffle, and since it was all part of a little "under the table" situation, nobody could officially come forward to claim it.

It’s funny, though, because my dad actually did the right thing twice before this. On two separate occasions, someone else's paycheck was mistakenly routed to his account, and he proactively reached out to fix it because he couldn't stand the idea of another worker being left without their wages.

Bryan Diaz said:A few years back, my dad had this bizarre experience where his paycheck was accidentally bumped up by $3333. Honestly, when we first saw the balance at the ATM, we thought there must be some kind of glitch or hidden camera watching us—it just felt too surreal. He went straight to his bank to clear things up, but they just shrugged and told him it was a legitimate payroll deposit. Not wanting to spend money that wasn't his—mostly because he didn't want some legal headache or a demand for repayment hanging over his head later—he headed over to his office to set the record straight. To his surprise, HR insisted everything was perfectly fine; they claimed all payroll transfers were accurate and that nobody was missing any funds, so the extra cash just... stayed with him. From what I gathered, apparently, that money was actually intended for someone else as part of some shady internal shuffle, and since it was all part of a little "under the table" situation, nobody could officially come forward to claim it.

It’s funny, though, because my dad actually did the right thing twice before this. On two separate occasions, someone else's paycheck was mistakenly routed to his account, and he proactively reached out to fix it because he couldn't stand the idea of another worker being left without their wages.

Well, of course, that’s my main motivation here. I just don't feel right knowing that someone might be missing their paycheck simply because of a clerical error.

By the way, I actually called my former employer right away to make sure they hadn't made a mistake on their end, but it turns out everything was fine there.

I suppose there isn't much else to do but wait.

Wait, you should probably look into how long someone actually has to request a refund before those funds become yours to claim—assuming nobody asks for them back. I mean, someone might realize they sent the money to the wrong account after two weeks, but then again, you never know when someone might suddenly remember their mistake a year down the line.

Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m asking if anyone happens to know what the deadline is.
It isn't even about me worrying about keeping the money—honestly, whenever whoever it is gets in touch, I'll find a way to pay them back, no matter what. It’s just a bit of a logistical headache because, as I mentioned, I have an automatic recurring payment set up for a loan on that account, and my paycheck isn't being deposited there anymore. So, I guess once the loan installment hits, it’ll just be pulled automatically from whatever is left in there.

I actually had an experience where a recurring payment went through like that once—it ended up pulling someone else's funds by mistake. To be fair, I knew exactly whose money it was, but I didn't have a clear handle on the specific timing of the transaction. As soon as those funds hit, the automatic transfer triggered immediately, which meant I had to scramble to cover the difference out of my own pocket. I suppose the thing is, an automated system doesn't really care about the source of the funds in an account; it just sees that the balance is there and executes the command.

Bryan Diaz said:I actually had an experience where a recurring payment went through like that once—it ended up pulling someone else's funds by mistake. To be fair, I knew exactly whose money it was, but I didn't have a clear handle on the specific timing of the transaction. As soon as those funds hit, the automatic transfer triggered immediately, which meant I had to scramble to cover the difference out of my own pocket. I suppose the thing is, an automated system doesn't really care about the source of the funds in an account; it just sees that the balance is there and executes the command.

Exactly, and I suppose that’s where the real headache begins because it adds another layer of complexity. At that point, we aren't just looking at someone trying to withdraw funds they don't have—we're having to essentially invent new ways to keep the cycle going.