Yesterday I transferred money online from my account to my sister’s account. Today I realised that I sent it to the wrong account. What can I do?
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by LegalEagle™ staff, Forbes 2871 NSW
- Banks transfer money based on the account numbers alone. They do not cross reference numbers to account names.
- You should contact your bank and advise them of the error. You can ask them to notify the other bank about the mistake. The other bank should notify the account holder of the mistake and ask them to return the money to you.
- If the person refuses to repay the money you may need to consult a lawyer to discuss further options on how to have the money returned.
- It can be difficult to get the money back when this occurs. You will need to consider how much money you incorrectly transferred and whether taking legal action will be cost effective.
- It is always advisable to double-check all account numbers prior to pressing the send button.
- Many banks now require you to enter a unique code when making online transactions. This way you are forced to double check the account number before pressing send.
- This function may be available online or via your bank's smart-phone app.