I accidentally sent money through a banking app to the wrong person and the bank can't cancel it. What should I do?

[Jbeese]

I am a college student living on a tight budget and sent my rent money through the Chase quick pay app to the wrong person. Which I should've taken my time with, however, once I realized my mistake I called the bank. After the call, the end result was that they couldn't do anything on their end to either cancel the transaction or contact the recipient. I have reached out to the recipient asking for it back since it was a large sum and resulted in them blocking me and taking my money. I'm not sure if there is any legal action or anything I could do at this point besides a stupid mistake of giving away my money? There have been suggestions of calling it cyber stealing and that I could file a report through the police, however, I want to try to resolve this without any court cases and the best option available.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?

You sent the money to the wrong person. It was not theft. Try to collect from the person who received the money in error.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Where are you?

Where is the party who received the money?

How long ago did this happen?

 

[Jbeese]

What is the name of your state?

You sent the money to the wrong person. It was not theft. Try to collect from the person who received the money in error.

I am in California; did try to collect however was blocked. Just to clarify, not a theft if the person was notified to return the money and yet took it with the knowledge of the mistake?

 

[Jbeese]

Where are you?

Where is the party who received the money?

How long ago did this happen?

Both are in the state of California, I believe the party is in California and have not been in touch with since High school. This occurred about 2 weeks ago all with trying to contact this person.

 

[quincy]

You can sue for the return of the money you sent your friend in error. The fellow did not steal your money. You sent it to him.

How could you make that sort of error? To whom was the money intended?

 

[not2cleverRed]

You can sue for the return of the money you sent your friend in error. The fellow did not steal your money. You sent it to him.

How could you make that sort of error? To whom was the money intended?

It does not sound like the other party was a friend. Just someone on his contacts list.

It is very easy to have this happen. Just one digit/letter off. Or similar contact names - Jbeese may have intended it to go to Ayden M. and it went to Ayden N., for example.

The other party knows that the money is not theirs. It is possible that they suspect a scam. They have blocked Jbeese.

I think what Jbeese should try is send a certified letter to the person requesting that they return the money. That may or may not work. Someone who is dishonest might just say, "Finders keepers" and spend the money right away. Someone suspecting a scam might still hesitate, thinking it's part of the scam.

So, if the letter doesn't work, then Jbeese can pursue the issue in court, as you suggested. California is a large state, but at least both are in the same state. That should simplify things.

 

[quincy]

Jbeese will need an address for his friend if he wants to send a formal demand letter or file suit. If Jbeese and the recipient of the funds went to high school together, it might not be all that difficult to track down the fellow, though.

I would not start off by accusing the fellow of theft. It was not the friend's fault that money was sent to him.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Jbeese will need an address for his friend if he wants to send a formal demand letter or file suit. If Jbeese and the recipient of the funds went to high school together, it might not be all that difficult to track down the fellow, though.

I would not start off by accusing the fellow of theft. It was not the friend's fault that money was sent to him.

Jbeese did not start off accusing the fellow of theft.

Per the first post, I have reached out to the recipient asking for it back since it was a large sum and resulted in them blocking me and taking my money.

Granted, we do not know the tenor of his communication. Perhaps it was along the lines of "Hi, this is Jbeese - I think we knew each other in HS. I was trying to transfer some money and accidentally ended up sending it to you. The bank is no help, and I really need it back so that I can pay my bills. Will you help coordinate the return of my money that was mistakenly transferred to your account?" But Jbeese doesn't seem here like the type to just go all ballistic right out the gate and text something threatening.

Perhaps Jbeese can expand upon the nature of the correspondence before blocking.

 

[quincy]

Jbeese did not start off accusing the fellow of theft.

Per the first post, I have reached out to the recipient asking for it back since it was a large sum and resulted in them blocking me and taking my money.

Granted, we do not know the tenor of his communication. Perhaps it was along the lines of "Hi, this is Jbeese - I think we knew each other in HS. I was trying to transfer some money and accidentally ended up sending it to you. The bank is no help, and I really need it back so that I can pay my bills. Will you help coordinate the return of my money that was mistakenly transferred to your account?" But Jbeese doesn't seem here like the type to just go all ballistic right out the gate and text something threatening.

Perhaps Jbeese can expand upon the nature of the correspondence before blocking.

A fuller explanation would be nice.

 

[Dandy Don]

If you used ZELLE Quick Pay, call the Chase Customer Service number at 1-800-935-9935. If the phone person tells you they can do nothing about this, do not accept this. Visit your local bank in person and speak to someone there.

 

[Zigner]

If you used ZELLE Quick Pay, call the Chase Customer Service number at 1-800-935-9935. If the phone person tells you they can do nothing about this, do not accept this. Visit your local bank in person and speak to someone there.

The bank and/or the payment service did nothing wrong. They sent the money exactly where they were told to send it.

 

[quincy]

It otherwise would be a great scam to send money to someone and then get the money refunded to you by the bank because you claim you "made a mistake."