There has been an influx of newly-introduced money transfer options over the last decade. Thanks to technology, it is not mandatory for you to queue at the bank to make a transaction. However, with choice comes a certain amount of risk and while online banking is mostly a safe and secure solution, mistakes can always happen.
So you want to instantly transfer funds to a bank account and you have entered all the required credentials on the digital gateway page and verified as well. But what if you put in the wrong details, for instance, the wrong account number of the receiver. In exception of certain systems like UPI, other modes of transferring money require the recipient details to be manually entered.
Here’s what you can do if you have initiated a money transfer to the wrong bank account:
-Immediately contact your bank and your local bank manager and inform them of every detail of the wrong transaction initiated by you- time, account and the intended account of the beneficiary.
-The bank will guide you as a facilitator and provide the details of the branch of the bank where the money went. You can ask for a transaction reversal from that bank. If the amount went to the incorrect recipient from the same bank, the bank can also approach the individual and seek permission to attempt a transaction reversal.
– It is sensible and recommended to keep a personal record of all the communication with the bank(s) regarding the transaction. Be prepared to take a legal route, in case the wrong recipient refuses to return the money mistakenly transferred by you
How to prevent making a wrong transaction:
– As a remitter, a patron is accountable for entering the correct details on the bank’s website such as the IFSC code and the bank account number. It is always and highly advised to verify twice or thrice after entering the details and before performing a transaction.
– It is better to first transfer a small amount, if possible, to ensure that the money is getting transferred to the intended recipient before making a larger transaction. It is much easier to retrieve Rs 10 from the bank compared to a few thousands or lakhs.
-Save your local bank branch’s contact details for easy access. So if a mistake happens, the bank can notify the beneficiary at the earliest and it is always helpful to receive the money back to the remitter’s account. (News18)
Digital payments have undoubtedly made shopping easier. One is able to transfer and receive money at the click of a button. However, with this ease comes a fear of making a wrong payment.
Have you ever credited money to the wrong person and wondered how to retrieve it?
According to a survey conducted on digital payments in India, in 2020, around 79 per cent of households used some form of third-party digital payment apps, like Paytm and PhonePe. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of households were using the central bank-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.
With so many people using online payment methods, what are the safeguards one has to protect themselves if they make a wrongful credit?
On 29 June 2022, a woman based in Mumbai made an erroneous online transfer of Rs 7 lakh. When she contacted her bank for help, was turned away citing the reason to be an error on her part. The woman then approached the cyber cell, who took all steps to ensure that she got her money back. On 2 July 2022, the payment was reversed.
If you find yourself in such a scenario, here are some reliefs you can avail:
Approach your bank:
· Immediately reach out to your bank to reverse the payment.
· While making this call to your bank manager or relationship manager, have all the details of the transaction handy — the amount transferred, the time of transfer, and the account details of both the beneficiary as well as the person making the payment.
· Along with making a telephonic complaint, you will be required to visit the nearest branch and submit an application detailing the incident.
· In case the wrongful beneficiary is an account holder in the same bank as yours, the process becomes easier.
· Else, your bank will contact the wrongful beneficiary’s bank and initiate a reversal.
· It is important to raise a complaint as soon as the erroneous transfer is made.
Approach the court:
What if the recipient refuses to reverse the payment?
If all goes well, the wrongful recipient should reverse the payment. However, there could be a scenario where that does not happen. In such a case, one should be ready to file a civil suit for the recovery of money under the Civil Procedure Code.
The time period for filing a suit for money recovery is three years from the date when the cause of action arises, in this case, when the money is erroneously transferred.
Approach the Ombudsman for digital transactions:
The Ombudsman for digital transactions is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). There are currently 21 Ombudsman for digital transactions appointed with their offices located mostly in state capitals.
One can file a complaint with the Ombudsman by writing on a plain paper and sending it to the concerned office of the Ombudsman by post/fax/hand delivery. One can also file it by email to the Ombudsman for digital transactions.) A complaint form, along with the scheme, is also available on RBI’s website, though it is not mandatory to use this format.
There is no fee required to make this complaint.
