Ever sent money and wanted to undo it right away? Maybe you credited the wrong bank account or got scammed. Remember, this is distinct from being debited without the recipient getting the money.
In a recent incident, a Social media user, shared on Twitter about transferring money to an account in one bank but it ended up in the account of a different customer with the same account number in another bank.
It was surprising because NUBAN account numbers are supposed to be unique, but it turns out some customers share the same number across different banks. So, if you don’t double-check before transferring, the money might end up with the wrong recipient.
Tips on how you can reclaim your funds after sending money to wrong bank account
Well, here’s how you can get your money back.
The initial step is to contact your bank promptly. The speed at which you do this plays a crucial role in the outcome of the following steps. If you can quickly get in touch with the recipient’s bank as well, it could increase your chances of a favorable resolution.
Banks now have official e-mail addresses, WhatsApp lines and Phone lines you can immediately call to have issues addressed.
Recent surveys have however shown that some banks only send auto-responders to messages, and handle complaints much later. Since time is of the essence here, you might need to resort to calling them or getting to a physical branch (if you can).
Before contacting the bank by either of these means, make sure to have all details written out: your account name and number, recipient’s account name and number, amount involved, date and time of transaction, and the reason you want to recall the funds.
You have to be as explicit as possible in stating the reason for recalling the funds. If you mistakenly transferred into a wrong account, you made a transfer under duress, or you have been defrauded, state it clearly.
As soon as this is done, your bank immediately gets the recipient’s bank to place a hold on the amount cited in the transaction. What this implies is that if the recipient has N30,000 in his account, and the amount under dispute is N10,000, the bank places a hold on N10,000 but allows him to withdraw other funds.
You need to move as quickly as possible, because the recipient could go on a spending spree upon receiving the alert of an unexpected “windfall.” However, if the money is already withdrawn, and the account is longer funded to the amount under contention, a hold will be placed on whatever amount is left, pending the resolution.
Whether the account is funded or not, the recipient gets invited to the bank to resolve the issue. Here, two things could happen.
The account holder could show up and authorise a reversal of the wrongful credit, as an upstanding citizen. On the other hand, they could choose to abandon the account.
Hopefully, with all things being equal, wrongly transferred funds should be reversed within 2 days. However, sometimes it could take longer, even running into months, due to various reasons.
Now, the bank does not just go ahead to reverse the sum to your account simply because you claim to have been defrauded. If this is were the case, some persons could mischievously try to recall funds used as payment for legitimate services or products.
In resolving the complaint, the recipient has to verify your claim that the funds don’t belong to them. Like most banks state, consent from the recipient has to be given to reverse the amount in dispute, unless it is an outright fraud case.
If the person you sent the money to claims it’s a legit transfer and won’t agree to reverse it, the bank might freeze their account, preventing them from using the funds. The issue is, your money stays trapped until they visit the bank to approve the reversal.
In some cases, the bank may advise you to take the case to court and secure an injunction to get back the money, or compel the recipient to show up.
READ ALSO: Kunle Afolayan reveals how he secured bank loan to finance one of his films
If it’s a fraud situation, you may have to get the cops involved. They might put the account under surveillance for future transactions or shut it down completely, based on how serious the issue is.
Note: Whenever making a transfer, be sure to double-check account name, number and bank to avoid sending the money to someone else with similar details. Also, avoid divulging personal details to fraudsters so that they don’t gain access to your account to carry out unauthorised transfers.
It is always safer to err on the side of caution. You may not be lucky to get a refund.
