Things to do when you transfer money to a wrong account

March 30, 2019 Finance Talk Valli Sarvani No comments

In the past, one needed to visit the bank to send money to any other person. But, nowadays, due to improvement of technology, there is no need to visit a bank if you want to transfer money to some other person. This eases the convenience of customers in using bank services.

At the same time, risk is also being increased. If you transfer money to the wrong account by mistake, then it will be difficult to get the money refunded to your account.

Normally, you have to confirm the account number by entering it twice in the given columns while adding a beneficiary. If you enter the correct number first time and enter the wrong number the second time, you will be prompted to enter the correct number due to a mismatch in the account number.

However, if you enter wrong account number both times, and transfer money to that account via net banking, then it will be a problem.

Some banks like HDFC show the name of account holder while adding beneficiary from the same bank, but not all banks have this facility.

And most of the times, the beneficiary may be from a different bank. As a result, you have to rely on the name entered by you in the column of the beneficiary which sometimes may be wrong.

Hence, it is always better to test by sending a small amount like ₹100 to the newly added beneficiary’s account. You can transfer huge amounts after you confirm it is the right account holder you wish to transfer the money to.

This may not be possible sometimes. And mistakes may happen. If you transfer money to a wrong account holder, then write a formal letter your bank branch manager giving all necessary details of the transaction.

Your bank will communicate with the bank of the wrongly credited account holder. However, follow-up personally with the beneficiary’s bank for a quick response.

The beneficiary bank will negotiate with the beneficiary and he/she will have to return your money in 8 working days.

If it does not happen, file a case in a court depending on the amount of money considering the legal expenses and time consumed to solve the case.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)