Just Sent Money to The Wrong Account (Swapped Last 2 Digits of BSB). How Screwed Am I?

Latoaster on 30/04/2024 - 15:54
Last edited 30/04/2024 - 15:55

I have just sent money to the wrong account. The account number was correct, but the BSB was wrong. I swapped the last two digits of the BSB.

After having multiple panic attacks and cursing myself, I have contacted my bank and they've told me they've submitted a Mistaken Internet Payments form.

I've tried contacting the receiving bank, but it is Citibank, and they don't seem to have a "branch" per se. They are surprisingly difficult to contact. Each Citibank BSB seems to correspond with a business, rather than a branch, which makes me concerned I've just sent the money to the wrong Business.

Does anyone have experience with Mistaken Internet Payments? Did you end up getting your money back? If so, how long did it take? Was there anything else that you could do to assist the process?

Financial

Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 30/04/2024 - 15:57
    +11

    depends - if by chance the bsb and account is valid, can sometimes be hard.

    if its not valid, it should just bounce back. it doesnt just get sent to a black hole.

    • AustriaBargain on 01/05/2024 - 01:47
      -1

      Aren't bank account numbers set up in way that if you get any two digits wrong it'll never be an account that exists, or something?

      • killingtime on 01/05/2024 - 07:29

        No, no such thing

        • AustriaBargain on 01/05/2024 - 09:33
          +2

          Must be thinking of Titanic's watertight compartments. If the first two get full it won't sink, but if the thirst three then it's a mathematical certainty that the money went into someone else's account.

      • Paul B on 01/05/2024 - 10:28
        +1

        Some countries have checksum digit/s at the end, not here

        • Ryk on 05/05/2024 - 07:22

          some bank's do.
          those that just moved their book journals to computer in 1970 dont seem to.

          • Baysew on 08/05/2024 - 10:31

            @Ryk: I worked in an Australian bank that used Modulus 97 for allocation of account numbers. A legacy account number such as '1234' would become '10123497'. '1235' would become '10123594'. It also mixed in branch number so the account number would be unique within the bank.

            So in OP's case, the credit would be retuned as branch number and account number would be a mismatch.

  • Outrageous on 30/04/2024 - 15:58
    +4

    If there's no account with the details you've submitted, then the money will bounce back. Otherwise you will have to get the receiving account holder's permission to reverse it because it's their money now.

    • AustriaBargain on 01/05/2024 - 01:47

      Can the account even have the same account number if it has a different BSB, shouldn't it 100% bounce back if OP entered the account number right?

      • ginormousgiraffe on 01/05/2024 - 08:49

        I think you're right. The first three digits of the BSB are the institution and the last three are the branch. I'd doubt any institution would allow the same account number at all.

        • atoaster on 05/05/2024 - 07:18

          Believe it or not, the receiving account existed.

          If you're interested, see my other comments for how this is eventuating.

  • Baysew on 30/04/2024 - 16:07
    +2

    Is the incorrect BSB a valid BSB?

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 16:20
      +1

      It seems to be a valid BSB according to https://www.bsbnumbers.com/.

      It seems to belong to a company in Sydney, Im just hoping the account number doesn’t match as well 😔

    • Tomhaigh1 on 30/04/2024 - 16:34
      -2

      and 1800 61 44 34 for you.

    • oscargamer on 30/04/2024 - 17:06

      Ha !

    • elgrande on 30/04/2024 - 19:11

      If you have trouble reading, its something you can fix! 🎶

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 30/04/2024 - 19:25
        +1

        Let us all put aside our differences and call 13 11 66.

  • CodeXD on 30/04/2024 - 16:09
    +2

    I found this bsb number checker to see if the 'mistake' bsb number is valid.

    https://www.bsbnumbers.com/index.html

    If it is not valid, your money will return to you in a few business days.

    I highly doubt there will be the exact same account number with slightly different bsb, the odds of that is astronomical. Having said that, it is probably more likely for this to happen than to win the powerball haha

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 16:25

      Thanks, just did a lookup. The BSB belongs to a business. I’m hoping the account number doesn’t also belong to them as well (but that seems insanely unlikely, although I don’t know how Citibank works)

      • freefall101 on 30/04/2024 - 17:17

        You're probably all good, there's only a couple of dozen Citi BSBs in use by companies (presumably it's on this list? - https://www.thebsbnumbers.com/citibank/)

        You'll notice all the addresses are Citibank themselves (2 Park St) so hopefully it'll be an easy fix.

  • Duckie2hh on 30/04/2024 - 16:10
    -4

    Screwed

  • Fredfloresjr on 30/04/2024 - 16:11
    +4

    Make sure to claim this money under "donation" this financial year.

  • Nillionaire on 30/04/2024 - 16:16
    +2

    Contact NAB since they own Citibank now?

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 16:27

      Thank you! I had no idea! I will do that immediately!!!

      • MS Paint on 30/04/2024 - 16:34
        -2

        It's been nearly 2 years since that was the case.

    • freefall101 on 30/04/2024 - 17:16
      +2

      They own the consumer business, if it's a corporation with their own Citi BSB it'll still exist.

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 30/04/2024 - 16:17
    +3

    Are we talking $10, $100, $1000, $100000?

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 16:26

      Thousands 😔

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 30/04/2024 - 16:43
        +13

        Ouch. Here I am triple checking, and quadruple checking the bsb and account to the guy here I wire like $80 a year to for a spot in his Apple one family shared plan, even though I know damn well it has not changed for years

      • MeesusEff on 02/05/2024 - 02:27

        Wild not to do a $10 first test transfer for anything over $100

        • TilacVIP on 03/05/2024 - 09:19

          Exactly… this.. it then established a link,, saved to your account so you don't have to triple check.

  • GoldenDragon888 on 30/04/2024 - 16:23
    +6

    this is why 1. PayID is so much better and 2. Testing with a small transfer first.

    • Ryk on 30/04/2024 - 19:41
      +1

      The PayID feature to display a name needs to be extended to all NPP/osko payments (ie. BSB Ac/no, included).

  • bazingaa on 30/04/2024 - 16:45
    +1

    what is the sender's bank ? in CBA app, it give a message whether account name is similar or not to typed account name. I think anyway better to contact your bank.

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 18:04
      +4

      Westpac. Sadly no such feature for stupid people in their app.

      Have contacted westpac and they’ve assured me that:

      1) It’s very unlikely the account exists and
      2) if it does exist, the funds will 100% be returned as laid out in the ePayments code

      But we’ll see!

  • c64 on 30/04/2024 - 18:48
    +1

    woohoo! i just discovered some fool put thousands of dollars in my account. i'm off to the race track …

  • onceupon8 on 30/04/2024 - 19:14
    +6

    You're 90% going to be OK. Having worked in fraud in a bank before, if you submit your Mistaken Internet Payments form promptly (within 7 days?) and you can show it's a genuine mistaken payment (eg. as you said you mistyped digits), the receiving bank needs to reverse the funds. And if you mistyped the BSB number, there is a good chance, it will automatically bounce back anyway.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 30/04/2024 - 19:27

      Mistaken /= fraud tho?

      • onceupon8 on 01/05/2024 - 08:53
        +1

        Yes the process is completely different. For mistaken internet payments, you need to have genuinely made a mistake such as paid the wrong person or mistyped digits. There is a process where if you notify the bank promptly, the other bank must reverse the transactions providing the funds are still in the account.

        If you pay someone dodgy or get scammed etc, the process is much different and normally the receiver needs to agree to have the funds returned. There are exceptions such as for larger fraud cases where the sending bank agrees to declare it's fraud etc and send a legal document to the receiving bank to accept the legal consequences of freezing / returning the funds. But because there is so much fraud, generally by the time the banks look at such cases, the funds have already disappeared.

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 01/05/2024 - 11:42

          But if there's different processes, what's to stop anyone who gets scammed from saying they transferred to the wrong person or wrong account number?

          • onceupon8 on 01/05/2024 - 12:27

            @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Generally you need to provide some evidence and sign a form explaining how it was a mistake and provide the correct account details that you were meant to send it to. You may be able to fraudulently claim it was a mistake and get your funds back, but if this came to light (eg the receiver provided evidence to prove otherwise), the bank would likely take the funds back from you and would likely close your account.

    • atoaster on 30/04/2024 - 19:39

      Appreciate the legitimate response!

      Do you have any insider knowledge of how long these processes can take? Are we talking multiple weeks here?

      • MS Paint on 30/04/2024 - 20:02
        +2

        Appreciate the legitimate response!

        Are you suggesting everything above is just random mumble from internet strangers?

      • onceupon8 on 01/05/2024 - 08:47
        +1

        If it's a long account number, most likely it's going to get reversed back automatically within a few days anyway as it's very unlikely for someone else to have the same account number with a different BSB. If it's a short account number which some banks used to use a long time ago, there is more chance of it matching a different account.

        The MIP process is fairly quick - much quicker than normal enquiries and investigations - around 1-3 weeks.

        • atoaster on 01/05/2024 - 10:45

          Thank you for the info 🙏

          • BlueGlass on 05/05/2024 - 00:08

            @atoaster: If it is a MIP, make sure you keep chasing up your bank to see if the other bank has acknowledged the request.

            Has your bank acknowledged your request as a MIP?

            There are new(ish) rules for the ePayment code regarding partial amount recovery that should help you.

            There is sooooo much more manual handling than you may think, so you need make sure that you are on top of them.

            • atoaster on 05/05/2024 - 07:10

              @BlueGlass: Hi,

              The MIP was "closed" by Citibank due to the receiving account existing (cannot believe my luck). I'm dismayed and bewildered that such a conclusion was met.

              Westpac has initiated a trace (whatever that is), and I have consulted a lawyer who has started the preliminary disclosure proceedings. Both Westpac and my lawyer say that I will get the money back, as it was a large enough amount that it could not go undisclosed by the receiving party - whoever that may be.

              I would like for Westpac to be the ones who resolve the issue, as I know my legal fees will end up being around ~$7500 if I need to pursue with my legal team.

              And yes, I am a huge moron for having any of this happen.

              • BlueGlass on 05/05/2024 - 08:00
                +1

                @atoaster: Sounds like you have the right level of support.

                Read up on your rights and on the austrlian payment networks website.
                It explains what is referred to as a Trace.

                This exact scenario was envisioned and remedies devised.

                Good luck, let us know how it goes after a couple of weeks.

                • atoaster on 05/05/2024 - 15:59

                  @BlueGlass: Thanks for the information.

                  In case anyone is interested, I'll be adding updates to the situation here. As mortified as I am, I find the legalese of the situation very interesting. In case others are interested in commercial law (and have mistakenly sent nearly $70k to the wrong account), here's the headlines from the lawyers.

                  Basically, if your money is mistakenly sent to someone, there are some good reasons why you'll get it back (generally this only applies if the sum of money is large enough to cover legal fees, so around >$10,000):

                  • If money could be sent mistakenly this easily, then it would be used as a means for avoiding tax
                  • The payment would be considered unjust, which is apparently a whole can of legal worms that I don't have the Latin to reiterate.

                  Interestingly, one of the landmark cases for unjust payments in Australia involved Citibank.

                  So, my two options now are:
                  * Wait for westpac to finish the "trace" (cheapest option)
                  * Get my lawyers to contact both westpac and citibank lawyers directly, find out the bottleneck, and solve it (far more expensive, but quicker option). There are cases where - if the recipient of the funds has not been cooperating - the recipient has been forced to pay the clients legal fees. Since Citibank dismissed my MIP, my case may fall into that category.

                • atoaster on 11/05/2024 - 10:02
                  +2

                  @BlueGlass: Got the money back about an hour ago after the “trace of funds” concluded

                  • BlueGlass on 11/05/2024 - 10:05

                    @atoaster: Great outcome!
                    Reporting it as early as possible is the most important step.

  • BillyStm on 01/05/2024 - 05:05
    +2

    Why did you take time to write here when you should be on phone to bank?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 01/05/2024 - 07:16

      Was hoping to get a premium support officer from ozbargain platinum team

  • TrumpisKing on 01/05/2024 - 07:29

    Let us know what happens. I'm curious too because I have almost screwed up numbers too!!!

    • atoaster on 05/05/2024 - 07:11
      +1

      Copied from my other comment:

      The MIP was "closed" by Citibank due to the receiving account existing (cannot believe my luck). I'm dismayed and bewildered that such a conclusion was met.

      Westpac has initiated a trace (whatever that is), and I have consulted a lawyer who has started the preliminary disclosure proceedings. Both Westpac and my lawyer say that I will get the money back, as it was a large enough amount that it could not go undisclosed by the receiving party - whoever that may be.

      I would like for Westpac to be the ones who resolve the issue, as I know my legal fees will end up being around ~$7500 if I need to pursue with my legal team.

      And yes, I am a huge moron for having any of this happen.

      • onceupon8 on 07/05/2024 - 20:59

        The fact that the receiving account existed isn't a reason to "close" a MIP under the ePayments Code. It's possible that you were given incorrect information - eg your evidence wasn't sufficient that it could be classified as a true mistaken internet payment. It's also possible that Citibank didn't do things correctly.

        If you provided sufficient evidence that it was a mistaken internet payment (and you reported it promptly eg within 10 days), and Citibank did the wrong thing by closing it with an invalid reason, you will eventually get your money bank. But you need to be prepared to keep chasing it up with Westpac, and if you don't get a satisfactory result, to lodge a complaint with the AFCA. You also need to be aware that such matters take time - allow around 3-9 months.

        See this fact sheet: https://www.afca.org.au/about-afca/publications/mistaken-int….

        • atoaster on 08/05/2024 - 08:58

          The response from Westpac was:

          "An investigation by the recipient's financial institution into the transaction has determined that this is not a mistaken internet payment."

          Guess I'll be going to AFCA after all.

          I submitted the MIP within 2 days, but it is now more than 10 days, which is very annoying. Westpac have now submitted a "trace of funds", which requires a response in 2 more days. If the trace of funds doesn't work then I'll just let my lawyers do the work.

    • atoaster on 01/05/2024 - 14:33

      Interestingly, this BSB checker does not return anything when I look up the mistaken BSB. The other BSB checker in the comments did return something.

      • doczoid on 02/05/2024 - 18:52

        Best place to check is https://bsb.auspaynet.com.au/ as they issue BSBs

        • atoaster on 05/05/2024 - 07:15

          Damn.

          As mentioned in my other comment, the receiving account ended up existing. Cannot believe the combination of my stupidity, and my unluckiness.

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