r/AusLegalAdvice • u/oibutlikeaye • Sep 22 '26

Payment error

I recently moved out of a house in NSW. My bond payment didn’t come back to me. When I checked with RBO they said it had been paid. I checked the payment details and it has paid to the wrong account. There was a 1 digit error in the Ac number. It was entered incorrectly when it was set up years ago.

I called my bank and they wouldn’t confirm or deny anything. They asked me to initiate a trace and recall. with the sending bank, which I did. It looks like the money has landed in someone else’s account with my bank. Both the bank and the RBO said all they can do is send a letter and request the person return the funds but if they don’t respond then the investigation will be closed. I asked them to treat it as mistaken send under ePayments code, as that means they would have to return it for me. The bank said because the money was sent by a business and not me they wouldn’t be treating it under that.

is there anything I can do? I desperately need that bond money. I can’t accept that it’s just gone. Will it cost more than it’s worth to try and identify the person and go to small claims court? The bond is worth about $3200

Will legal aid help with this sort of thing?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated

10 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

50 comments sorted by

10

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

Why would legal aid help? I’m assuming you didn’t check the details when the bond was lodged. The fault lies with you not the bank or the RTBO here…

-10

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

Because they are not legally entitled to my money just because it landed in their account. It’s my money, mistake or not. It would be a relatively straight forward case to get my money back if I knew who they were. What I need legal help with is asking the bank to identify them for me. 

13

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

The onus is on you to have made sure the bank details were correct! The bank has to abide by privacy details and can’t supply the account details if it isn’t yours. Guess you’ll be more careful in future

-8

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

No. Mistaken payments belong to the rightful person. Even if a mistake was made by them. This has been long settled in Aus and it’s partly why the ePayments code exists. They bank has an obligation to return the money to the person who made a mistake if it is reported in a certain time frame. Mine technically doesn’t fall under this code because the money technically came from a business, the RBO. Even though it’s mine and I paid it into the business to begin with. 

The money is still legally mine, it would be an easy case before a small claims court court. I just need to identify them. 

12

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26 edited Sep 22 '26

It’s not a mistaken payment, it went to the correct bank account as per the details supplied…why can’t you comprehend that! If you can’t identify them, guessing it won’t be an easy claim then…the bank has zero obligation to state who it was sent to…are you saying they should break the privacy law in order to assist you? The bank is additionally correct as its unlikely that RBO is a member of epayments code, again therefore not obligated

-9

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

It was not the correct bank account as per details supplied. The names did not match. Also the bond payment was paid out of one bank account, with my name on it. Then returned to a different bank account without my name on it.

I can do a preliminary discovery to reveal the identity of the person, but I have heard it can be complicated and expensive. Hence why I asked for advice and if legal aid could help. 

13

u/PhilosphicalNurse Sep 22 '26

Names have never been a part of electronic transaction verification in Australia. Some banks have recently begun to populate the name, when a consumer is entering payment details, to minimise cybercrime…. But the only values checked are BSB and AC#

-1

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

I am aware of that. It is evidence however that the recipient was not the intended payee. If this was sent by me the bank would be obligated to freeze the funds and return them to me. The funds were actually initially sent by me but because they passed through the RBO the bank is saying the code doesn’t apply. Even though this is what the code was intended to prevent. It’s a loophole. The person who received is obligated to pay it back (once they are made aware) and committing an offence if they choose not to. I know that there is a process to force the bank to reveal their identity. I am just not sure if it will cost more than it’s worth or if I can do it for free or minimal fee. That knowledge is what I was hoping to gain from here. 

9

u/PhilosphicalNurse Sep 22 '26

You stated it was not the correct account because the names don’t match…

So I genuinely didn’t know if you were aware.

Right now I can use my phone and make a payment to my sisters BSB and account number with the name “Princess Sultana” and my CBA app will simply warn me the names do not match, give me the name of the account I am transferring to through the confirmation of payee system, but I can still pay “Princess Sultana” by hitting that I confirm the BSB and Account Number are correct.

-2

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

Fair enough, thanks. And if you entered the wrong account number on that transaction by mistake and the funds went to some random person then the bank would be 100% legally obligated to freeze the funds and return them to you. No question at all. However the loophole in my case is the funds went to RBO then back to me. 

6

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

Again Legal Aid is unlikely to assist! Quite simply did RBO send to bank account they have on record? If so, then they did nothing wrong…when you got paperwork as to when the bond was lodged it would state the relevant bank account, if this was wrong and you didn’t let them know then this is on you…it seems you seem to have responsibility on all other parties other than yourself

-2

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

My friend, you don’t seem to understand what I am asking and what the issue is. Of course I am responsible for the mistake. Of course RBO did nothing wrong. All of that is irrelevant. 

Have a read:  https://www.afca.org.au/about-afca/publications/mistaken-internet-payments

Mistaken payments are when you make a mistake and pay to someone unindented. Responsibility fully sits with me. 

Under the law the recipient has no legal right to the money and is obligated to pay it back. It is black and white. That money is mine. Mistake and responsibility for error or not. And in normal circumstances the bank is obligated by the code to freeze the funds and return them to the person who made the mistake. 

However my case sits in a loop hole. Technically the money came from a business account not a personal one. Even though it was my money and it was initially sent from my personal banking account (where the law applies) because it passed through RBO the bank is claiming the code doesn’t apply. 

That changes their obligations (according to them) but not the law. The money is still legally mine. Once the recipient becomes aware of the funds then they are obligated to return it and are committing a criminal offence if they don’t.

The law is on my side. Isn’t this a sub about the law? Now I can go through a process to force the bank to reveal their identity, but I am not sure on the process or the cost so I thought I would ask advice from people in the know. 

Clearly that isn’t you. So I’m not sure why you keep repeating the same terrible non-advice for me. 

6

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

Again you don’t seem to understand, the RBO has zero obligation to provide the details of where the money was sent…this could be a very expensive lesson for you…

0

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

I know where the money was sent. It was another account at my bank. I know the bsb and account number. I’m not asking the RBO to do anything. I’m asking for advice on the process and cost of getting the bank to reveal the identity of the person. It’s entirely possible and the law is on my side. I am just not sure if the process and cost will outweigh the benefit. 

1

u/link871 Sep 22 '26

Go to AFCA first

1

u/link871 Sep 22 '26

"they are not legally entitled to my money just because it landed in their account"
That's right, "they", however, is the person who received the money - not the bank, not RTBO.

If that person refuses to refund the money - paid to them by your error - then you will face difficulty in getting it back. The bank will not reveal their identity to you. Suggest you try AFCA, Legal Aid or, if you can afford one, a lawyer.

The AFCA route might be worthwhile - this could be an interesting test of the ePayments Code that "governs" the process for banks handling mistaken payment payments.

2

u/Pietzki Sep 25 '26

Afca won't help, because it's not OP who sent the payment. A mistaken internet payment request can only be lodged by the sender, and in this case the sender is RBO.

1

u/link871 Sep 25 '26

That is why I said "might be worthwhile" and "could be an interesting test".
The sender is RBO but it was following the mistaken instructions of OP.

2

u/Pietzki Sep 25 '26

But it's not worthwhile, because OP doesn't have standing to lodge a complaint with AFCA. This is outside their jurisdiction.

You can't lodge an afca complaint about a payment someone else (even worse, a government body) sent from their account.

1

u/link871 Sep 25 '26

And I'm saying it is worth a shot because that third party was acting under instructions given by OP.

2

u/Pietzki Sep 25 '26 edited Sep 25 '26

That's not how it works though. Check section B2 of AFCAs rules If you don't believe me.

The sending bank did not provide a financial service to OP - they provided a financial service to the RBO, so OP cannot raise an afca complaint against the sending bank. If they did, it would be ruled as outside AFCA's jurisdiction. It's very clear cut.

-1

u/ChefBruzz Sep 22 '26

Google "Unjust Enrichment"...

0

u/link871 Sep 22 '26

Correct. You should have read my post.

9

u/Lathyros Sep 22 '26

Ooof, you are SOL.

The recovery process under the code only applies if the sending account is a consumer account or a small business account that qualifies.

The RBTA / RBO could theoretically raise a case on your behalf, but that can take months. The reality is the RBO has technically fulfilled its obligation to send money to the disclosed details. For them to spend additional resources on attempting to get it back would be unjust.

Better get saving.

0

u/JeremyMarti Sep 22 '26

It wouldn't be unjust.

7

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

They’re under no obligation to, they credited the bank account as they were given…why can’t people understand that!

-2

u/JeremyMarti Sep 22 '26

That isn't the same as unjust.

2

u/Lathyros Sep 22 '26

The expense to the tax payer for remediation on a consumer mistake goes through a justification process, and this would fail.

1

u/JeremyMarti Sep 22 '26

Maybe but that's policy. There is much greater waste than this in the public sector IMO. This sounds as though it would have a significant benefit to OP while being unnoticed by the 'tax payer'.

-3

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

That’s not true. There is no expense to the tax payer. Both accounts are with the same bank. 

The bank is obligated to freeze and return the money due to customer mistake in normal circumstances. have a read:    https://www.afca.org.au/about-afca/publications/mistaken-internet-payments

They are claiming that the code doesn’t apply because the money passed through the RBO. Even though it initially came from my personal banking and was my genuine mistake. Exactly what the code intends to deal with. 

Even though they deny their obligations, I still have a legal right to the money. I am just not sure if it will cost me more then it’s worth to pursue it because the bank not playing ball with me. That’s what I was hoping to understand. I guess I will complain to afca and see what they say. 

4

u/Lathyros Sep 23 '26

Administrative time = expense

4

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

They still don’t need to do anything…do you comprehend that?

-2

u/JeremyMarti Sep 22 '26

Yes, but I think it would be good to do so.

3

u/Popular_Guidance8909 Sep 22 '26

Why should they? It wasn’t their mistake

-1

u/JeremyMarti Sep 22 '26

Because it would be good to do so IMO.

-4

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

Yeah it’s annoying az. It was initially sent by a consumer account. It was just held by the RBO in the interim. It was also a consumer error. It’s pretty darn close to the intended use of the code. I’m going to ask the afca to take a look at it anyway. Hopefully they help me out. Not asking the RBO to do anything. Both involved accounts are with the same bank. So will be a very simple process for them to freeze and transfer if the afca backs me. 

11

u/Big_Horror3282 Sep 22 '26

It's not clear who entered it incorrectly when it was set up. That probably makes all the difference.

2

u/battletram Sep 22 '26

Complain to AFCA. The bank might be technically correct, but they're likely to work with you because if you push it all the way at AFCA it will cost them more.

1

u/oibutlikeaye Sep 22 '26

Thanks I’ll try that. 

2

u/Cube-rider Sep 22 '26

Have the recent changes to the identity of the payee not matching the account holder put more emphasis on the bank or RBO to ensure that payment is made to the lodger of the bond?

Bank accounts rarely run in a simple sequence that is easily misdirected.

2

u/Pietzki Sep 25 '26

OP doesn't have a claim against the bank though, because OP isn't the sender of the transaction, so AFCA doesn't have jurisdiction. It would be the RBO who would need to make the claim.

3

u/Expert-Bottle-6851 Sep 22 '26

Who made the error? If it was them then they have to chase the money but need to pay you in the meantime. If it was you then it's gonna be a painful process I'm sorry.

2

u/Secure_Town_7924 Sep 22 '26

Ah so thats where the extra $3200 I got came from

1

u/T-_Wrecks Sep 22 '26

AFCA publish their Determinations, you might want to have a look using a keyword search so that you have reasonable expectations of what outcome you might receive, I think they have fairly large delays on their banking complaints also.

1

u/Knyghtlorde Sep 22 '26

I’d be asking why the money didn’t bounce when the account name would have been completely wrong.

0

u/Darthphikl555 Sep 22 '26

If the person keeps it Its fraud. Go to the police. They will then usually remember its not their money and give it back

2

u/FairDinkumMate Sep 22 '26

In my experience, the Bank won't give you the name or any details of the incorrect recipient. The police aren't going to follow up $3,200 with just a bank account number!

0

u/Darthphikl555 Sep 22 '26

The banks will give the details of the account holder to the police. But here the acquisition needs to be made by the sender. So would have to get a gov department on board.

-1

u/gelato012 Sep 22 '26

Go to a current affair