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Comment by JoeAltmaier | Hacker News Reader

I just wonder, if I as a private person had a brain fart and wrote a check in full for my car loan, instead of just an installment, what are my chances of retrieving that money? Very small I should think.

So, are corporations classed as fictional persons? Then let Citibank live with the mistake. As I would have to.

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> I just wonder, if I as a private person had a brain fart and wrote a check in full for my car loan, instead of just an installment, what are my chances of retrieving that money? Very small I should think.

I would've assumed that if you contacted them immediately and gave them adequate notice of the mistake, you'd be able to get it sorted. Very curious what the actual answer is in the real world.

unless you were able to request a stop payment on the check prior to it clearing I don't see how you would be able to get the money returned. Or, at least, whatever entity you owed the money to would not be required to return it. Maybe they would if they so chose but I don't see any way you could force them.

That's not the same situation. It's like you used your bank's online bill pay to mail a check for the current month's payment. Instead the bank sent a check for the full amount, drawn from their own funds.

No the chances are very good you would get your money back. And it would be very bad if Citi did not get their money back - there is no advantage to a payment system that cannot undue obvious errors of this magnitude.

As someone that has inadvertently paid a BOA credit card bill in full when I meant to transfer money to a different account.... You ain’t getting shit back.

But did the bank follow your direction in making the payment, or did they not follow your direction in making the payment. that makes all of the difference.

First world problem. My check would bounce, therefore I would not have to retrieve anything (beyond bad check fee).

Since you used a check, chances are pretty high your could issue a stop-payment order to your bank and the check would be refused. (Assuming you realized in time.)

It would be similar if you paid with ACH, IIRC. Participation in the ACH network requires acceptance of a strict timing schedule whereby txns are reversible under certain circumstances for a limited period of time.

I dont know about your jurisdiction but I know of plenty of cases where banks have overturned erroneous transactions when contacted quickly enough.

The analogy doesn't apply because Citibank doesn't owe Brigade anything, they just happen to also be Revlon's banker.

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