Man Transferred $700 Using Paylah! Then Realised His Money Went To The Mobile Number’s Previous Owner

2018-11-04 , 11:00 am

Transferring money today is no longer a hassle like it was before.

Back then, you had to go to the ATM and make a bank transfer. And there are so many numbers you can get wrong.

But today? All you’ve got to do is to go to your phone, use services like Paylah! and PayNow, and you’re able to transfer money to the recipient’s handphone number.

Now, older Singaporeans don’t trust these kinds of services for one reason: It’s too convenient. Which means, unsafe.

What if you get the number wrong? What if your money goes to the wrong person?

Well, that’s what happened to this Singaporean man. But don’t worry, it’s a happy ending.

S’porean Man Transfers Downpayment to Carpenter For a Job

Facebook user Spike Sim had transferred 50% downpayment to a carpenter he had hired for a job using Paylah!

Paylah is a service provided by DBS that allows individuals to transfer money with just a mobile phone number.

The carpenter didn’t receive the money and went to the bank to rectify the issue.

And they found out that the mobile number is tagged to the wrong bank account.

The Mobile Number is a Recycled Number

What do you think happens to your mobile phone number if you cancel it? It doesn’t disappear.

Instead, it gets recycled.

And that’s what happened here.

The carpenter didn’t get the money because the money went to the previous owner instead.

He claimed that the carpenter went to DBS for assistance for two weeks but didn’t receive any help.

DBS Claimed Bank Account Holder Didn’t Want To Return The Money

Sim uploaded a letter he had received from DBS.

DBS claimed that the recipient account holder did not want to reverse the credit from his or her account.

And the bank claimed that because the recipient did not want to reverse the credit, there is nothing much they can do about it.

After FB Post Went Viral, DBS Rectified The Issue

After posting on DBS’s Facebook Page, things took a turn for the better.

DBS got in touch with Sim to ask for more information and proceed to rectify the issue for him.

Yup, the power of social media.

It’s Actually Illegal To Retain Money That Doesn’t Belong To You

Now, he’s not the first guy to have met with this issue.

But here’s the thing: if you’ve received money due to a mistake in the transaction, and you were informed about it, refusing to return the money is an offence.

An offence that can land you in criminal prosecution.

Should you send money to a wrong account and the recipient refuse to return the money, the police can get involved to resolve the matter.

Banks, however, are not required to refund the amount as they’re only responsible for facilitating the transaction.