I accidentally sent money to wrong account

[DennisNRW]

Hello, I accidentally sent money through PayPal to an account that was similarly written to the account I intended to send the money to. What can I do now?

[kernowlass]

@DennisNRW 

The answer would depend on how you sent the funds ie which paypal option + what it says on the transaction in your paypal account + how you funded the paypal payment.

[DennisNRW]

I sent the money through the "Family and Friends" option, but accidentally provided the wrong email address. The money is being debited from my bank account via direct debit. In the transaction overview, it says "Paid with: My bank details". Of course, this is my fault, but we still have the law § 812 right of return in Germany.

(1) Anyone who has gained something through the performance of another or otherwise at their expense without a legal reason is obliged to return it. This obligation also exists if the legal reason later ceases to exist or if the intended result of the transaction does not occur. (2) The recognition of the existence or non-existence of a debt relationship through a contract is also considered a performance.

Therefore, I am not sure to what extent the person can simply keep the money.

[kernowlass]

@DennisNRW 

Sadly as it was a friends/family option then you only have 2 options.

1. Ask customer services to reach out and ask the recipient to return the funds but if they refuse unfortunately paypal can't force them to do so as it was a 'gift' of money.

2. If you had funded the paypal payment via a credit card you 'may' have been able to do a chargeback. Unfortunately you didn't but even if you had done so it would be unlikely to be successful for the same reason ie it wasn't a payment for goods/services.

However if the person is in the same country as you then maybe pursue legal action against them ie small claims court if you have that in your country?