Do I have to return an accidental double payment?
Administrative errors can result in funds being accidentally deposited or refunded twice into your account. Legally, you generally cannot keep money that does not belong to you, and failing to address the overage can prevent you from resolving the underlying transaction or clearing your balance.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- Most of it landed at once — the busiest month was September 2026, with 9 people.
- It is not one crowd: 10 people on Reddit and 1 on Stack Exchange ran into the same thing.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Verifying the identity of those claiming the payment was made in error before returning funds.Did this help you?
- 2Claiming a 'change of position' defense if the money was already spent on something you wouldn't have otherwise purchased.Did this help you?
- 3Parking the extra funds in a high-yield savings account in case it has to be paid backDid this help you?
- 4Waiting a few statement periods to see if the bank or company reverses the duplicate creditDid this help you?
- 5Contacting the credit card company to check if the negative balance is fully refundableDid this help you?
- 6Leaving the unexpected funds sitting in the account untouchedDid this help you?
- 7Telling the sender to work directly through their bankDid this help you?
- 8Blocking numbers that harass the recipient to return the moneyDid this help you?
- 9Waiting several months until the situation seems resolved before returning fundsDid this help you?
- 10Keeping the extra money without saying anything and waiting to see if payroll notices.Did this help you?
- 11Contacting HR or a supervisor to ask if the payment was intentional or a mistake.Did this help you?
- 12Working a lot of overtime to pay it off quickerDid this help you?
- 13Trying to get a lawyer about the overpayment issueDid this help you?
- 14Putting the overpaid funds in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) to earn interest before paying it backDid this help you?
- 15Having HR or payroll do a direct account reversal or void the checkDid this help you?
- 16Repaying the amount via clawbacks spread over multiple monthsDid this help you?
- 17Calling the bank to report the unknown depositDid this help you?
- 18Leaving the money untouched in the accountDid this help you?
- 19Contacting payment network customer support to reverse the transactionDid this help you?
- 20Setting the overpaid money aside in savings expecting someone to ask for it backDid this help you?
- 21Keeping all emails, pay stubs, and benefit statements for documentationDid this help you?
- 22Emailed the insurer to report overlaps and stopped benefits after starting a new jobDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I got sent a zelle of 300 from someone I don’t know and now the money is in my chase checking account and there’s no way for me to reject the deposit.”source ↗
“Is there any point of time where you can just treat the money as if it’s yours or should I just call my bank and ask them to remove it? I was planning on just doing nothing but I also don’t want money in my account I can’t spend”source ↗
“I’m being wage garnishment from social security overpayment when I was a child I had seizures (been seizure free for 11 years now) because my mom forgot to report my income when I worked before she passed away”source ↗
“My Company had an error in accounting this week and over or underpaid EVERYONE. I was overpaid by over 20k on my commission payout.”source ↗
“This is currently still in development and being ironed out but I am wondering what my best option might be.”source ↗
“So I had a chargeback CC immediately credited me. Couple months later and their research shows I was correct and they credit me again (therefore double).”source ↗
“Mine was CC, twice. Not the retail store refunding.”source ↗
“I have had an unknown someone send me money ($140). My bank told me to do nothing and have them dispute with their bank. It's been over a month now and it's still sitting in my account.”source ↗
“I’m wondering that myself. I accidentally got a $40k transfer from someone I knew who was trying to transfer to herself.”source ↗
“Lol so i had this happen to me, chase even called me with the guy on the phone and asked me if I was willing to transfer it back. But I was suspicious of that so i told them sorry i wouldnt be sending it back but i wouldnt dispute any bank decision either.”source ↗
“Company A paid full salary, as their policy says.”source ↗
“The insurer paid PFML for about a week plus those holiday/PTO days, even though Company A was already paying me”source ↗
“A later two-week stretch: PFML was covering that period as planned, but out of nowhere, Company A paid me full salary”source ↗
“I've set the money aside.”source ↗
“Both Company A's HR and the insurer have a track record of errors and not following through.”source ↗
“About three days later, I get a email from the company that was charged back, about the refund being approved, then the balance showed up on my credit card balance: -X dollars. Ok great, but a couple days later I see that I actually have nearly double the negative balance I initially had.”source ↗
“I started my job last Tuesday one day after Labor Day. The thing is, the company gave everyone the day off with pay that Monday.”source ↗
“Well, today I received my paycheck from that week and they paid me for that Monday despite me starting on Tuesday. It’s $145 extra dollars.”source ↗
“Part of me wants to keep the extra money because I’m very tight on money at the moment but my conscious is telling me to do the correct thing and contact hr on Monday”source ↗
“I’m really not sure what to do.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6What to do when mailed checks are stolen and cashed
- 5How to turn off review and charge in QuickBooks
- 5Unexpected business taxes and compliance requirements
- 2How to handle an unexpected tax bill or IRS penalty
- 7How to fix journal entries moving income to expense accounts
- 2How to question a contractor's final invoice overcharged materials