Man mistakenly sends $1k to wrong person using Chase 'QuickPay'

Sending money through your phone can be quick and convenient, but if you're not careful, it could cost you.

Most major banks now offer a service, including Chase, which offers "QuickPay." Eduardo Alcalde has been with Chase for 15 years and says he uses QuickPay all the time.

“It's a really easy transaction. It's really nice, effortless,” he said.

Last month, Alcalde tried to send $1,000 to a friend using what he thought was her current phone number.

“Unfortunately, she forgot to tell me that she might have changed it,” Alcalde said.

Hours later, Alcalde realized that money went to a different chase customer.

“I was like ahh - it went to the wrong place. So that's when I called Chase,” he said.

Chase told Alcalde it would investigate. A few days later, Alcalde got a letter saying the transaction is valid.

“I guess the person that received it decided to keep the money and not return it back, and Chase said that there's nothing they could do about it,” Alcalde said.

Chase was following its policy. According to the company's terms, once you send payment, you won't be able to cancel it.

Banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo have similar terms.

“I never gave it a second thought on whether it's safe or not,” Alcalde said.

After FOX 32 got involved, Chase decided to credit Alcalde's account as a courtesy.

Bottom line, check the phone number and then check again before you send any payments on your phone. Otherwise, you're on the hook if you make a mistake.

“I think it's important to get that out there,” Alcalde said.

Another popular payment service called Venmo has a similar policy if you accidentally send money to the wrong person.

So be careful no matter which app - or service- you use.