In Spain, Bizum has become practically the standard when it comes to sending money between individuals. Its ease of use is one of the reasons why it has gained so much popularity (it currently has 28 million active users), since we only need the other person’s phone number to make an instant transfer. But what happens if we make a mistake and send the payment to the wrong person?
As a result of mobile transfers and digital payments, many scams can take place. Now Spanish law, in the wake of a scam related to financial technology and the whole banking mobilization, is working hand in hand with criminal law. Read on to find out all the details of what happened.
The truth is that it can happen and proof of this is the case of my colleague Eva, who received a payment of 100 euros from a stranger by mistake through Bizum. Luckily for the person who had made the payment, Eva got in touch and returned the amount, but it can happen that someone receives a Bizum and does not return it. This has happened in Zamora, where a resident of Benavente received a Bizum of 20 euros that he did not return.
He will have to pay a fine of 180 euros for keeping a Bizum of 20 euros.
They echo the news from the newspaper La Opinión de Zamora, where they say that justice has condemned for misappropriation to the person who received the Bizum by mistake. Although the man who received the 20 euros claims that it was all a misunderstanding, the truth is that he never returned the money, even after it was requested. The woman who made the payment denounced the facts and the Juzgado de Instrucción nº1 of Benavente ended up giving her the reason.
It should be emphasized that in these cases it is necessary to take into account the relevance of receiving money in an erroneous way, since if a refund is not carried out as soon as possible, there can be a very serious problem for the person who receives it in the first instance. Likewise, even if the situation is first thought to be a misunderstanding, the fine and the justice system can act in any way. In this same line, when there is a problem of this nature, the person who has lost, at first, his money, can resort to the law without any problem to have the monetary amount back; for this, it is always mandatory to demonstrate that there was a problem at the time of the return of the money.
The return of the money includes the fine of 180 euros.
According to the source, the person who received the €20 Bizum will have to return this amount to its rightful owner, in addition to paying a fine of €180 and court costs. The convicted person appealed claiming lack of evidence and presumption of innocence, but the Provincial Court of Zamora has confirmed the sentence and considers that it is proven that he received the money by mistake and did not return it voluntarily, even knowing that it was a mistake.
What happens if we keep the money by mistake?
The case reminds us that keeping money received by mistake can be considered a crime of misappropriation, even if the amount in question is not too high. If you ever receive a deposit by Bizum, by bank transfer or by any other means and you know that you are not the legitimate recipient of it, the best thing to do is to contact the bank or platform in question to report the error. In the case of Bizum it is easy to contact the other person, as we can see their number.