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A person's money went missing after the bank sent it to the wrong place | What's the Deal?

Thousands of dollars went missing after a bank wired it to the wrong place by accident.

FISHERS, Ind. — Cindy Kuster is trying to track down her money.

"I sent a wire to Italy through Chase Bank, and it is still missing," Kuster said.

The almost $3,400 was supposed to pay for part of a trip, and Kuster used this method of payment because it made the most sense to her.

"It was a 3% credit card fee in order to use the credit card. So, I thought, I might as well just send a wire, which is $50," Kuster said.

According to Kuster, she handed off the routing directions to a bank employee, who punched in the information.

Weeks later, the company receiving the funds said they never got the money.

That is when Kuster noticed the account number on her receipt was two digits off.

"I didn't panic because I thought, I'll just go in," Kuster said. "I spoke to the employee who did it, and she saw everything, and she knew, and she was walking around the Chase branch to ask for help."

But Kuster said help never came, despite notifying the bank and its corporate offices well within the 180-day reporting window.

"I consistently call, consistently email and I don't get help," Kuster said.

Kuster also filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau site says when it comes to wire transfer investigations, financial institutions "generally have 90 days."

That timeline means Kuster could have been missing her money into December.

"I know it's all relative at $3,400, but it could be $40,000, and someone could be in a lot of trouble," Kuster said. 

After 13News reached out to Chase, a spokesperson sent the following statement:

"We apologized to Ms. Kuster for our error and let her know that we’ve credited her account in full.” 

Kimberly Palmer, with NerdWallet, said wire transfers work similar to cash. 

"Once that money is gone, it's gone — you can't really track it or retrieve it. There are a few exceptions. For example, if you – within half an hour – want to cancel an international wire transfer, you might be able to," Palmer said.

The CFPB site says financial institutions are generally responsible for correcting mistakes, including "delivery of funds to the wrong recipient."

To protect yourself from mistakes, have the employee read back the routing number to you.

"There's definitely an argument for putting some extra guardrails up, but, you know, we'll see if that happens," Palmer said. 

Until then, it's up to you to prevent possible headaches. 

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