Check Converted Into ACH-Check Also Cleared Account Much Later

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Question:

We had a check post to a customer's account on 1/28/2021 and they brought to our attention in late February that this check had already paid on the account on 9/28/2020 as an ACH check conversion. It is too late to return either item so how would this be handled? Would we need to get with the ODFI of the ACH to see if they would return the funds to us in good faith?

Answer:

You can't return the ACH entry; it's more than 60 days old now (in March 2021). You could attempt to reach out to the ODFI to request a later return. You definitely have no standing to do that, though, since the payment back in September was apparently authorized. You might try contacting the bank that accepted the check for deposit for the posting in January. But I don't think your prospects for a reimbursement are very good.

Does your bank not have a front-end that checks for previous payments of the same serial number on an account?