WWYD: The Mystery Payment

In this installment of “What Would You Do,” a mystery payment:

A payment was made to my credit card that I didn’t make. The amount was so specific (not a round number, down to the penny) that I was sure that it was a misapplied payment intended for another account. I filled out the online dispute and in the response I was asked to call customer service. When I did they said that the payment was mailed in (I always pay online) and that the payment department verified the payment and it was intended for my account. What would you do? — Amanda

Trying to figure out a mystery payment on a credit card is better than having to figure out an unauthorized credit card charge, and in this situation, I would have done exactly what you did: Call the credit card company and ask about where the payment came from. I would have also asked the customer service rep if it could be possible that a payment is made to a cardholder account by accident, and what happens next if that’s the case. Would I receive a notification about the mistake? Could it be possible that the credit card company wouldn’t realize its mistake until a few years from now and then make a correction then? If the rep can’t provide a clear answer to this, I’d ask him or her to get someone on the phone who could, and then write his or her name down.

No one has access to my account numbers except for me, but I’d also call up my parents to check if maybe one of them made the payment. If the mystery benefactor never reveals herself, I’d continue making my regular payments as usual and pretend like the mystery payment was never applied. That way, if a correction is made later down the line, the account would still be in good standing.

Email me your WWYD experiences to me with “WWYD” in the subject line. See previous installments.

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