# Am I liable for a refund issued by mistake?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-liable-for-a-refund-issued-by-mistake/365044>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 18, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-liable-for-a-refund-issued-by-mistake/365044 "2006-07-18T17:29:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-liable-for-a-refund-issued-by-mistake/365044/21 "2006-07-19T18:48:42Z")

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[QUOTE=Dag Otto]  
You’ll want to check out sections 805 and 806 of the [Fair Debt Collections Practices Act](http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm). I’ve read in other threads that the magic words are ‘cease and desist’.  
[/QUOTE]

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act \*\*does not \*\* apply to creditors collecting their own debts. You might have similar rights under state law, though.

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-liable-for-a-refund-issued-by-mistake/365044/22 "2006-07-19T18:58:04Z")

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Every U.S. jurisdiction in which I have researched the issue recognizes a cause of action for money paid by mistake. Check out Form 7 in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for example [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Forms.pdf](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Forms.pdf)

This search reveals many copies of the same form in various state rules: [Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?q=complaint+for+money+paid+by+mistake&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official)

[QUOTE=Gfactor]  
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to creditors collecting their own debts. You might have similar rights under state law, though.  
[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I misunderstood, I guess. They sent it to an outside collection agency then?

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**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-liable-for-a-refund-issued-by-mistake/365044/23 "2006-07-19T20:01:21Z")

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Incidentally, the Fair Credit and Billing Act, which is easy to Google, covers original creditors and their debt collection practices.  
Also reference the Fair Credit Reporting Act if you like.

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