Reader question: How do I clarify, after a standing order plus a single transfer, whether my Austrian monthly rent was paid twice and how the surplus amount will be returned?
You made the Austrian monthly rent payment additionally by a separate transfer, even though the standing order was still active. Shortly afterwards your online banking shows two similar entries. Before you demand a refund or skip the next month’s rent, it must be established which payments were actually executed and how they were allocated.
Distinguish two actual bookings from a mere display
Check for each entry the amount, recipient, date, status and reference. A pending or still scheduled payment is not already the same actual additional payment as a completed second booking. If the status is unclear, ask your bank via the usual access.
Also establish which month you intended to pay in each case. A payment with a different reference or an outstanding amount can influence the allocation question. This does not imply tacit acknowledgement of an asserted earlier debt; the actual point of contention remains visible.
Ask the recipient side about the specific transaction
Send the two relevant receipts including the apartment identifier and your factual question. Other transactions and unnecessary account details are not part of the clarification. Ask for a response stating which amounts were received and to which period they were allocated.
An incorrect allocation is handled differently from a confirmed double payment. If a booking cannot be found, continue to check recipient and execution with the bank. A mere statement of the balance does not replace the reconciliation of the two specific transactions.
Determine the reason for reimbursement concretely
§1431 ABGB generally allows the reclamation of a payment made in error to which the receiving person had no claim. [ABGB1431] Whether a particular overpayment falls under this depends, among other things, on the purpose of the payment, the actual entitlement and the allocation made.
Therefore do not merely demand “my money back”, but identify the payment you consider to be the mistakenly additional booking. If a different claim is asserted against you, secure its exact justification and have the remaining dispute reviewed with the documents. This article does not confirm an automatic offset against arbitrary future rents.
Agree the solution clearly and check it
Clarify whether a refund or an expressly confirmed alternative allocation is to take place. Record the amount and the agreed next step. A message with unexpected new account details will be clarified via an already known independent contact. Do not disclose any online banking access data or authorisation codes.
In the hypothetical case two monthly amounts were in fact executed. The recipient side confirms an excess amount. The tenant party agrees the refund and later checks the actual receipt. A merely promised transfer is not yet booked as a completed reimbursement.
Remove the cause without creating a new arrears
After clarification, check the standing order, the single payment routine and the future due date. Do not inadvertently change the correct recipient or amount. An ongoing query is not a safe reason to simply omit the next contractually due payment.
Keep the original bookings, the allocation response and the actual reimbursement receipt together. The process is complete when the financial remainder and the future payment routine are traceably clarified; if a dispute remains, exactly that difference remains open.