Rental red flag?

[MOXJO7282]

So I've rented one of my Marriott Grande Ocean units to a US citizen from Paris. Spoke to him several times and sent rental agreement and everything seems legit but today I received his payment drawn off a US Bank with his Paris address.

The problem is he overpaid me by $100. His rental is not until the end of August and he has yet to mention the overpayment at all since he sent payment that I received Tuesday.

If he doesn't ask I'm not inclined to say anything until I know the funds I received are legit and then I would send him the refund.

So my question is how long does it take for the funds he sent to become 100% legit where the bank can't come back and say "sorry the payment was fraudulent".

 

[DeniseM]

That is a good question to ask at your bank.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

If you received an ACH or a wire it is already good. A bank does not have the authority to take the money back out of your account without your permission. The only exception is an error and fraud on the part of the sender is not likely to count. It would have to be an error in the amount, wrong account number, or a duplicate transaction. If the amount was discovered to be in error with the $100 it would only be the $100 that is reversed.

If you received a check or a transfer processed as an e-check then that is another matter and the money can come back out.

Your situation doesn't sound very suspicious to me. It would be normal for a US citizen in Paris to have a US account with their current address.

As a side note it is fairly normal for non-US citizens to have US accounts with their foreign address. You do not need a Social Security Number to open a US account, even though the bank will try and get you to provide one. It is illegal for them to require it to open a bank account but they can ask for it or put the box on a form.

 

[Quilter]

Just a thought. . .

Instead of a refund, would it be easier to put a $100 credit on their room account?