Scanned a QR Code and Paid the Wrong Merchant? How to Get a Refund

Who this guide is for

This guide is for anyone who scanned a QR code and the money reached the wrong receiver. You may be in one of these situations:

• You scanned the wrong shop's QR by mistake — the neighbouring stall, a shared counter, or an old code that was never removed.
• The shop displayed someone else's QR, so your payment went to a third party instead of the seller.
• You suspect a scammer pasted a fake QR sticker over the genuine merchant's code, and your money silently went to a fraudster.
• You paid the right shop but it now denies receiving the money or refuses to hand over the goods or a refund.

It applies to payments made through any UPI app — a bank app or a private payment app — at a physical shop, a stall, a parking booth, a toll point, or a delivery agent's QR.

Who this guide is NOT for

This guide does not cover a UPI payment that simply failed while the money was debited from your account and never reached anyone — that is a failed transaction with an auto-reversal timeline, and you should follow your app's failed-payment dispute flow and our guide on a card or POS transaction that failed but debited your account. It also does not cover full account-takeover scams where a stranger emptied your account after a fake call or link — for that and for frozen accounts after a cyber complaint, see our guide on a cybercrime lien or debit freeze on your bank account. If your wrong payment went to a private individual rather than a shop, see our companion guide on a UPI fraud complaint closed without a refund.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Open your UPI app and find the exact transaction. Note the amount, the date and time, the receiver's UPI ID or name shown on the success screen, and the transaction reference number (often called the UTR or transaction ID). Take screenshots of the full payment details. If you are still near the shop, photograph the QR code you scanned, the counter where it was displayed, and the shop's signboard. Look closely for a sticker pasted over another QR, peeling edges, or a name that does not match the shop — these are signs of a tampered overlay. Write down a short, plain account of what happened while it is fresh.

Saturday

Go back to the shop in person if it is safe and reasonable. Politely explain that the money reached the wrong receiver and show the receipt and reference number. If the shop's own QR was correct and the money went to a genuine receiver, ask the shopkeeper to help identify who holds that QR and to request a refund. If you cannot return in person, send a written refund request on WhatsApp or by message (use the template below) with the receipt attached, so you have a dated record. If you suspect the QR was a fraud overlay, do not wait — call 1930 and file at cybercrime.gov.in the same day, and alert your bank to flag the beneficiary.

Sunday

Raise a complaint inside your UPI app under its dispute or help section, attaching the transaction and your evidence. Then send a written complaint to your bank's grievance channel asking them to pursue a return through the NPCI dispute process. Organise everything into one folder on your phone: screenshots, QR photos, the receipt, the refund request you sent, any reply, and the cybercrime acknowledgement number if you filed one. If the shop had CCTV over the counter, send a written request to preserve the footage of the relevant time, because such footage is usually overwritten within days.

Evidence and documents checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Capture the transaction details before you do anything else

Open your UPI app and screenshot the full transaction: amount, date, time, receiver UPI ID or name, and the reference number. Save the bank debit SMS too. If the money went to a wrong but genuine receiver, these details are what every later step relies on. Do this first, because some apps make older transactions harder to open in detail.

Step 2 — Photograph the QR and the spot, and check for tampering

If you can still reach the shop, photograph the QR you scanned, the counter, and the signboard. Inspect the QR closely. A sticker pasted over another code, a mismatched name, or a peeling edge suggests a fraud overlay. If it looks tampered with, treat it as fraud and jump to Step 5 quickly. If it is simply the wrong shop's genuine code, continue with the refund route.

Step 3 — Ask the receiver for a refund, in writing

Approach the merchant or receiver politely and explain the mistake. Show the receipt and reference number. Most honest shopkeepers return money paid by error. Put the request in writing on WhatsApp or by message as well, so there is a dated record, and attach the receipt. A clear, courteous written request is also useful evidence if you later need to escalate. Avoid threats; a calm request works better and keeps any later complaint credible.

Step 4 — Raise a dispute in your UPI app and a complaint with your bank

Inside your UPI app, use the dispute, complaint, or help option for the specific transaction and describe the wrong-receiver issue. Then send a written complaint to your bank's grievance channel, asking it to take up the matter with the receiver's bank through the NPCI dispute mechanism and to request a voluntary return. Keep the complaint reference numbers. Understand the limit honestly: for a payment you authorised, the app and bank can request a return but cannot force one without the receiver's consent.

Step 5 — Report a tampered or fake QR as fraud, fast

If you believe a scammer pasted a fake QR over the genuine one, this is a cybercrime. Call the national cyber fraud helpline on 1930 immediately and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. Speed matters more than anything, because early reporting improves the chance of freezing the money before the fraudster withdraws it. Also alert your bank to flag the beneficiary. Note the acknowledgement number and follow up with the cyber cell. For evidence handling and follow-up, see our guide on a UPI fraud complaint closed without a refund.

Step 6 — Use the consumer or civil route if a merchant unjustly keeps your money

If the receiver clearly got money that is not theirs and refuses to return it, you can send a written legal notice for recovery and approach the consumer forum or a civil court. This is most relevant when the merchant accepted payment but denies the goods or service, or holds money that plainly belongs to you. For amounts that are large or facts that are disputed, take advice from a qualified lawyer rather than acting alone.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste refund request template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending. Send this to the merchant or receiver on WhatsApp or by message so you have a dated record.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies only to public authorities. A QR or UPI payment dispute is mostly a matter between you, a private merchant, a private payment app, and your bank. So for the core problem — getting your money back from the wrong receiver — RTI is not the tool. Use the merchant, app, bank, NPCI dispute, cybercrime, and consumer routes described above first.

RTI can still help around the edges, but only where a public authority holds the records:

• If you filed a police complaint or FIR about a tampered QR, you can use RTI to ask the relevant police office about the status and action taken on your complaint, subject to the exemptions that protect an ongoing investigation.
• If the wrong money landed in an account at a public sector bank, that PSU bank is a public authority, and you can file an RTI with its Public Information Officer about the bank's grievance handling — though it will not disclose another customer's personal account details.
• If a government department or municipal body operated the QR you paid (for example a government parking or utility counter), RTI can be used to ask that public authority about the payment record and how it is reconciled.

To use this route, read our guide on how to file an RTI online in India, and if a public authority does not reply in time, our guide on how to file a first appeal under Section 19. For government service complaints that run alongside RTI, see using CPGRAMS with RTI.

When RTI will not help

Private merchants, apps and private banks: A shopkeeper, a private UPI payment app, and a private bank are not public authorities under the RTI Act. You cannot file an RTI to identify the QR account holder, to get the app's internal records, or to force a private bank to disclose a receiver's details. The correct channels are the app complaint, the bank grievance process, and the NPCI dispute mechanism.

Finding out who owns the fraud account: RTI cannot be used by a private person to unmask a UPI account holder or a fraudster. Account-holder identity is obtained by the police during a criminal investigation after you report at cybercrime.gov.in and on the 1930 helpline — not through an RTI application.

RTI does not order a refund: Even where a public authority is involved, RTI only gives you information. It does not compel anyone to return your money. The information you obtain can support a consumer case, a police follow-up, or an Ombudsman complaint, but the refund itself comes through those routes, not through RTI. See our first and second appeal guide if a public authority withholds information you are entitled to.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Not saving the transaction reference immediately. The UTR or transaction ID is the backbone of every complaint. Screenshot the full transaction details the moment you notice the error, before the screen or the app makes it harder to find.
• Walking away without photographing the QR. If you suspect a tampered overlay, the photo of the sticker on the counter is your strongest evidence. Once you leave, the scammer may peel it off and it is gone forever.
• Treating a fraud overlay like an ordinary mistake. A tampered QR is a cybercrime. Spending a day politely chasing a "merchant" who is actually a fraudster wastes the few minutes in which the money could have been frozen. If in doubt, call 1930 first.
• Expecting the app or bank to reverse an authorised payment. A successful UPI transfer cannot be pulled back without the receiver's consent. File the complaint, but rely on the receiver's cooperation or a fraud freeze, not on an automatic reversal.
• Threatening the receiver instead of asking calmly. A polite, written request gets honest people to refund quickly and keeps your record clean if you later escalate. Aggressive messages can backfire and weaken a consumer case.
• Letting CCTV footage be overwritten. Shop cameras usually loop within days. If footage matters, send a written preservation request to the shop owner straight away rather than weeks later.
• Trying to use RTI against a private app or bank. RTI does not apply to private merchants, private payment apps, or private banks. Filing such an RTI wastes time. Use the consumer, NPCI, and police routes, and keep RTI only for public-authority records.