Auto Insurance Company (allstate) Paid The Wrong Person

Hi,

So I was rear-ended a couple of months ago and filed a claim through my insurance company as I had comprehensive coverage. It was determined to be a total loss and I was supposed to receive a payment of $18K for the vehicle.

I had chosen Zelle as the method of payment because the website said it would be the quickest. Unfortunately the insurance company sent the money to the wrong phone number. They actually combined my spouse’s and my phone numbers together and sent the payment to a random person.

Upon realizing their error I immediately called the insurance company and told them that the phone number was incorrect. The representative canceled the payment and updated the phone number and said they would instruct the Total Loss Team to reissue the payment to the correct number the following business day. Unfortunately they sent it to the same wrong number again and this time it was accepted by the unintended recipient via Zelle.

It’s been 2 months and I’ve been calling Allstate every few days asking them for my payment. I keep getting the run around from them that I have to wait until Zelle/Bank of America reverses the original payment before they will pay me.

Do I have any other recourse here? If anyone has any experience in this or any advice, it is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!