overpayment woes

yreffej

I need advice! I was let go from my job on 27th of july. I worked for the intolerably evil British Gas in one of their labour farms/call centres. As they pay on the 15th, and you're paid 2 weeks in arrears, 2 weeks in advance, I was not entitled to any further wages from them (which is why they ALWAYS sack people at the end of the month). The manager who carried out the sacking then said to me that they need too calculate how much holiday i have left and I'll be paid that as normal. I didn't bother checking my bank, as I believed the amount I was owed was minimal, and checking my bank statements depresses me.
Anyway, on the 28th of august, I recieve a letter from centrica informing me that an over-calculation of my remaining holiday has been made and I now owe them £321 pounds. I did a quick check on the 'net and discovered that if: A) I did not know I had been over paid (which, seeing as they did not send me a wage slip, I didn't), I did not mislead the employer into making the mistake (I had been sacked and would have been unable to do so) and C) the money has been spent (I have no job and 2 kids to support. It had been), Then I would not have too pay them back.
They have now passed the debt to a collection agency and claimed I never made any effort to contact them! Where do I stand?

zzzLazyDaisy

amazingly similar to this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1956269

Seems like BG make a habit of this sort of thing :rolleyes:

yreffej

Thats pretty scary. I know of one other person it's happened to as well as myself. Seems the managers may need re-training in how to calculate and submit final salaries.

GeorgeUK

Some contracts state that, if an employee leaves the employment owing the employer money that could not be recovered from final wages, the amount owed becomes a civil debt. You should check what is stated on your contract and probably get advice from nationaldebtline or citizens advice.

McKneff

You dont have any choice but to pay them back, the money wasnt yours to spend, whether you knew about it or not. You must have seen the amount in
your bank.

You need to contact them to set up a payment plan. The longer you put it off
the more costs will be added ending up with a ccj and then really ending up with bailiffs charging £100 per visit. Suddenly, or it will seem like it, it will be £1000 so you need to sort it as soon as possible.