Overpayment of wages....and now we've to pay it back OR ELSE!

MegandNicsmum

My OH was overpaid by the council. One months wages. We paid 3/4 of it back but when I did the bank transfer I typed in 1 instead of 7 so there was a shortfall of £600 paid back. OH arranged (by phone) that we would pay it back by £50 a month and we started it last month but eventhough we didn't name a date for payment obviously their ideas were different to ours and they've now issued Notice of Legal Proceedings.

We're certainly not denying that the money should be paid back but I don't want a recovery company chasing me for it.

No amounts mentioned on letter but we've been given the PAY WITHIN 3 DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE OR ELSE warning!!!

Can I send the CCA request (to prove the point that no credit agreement was set up)?!?!

Ames

You can't ask for a CCA as this isn't a consumer debt covered by the Consumer Credit Act. I think all you can do is try talking to the council, and if all else fails then go to court and put your side of the story, they may well side with you! Especially since it'll take a while to go to court and so by then you'll have a history of paying the £50 as agreed. Courts don't like having their time wasted any more than the rest of us do.

GeorgeUK

I would definately contact whoever you made the repayment arrangement with. This may just be an automated letter but you should get back in touch with them so that you both you and they can find out what has happened.

Insomniac666

Can i ask, when you realised you made a typo on the transfer, why didn't you make another for the difference? Is your husband still employed with the local council?

DVardysShadow

This really is an occasion to deal in writing, keeping copies, to show that you have been reasonable. You should do this straight away [but earlier would have been better], with your proposals to repay.

The reason is that if it goes to court, there is no defence, they will win. So about all there is to gain from this is to show that it was unreasonable to take it to court and hope to gain costs.

SmudgeUK

When I worked for my local council, as a site manager at a school, they took my ovr payment straight out of my wages, after i signed the appropriate form, cant you arrange this to be done, or does OH not work there anymore.

If he does i suggest he contacts HR ad ask them if they could arrange that, and speak to the councils legal department on his behalf, also did he sign into the councils union, as he will get a lot more help there with coming to an agreement with the council.

If he no longer works there, and if you can try to make a decent arrangement with them, but ensure it is in writing, also if you live in the area of the council, speak to your councilor tell show them you have paid so much, and can prove it was honest mistake, as they work inside the council they may be ale t help you.......

woody01

MegandNicsmum wrote: »

My OH was overpaid by the council. One months wages. We paid 3/4 of it back but when I did the bank transfer I typed in 1 instead of 7 so there was a shortfall of £600 paid back. OH arranged (by phone) that we would pay it back by £50 a month and we started it last month but eventhough we didn't name a date for payment obviously their ideas were different to ours and they've now issued Notice of Legal Proceedings.

We're certainly not denying that the money should be paid back but I don't want a recovery company chasing me for it.

No amounts mentioned on letter but we've been given the PAY WITHIN 3 DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE OR ELSE warning!!!

Can I send the CCA request (to prove the point that no credit agreement was set up)?!?!

You admit you knew it wasnt yours to spend so i assume you still have the £600 extra?
If not, then you have yourselves only to blame.

SmudgeUK

woody01 wrote: »

You admit you knew it wasnt yours to spend so i assume you still have the £600 extra?
If not, then you have yourselves only to blame.

I also blame the councils for this, cause at this moment in time many councils, are doing single status and job evaluations, and there are plenty of errors happening with people being moved into different points and when they then run new payroll, sometimes it causes an error and so they not only get paid automaically but cause it showed error they sometimes get paid manually.

Now yes whilst it is a error with the council, and this money isnt yours and you shouldnt spend it many councils wont take it straight back, they make arrangements with you to pay itback over a certain period, when i was over paid i told them to take it all out of my next months wage, and got told they couldnt do that, neither could they except cash, or a cheque or anything, but could set up a monthly percentage out of my wages, lol

so while you shouldnt keep the money bear in mind some councils are reluctant to take it all back at once

Insomniac666

Well more fool the councils for being like that and I bet their accounts department would choke if they knew. There is plenty of ways for that money to be repaid back into the council's funds, all the person needs to do is send a cheque payment into a local authority with a letter, paid over the counter at their local cashiers office etc.. and the money should be able to coded back to the correct cost centre etc....

Only real pain with this type of overpayment is it plays with cumalitive totals on payroll so they need to reverse these payments. I was overpaid 2 weeks running and it was a simple reversal from my salary.

In many contracts it does state overpayments should be repaid straight back and there is a difference in not knowing you're overpaid and knowing and not doing anything about it.

I'm don't see why the council should be expected to basically let you have an interest free loan from people taxes?