Ex-Employer demanding money for overpaid wages

cashbackproblems

Hi Guys

Iv had abit of shock letter through the post last week and need some advice re my rights.

Basically in May i left my job working for a large bank in middle of the month and apparently they paid me for the whole month by mistake and now want this money back (nearly £600). I was out of the country at the time and with rent and other debits going out of my account didnt notice this. Now i am unemployed and due to start a new job in a few months so just dont have this amount of money to pay them.

I have 1k in the bank but i will need that for my first rent+deposit plus a month of living in London without getting paid from my new job!

Do i legally have to pay them back for their mistake, iv still got 1k+ to pay off on my credit card (interest free but needs paying) so dunno what to do.

WIll they take me to court, will it affect my credit score? Its such a small amount to them i feel its unfair their asking for it back. (I have no assets e.g. house/car.). I emailed them just making sure they hadnt made a mistake and they were adamant.

Thanks

GEEGEE8

Why not set up a payment plan with them? Even if it's £20 a month it's a start.

PurpleJay

I am pretty sure they are entitled to their money back so they could take you to court and it could affect your credit score depending on the outcome. It would only be reasonable for them to accept installments though seeing as it was their mistake after all. Give them a call.

SarEl

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Hi Guys

Iv had abit of shock letter through the post last week and need some advice re my rights.

Basically in May i left my job working for a large bank in middle of the month and apparently they paid me for the whole month by mistake and now want this money back (nearly £600). I was out of the country at the time and with rent and other debits going out of my account didnt notice this. Now i am unemployed and due to start a new job in a few months so just dont have this amount of money to pay them.

I have 1k in the bank but i will need that for my first rent+deposit plus a month of living in London without getting paid from my new job!

Do i legally have to pay them back for their mistake, iv still got 1k+ to pay off on my credit card (interest free but needs paying) so dunno what to do.

WIll they take me to court, will it affect my credit score? Its such a small amount to them i feel its unfair their asking for it back. (I have no assets e.g. house/car.). I emailed them just making sure they hadnt made a mistake and they were adamant.

Thanks

The law is very clear on this - regardless of the fact that it was their mistake, or your personal circumstances, you must repay the money or it will be treated like any other debt and they can puruse it in court. The best thing to do would be to explain the circumstances and make a reaosnable offer of installments. Unless your offer is ridiculous, they are unlikely to want to go to court as a court would only order installments anyway unless you have the money to pay.

cashbackproblems

Should I just wait for the letter “threatening” with court action if I don’t pay, and hope they forget about it in the mean time? As they only contacted me about this recently.

nikki1520

not if you ever want a reference from them, be it for a job or whatever.

I don't know if it would, but it may affect your other finances as well - probably best to make them a reasonable offer to repay.

whispony

If you check your contract of employment you will find that it states any overpayment have to be repaid.

SarEl

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Should I just wait for the letter “threatening” with court action if I don’t pay, and hope they forget about it in the mean time? As they only contacted me about this recently.

I wouldn't - you just said you were moving! If you envisage that you could just leave it for a bit and see if they catch up with you, then they make take that really badly, and you may have a lot more difficulty getting out of legal action. It does happen that the first thing you know is a couple of years later when the bailiffs are on your doorstep. They have 6 years to chase you for this. It isn't going away any time soon.

cashbackproblems

SarEl wrote: »

I wouldn't - you just said you were moving! If you envisage that you could just leave it for a bit and see if they catch up with you, then they make take that really badly, and you may have a lot more difficulty getting out of legal action. It does happen that the first thing you know is a couple of years later when the bailiffs are on your doorstep. They have 6 years to chase you for this. It isn't going away any time soon.

Thanks for the responses, when I said I was moving I just meant from my parents house to down south due to my new job. I don’t think it would effect any reference especially if I argue on the grounds I cant afford to pay. I think I will wait for the 2nd letter to come then contact them about arranging a repayment plan.

Gwyndster

I would suggest that you contact them now and explain your situation, explaining things doesn't mean you have to give the money back straight away, at least then arrangements can be made. All that is likely to happen if you ignore it is that someone at your ex-employer's will think you are trying to rip them off. I had a similar thing years ago, my employer paid me wages for three months after I had taken a carer break, I kept in touch and explained that I would not pay it back until they sorted out the mess their error had caused with my receipt of benefits. As soon as it was sorted I paid it all back. I was lucky my ex-manager was on my side.

WhiteHorse

Yes, the money has to be repaid. If however their error has caused you expense, then you can reasonably argue that a suitable sum should be deducted. In the meantime agree a repayment schedule.