Ex-employer claiming back money

tomx2

Hi everyone

My Girlfriend received a letter from her ex employer today asking for over £800 because they overpaid her for 2 or 3 months.

Where does she stand in regards to paying this back? My knowledge of the law in this area is very hazy!

Appreciate any help/advice you can give.

Thanks!

dmg24

If she owes the money, she needs to pay it back - she can negotiate a repayment plan if she cannot pay it back in one go. Common sense, no?

zorber

yes unfortunately if they have over paid then they have a right to request the money back but as the poster above says you can request a payment package and pay it off in small chunks

Uncertain

She is also entitled to ask for reasonable proof that the money is owed. If they cannot come up with this then they would be unable to convince a court that the debt existed.

It is also worth examining the tax position closely. Are they saying this is the net amount or gross?

There is no reason to make it easy for them.............

DVardysShadow

Uncertain wrote: »

There is no reason to make it easy for them.............

Make them spend at least £1.25 for every £1 they recover.

Googlewhacker

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Make them spend at least £1.25 for every £1 they recover.

Differant to your advice on another post suggesting they make them spend £1.50 to every £1 they owe and to be fair unless you refuse to pay it will be hard to cost them that much.

DVardysShadow

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Differant to your advice on another post suggesting they make them spend £1.50 to every £1 they owe and to be fair unless you refuse to pay it will be hard to cost them that much.

To my mind it is a quite evil thing, firstly to mess up someone's pay and secondly to start claiming back money long after it was all spent. Make it £2

Googlewhacker

DVardysShadow wrote: »

To my mind it is a quite evil thing, firstly to mess up someone's pay and secondly to start claiming back money long after it was all spent. Make it £2

Mistakes happen, I can understand making the company pay if you are on bad terms but at the end of the day if you owe the money you have to pay it back.

SarEl

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Differant to your advice on another post suggesting they make them spend £1.50 to every £1 they owe and to be fair unless you refuse to pay it will be hard to cost them that much.

And if the OP refuses to pay it will cost the employer even less - and the OP a lot more!

Whilst it is quite correct that you should ask for a full explanation of what is allegedly owed, and if it is oweed, then in law it must be repaid, it is wholly irreponsible for people to advise the OP that they should drag it out and "make the employer pay", because, as all experienced posters here know, that will never be the case - it will be the OP that pays.

If this money is owed, it is a debt like any other debt. That means that the former employer can reject any offer of installments if they are ridiculously low (in fact they can reject any such offer, but if the offer is unreasonable then they would be silly to do so). They can apply to a court, just as they can with any other debt owed to them, and assuming that they can evidence the overpayment, then the court will order payment - in installments if you cannot pay. Of course, by this time the OP owes more money, because the employer has added their legal fees, courts costs and other costs associated with the debt - quite possibly including interest! So in reality the OP is now more likley to be paying £1.50 or more for every £1 they owed!

Add to that the fact that the OP now has a CCJ, an adverse credit rating, and any missed payments could make this even worse, with defaults and baliffs possible..... At this rate the only person paying £2 for every £1 will be the OP

DVardysShadow

SarEl wrote: »

And if the OP refuses to pay it will cost the employer even less - and the OP a lot more!

Whilst it is quite correct that you should ask for a full explanation of what is allegedly owed, and if it is oweed, then in law it must be repaid, it is wholly irreponsible for people to advise the OP that they should drag it out and "make the employer pay", because, as all experienced posters here know, that will never be the case - it will be the OP that pays.

If this money is owed, it is a debt like any other debt. That means that the former employer can reject any offer of installments if they are ridiculously low (in fact they can reject any such offer, but if the offer is unreasonable then they would be silly to do so). They can apply to a court, just as they can with any other debt owed to them, and assuming that they can evidence the overpayment, then the court will order payment - in installments if you cannot pay. Of course, by this time the OP owes more money, because the employer has added their legal fees, courts costs and other costs associated with the debt - quite possibly including interest! So in reality the OP is now more likley to be paying £1.50 or more for every £1 they owed!

Add to that the fact that the OP now has a CCJ, an adverse credit rating, and any missed payments could make this even worse, with defaults and baliffs possible..... At this rate the only person paying £2 for every £1 will be the OP

It is perfectly correct and fair to insist that the employer produces all timesheets and all relevant information. And if that costs the ex-employer, it is a good thing.

In the last year or so on these boards, we have seen a rash of these cases of employers 'having made a mistake' and demanding money back. It never used to happen. And on other sections of the site, we see a rash of closed accounts for all sorts of things turning into alleged debts several years later. This too never used to happen.

I believe that companies should be diligent in closing out final pay and final accounts. What is happening now, is that they are trawling back through old history and finding any doubt which can be alleged as a debt. I doubt that in the majority of cases the debt ever really existed - but the doubt which emerges several years later and the records which have been lost give a spurious basis on which to make claims.

I have NEVER argued to refuse to pay a properly justified debt. But SarEl, you know better than I that the are the Civil Procedure Rules. These effectively mean that you can demand a court standard of proof of the debt and then settle it if it is proved without having to go to court.

The more people stand up to this harassment for alleged debt and the more it costs to recover it, the better for us all. Perhaps it will teach these companies to get it right first time.

I am not being irresponsible. You are being feeble, suggesting that people should roll over if anyone comes to them with an alleged debt.

cathy2907

Personally, Whlst they have every right to claim back the error in the payment it is the hard luck of the company and they have made a mistake.

You can hold out and see what happens next. It will be costly, and cost more than the 800 to try and claim back the overpayment. Most companies do not bother past the first few letters.

You could just pay it all back or make a payment plan.

Morally you can do the right thing, or just think sod em. I spent most of my time at work, putting in a lot of extra hours I was not paid for. I didn't bother bringing a unlawful deduction of wages claim against them which I could have done.

It should make them more cautious about getting it right in the first place.

I am not going to judge either decision you have the facts good luck with your decision.