Post office error in my favour

Jez2577

Hi please help I need to know where I stand I have change some Money in to euros at the post office and they made an error in my favor and sold me euros at the buy back rate but since then the manager came round to my house with a hand written letter wanting me to pay the difference but yet I have the receipt from the post office staring I was sold the euro at the rate

The big question do I need to pay them back or should I wait for something more formal and official from the post office rather than a scrappy hand written note ????


PLEASE HELP

matttye

Pay it back - it's not your money.

fat-pudding

It depends, if they quoted you a price and then honoured it then it really is their problem, it really sounds if you have a receipt stating the rate then it's their problem to make sure they offer the correct rate to you, if they made an offer and you accepted then I can't see any way it can be your problem.

I imagine that the manager is a franchise owner so the mistake will come out of their pocket. Also, were you aware of the error at the time? It's up to you really, but if you value using this post office you may want to sort the problem with them.

matttye

fat-pudding wrote: »

It depends, if they quoted you a price and then honoured it then it really is their problem, it really sounds if you have a receipt stating the rate then it's their problem to make sure they offer the correct rate to you, if they made an offer and you accepted then I can't see any way it can be your problem.

I imagine that the manager is a franchise owner so the mistake will come out of their pocket. Also, were you aware of the error at the time? It's up to you really, but if you value using this post office you may want to sort the problem with them.

OP said the Post Office "made an error" so he clearly knows it wasn't the correct rate, which in turn means he must've known what the correct rate was.

fat-pudding

matttye wrote: »

OP said the Post Office "made an error" so he clearly knows it wasn't the correct rate, which in turn means he must've known what the correct rate was.

OP doesn't state if the error was made and knowingly made in the branch or after the event. That makes a huge difference.

malcol

Some people can say tough it was your error and keep the money others will find it harder to keep what they believe is not theirs, depends which side of the fence you come down on. Boils down to conscience.

browneyedbazzi

matttye wrote: »

OP said the Post Office "made an error" so he clearly knows it wasn't the correct rate, which in turn means he must've known what the correct rate was.

OP may have only found out about the error when the manager came round with the note. TBH I think going round to someone's home asking for more money sounds like rather dubious practice from the manager.

If the post office told OP 'it'll cost you £X to buy Y Euros' and OP accepted that offer, paid £X and received the Y Euros then the contract was concluded and the post office have no right to demand more money now. OP could choose to give the difference (or perhaps part of it) back if their conscience tells them that's the right thing to do (because it's likely the cashier will have to bear the cost of the error), but there's no legal obligation for OP to do so.

Gromitt

Entirely up to you. You requested the service, were told the price and made payment in full, so the transaction is complete. Legally they will not have a leg to stand on.

Now the manager knows he'll be liable for the mistake.

So you have two options:
1. Ignore them, knowing someone is going to pay for the mistake.
2. Feel bad for them and pay up.

Which you choose is upto you.

pompeyred

What do you want to hear.....?

Can I keep the money - absolutely you can, you were offered a rate and accepted it and completed the transaction.
Should you keep the money - well that is down to you, you've been dealt a good hand, but if the manager gets sacked for it, would that still be a good hand in your mind....?

Not often does this happen and if it were me I would probably work out if I were happy with the rate I thought I was going to get and so long as its not a huge amount of money in the difference then I would accept the error and rework the transaction. If its holiday money then its unlikely to be a big difference to you but could be a massive difference to the person who got it wrong.

chanz4

will you want to use that post office again..

matthew57

It would depend on the difference for me. If you were unaware of the error until the letter it wouldn't be a massive amount. Lesson for the clerk to be more careful.