Salary Overpayment advice

AP007

A company can make a mistake and then ask for the money back. OP did you not know you had over £600 more in your pay?

You need to write back ASAP recorded post and ask for a full break down.

then check your records and see if it matches - maybe ask for copies of the payslips too and then check your bank for the amounts.

They can take you to court for the money as it was not yours to have/spend.

Denning.

CarJack wrote: »

Ok thats interesting, "Estoppel". I will pose this to the CAB. I guess my worry is that I wouldnt want to risk anything in court as I value my credit file, particularly as I may be obtaining a mortgage in the not too distant future and a £600 odd CCJ would put off most lenders with a good interest rate.

I was wondering though, how many people are actually successful throwing this argument against the employer? I am just questioning things here as no one can really predict a court outcome. Perhaps I could use this argument to negotiate a reduced final settlement figure? These are just questions in my head. But for for I am going to ring CAB and see what they and their solicitors say, and send the letter to the Debt Collections Agency.

Thank you,.

AFAIK even if you go to court and lose, you have 30 days to make payment before a CCJ is lodged on your file. Whether you will be liable for court costs is probably the real risk. If you can't afford it in a lump sum in case of losing then yes you need to arrange a payment plan before hand and avoid court.

It depends on the company, many companies will write it off, at my previous employer the general rule is 'Anything less than 1000 is generally not pursued', be it customer debt or employee 'debt'. The cost of chasing that small amount would be high and is often not recoverable, and we had an inhouse legal team.

It seems odd to me that a debt agency can collect on overpaid salary.

CarJack

AP007 wrote: »

A company can make a mistake and then ask for the money back. OP did you not know you had over £600 more in your pay?

You need to write back ASAP recorded post and ask for a full break down.

then check your records and see if it matches - maybe ask for copies of the payslips too and then check your bank for the amounts.

They can take you to court for the money as it was not yours to have/spend.

Without getting into too much detail, when I was about to resign the Union and I were asking the employer for 4 weeks notice in pay, as part of the contract, however our proposals were regularly rebutted, we asked again and again but to no avail. However they insisted an immediate resignation which I went for. I received the payslips and it was simply £600 pro-rata so I assumed at the time they went with our proposal because we were threatening tribunals etc. Yes, looking back on it I should of called to to clarify but it appeared they were agreeing to our proposal. Its frustrating because I dont really feel it was my job to verify if the correct pay was given etc. and audit HR;s payslips. I understand they can take me to court even though I spent the money in good faith genuinely believing the payslip calculation was correct, indeed I will ask for the payslips, however Denning has brought up interesting points.

Thank you AP007

CarJack

Denning. wrote: »

AFAIK even if you go to court and lose, you have 30 days to make payment before a CCJ is lodged on your file. Whether you will be liable for court costs is probably the real risk. If you can't afford it in a lump sum in case of losing then yes you need to arrange a payment plan before hand and avoid court.

It depends on the company, many companies will write it off, at my previous employer the general rule is 'Anything less than 1000 is generally not pursued', be it customer debt or employee 'debt'. The cost of chasing that small amount would be high and is often not recoverable, and we had an inhouse legal team.

It seems odd to me that a debt agency can collect on overpaid salary.

You make the point if I went to court and lost I have 30 days to make a payment before the CCJ is lodged, assuming I make a full payment within 30 days, does this mean a 'Satisfied CCJ' will show on my Credit file or will it mean nothing at all will show on my credit file?

In regards to your point if its worth their while or not, I have found some information on Gov website / make court claim for money / court fees (wont allow me to post link)

it states claims for £500 to £1000 would cost £70 in court fees.

Surely £70 fee to go to court would be worth their while? Again forgive me, but I am only second guessing these things.

I worked for a large bank, the letter requesting the money had my former employers logo on it, I rang the telephone number up and asked the gentleman if he was a DCA and he said yes and told me the company DCA's name and address etc. I guess this was common practice for my employer.

Thanks

Denning.

CarJack wrote: »

You make the point if I went to court and lost I have 30 days to make a payment before the CCJ is lodged, assuming I make a full payment within 30 days, does this mean a 'Satisfied CCJ' will show on my Credit file or will it mean nothing at all will show on my credit file?

In regards to your point if its worth their while or not, I have found some information on Gov website / make court claim for money / court fees (wont allow me to post link)

it states claims for £500 to £1000 would cost £70 in court fees.

Surely £70 fee to go to court would be worth their while? Again forgive me, but I am only second guessing these things.

I worked for a large bank, the letter requesting the money had my former employers logo on it, I rang the telephone number up and asked the gentleman if he was a DCA and he said yes and told me the company DCA's name and address etc. I guess this was common practice for my employer.

Thanks

AFAIK after a court judgement you have 30 days to pay and that will be the end of it, no mark on your record. If this was a credit card or normal debt then there would already be a default on the credit file so makes little difference, but you shouldn't have that.

It isn't just 70 quid, they have to pay someone to prepare for it all, and these costs can't be (relied on) reclaimed from you.

Debt 618.
DCA bought from bank for -100
Court fees -70
Employee fees -100

So we are now down to around 300 quid, and overpaid salary aren't strong cases. Throw more mud at it by showing them (fake it) you will go to court and they might cut there losses at 100 quid rather than risk another 200.

CarJack

Denning. wrote: »

AFAIK after a court judgement you have 30 days to pay and that will be the end of it, no mark on your record. If this was a credit card or normal debt then there would already be a default on the credit file so makes little difference, but you shouldn't have that.

It isn't just 70 quid, they have to pay someone to prepare for it all, and these costs can't be (relied on) reclaimed from you.

Debt 618.
DCA bought from bank for -100
Court fees -70
Employee fees -100

So we are now down to around 300 quid, and overpaid salary aren't strong cases. Throw more mud at it by showing them (fake it) you will go to court and they might cut there losses at 100 quid rather than risk another 200.

This is why MSE is so good and you too! My biggest thanks! Well if I can get a substantial negotiation on the settlement that would be a great result, lets see if I can turn theory into practice, these collections agents try to bluff you. I will let you know how i get on. I understand I have been overpaid but my point is that they were so determined to get rid of me they even screwed up the final payslip calculations and it makes me a little bitter considering how I left the company plus the fact I have already spent the money.

Thanks again

CarJack

Denning. wrote: »

AFAIK after a court judgement you have 30 days to pay and that will be the end of it, no mark on your record. If this was a credit card or normal debt then there would already be a default on the credit file so makes little difference, but you shouldn't have that.

It isn't just 70 quid, they have to pay someone to prepare for it all, and these costs can't be (relied on) reclaimed from you.

Debt 618.
DCA bought from bank for -100
Court fees -70
Employee fees -100

So we are now down to around 300 quid, and overpaid salary aren't strong cases. Throw more mud at it by showing them (fake it) you will go to court and they might cut there losses at 100 quid rather than risk another 200.

Hey there,

I spoke to CAB and they couldnt answer my query about Estoppel, the guy didnt know what it meant and he just said for me to call National Debt line, and they didnt event know what this means and how I can proceed with it. CAB asked me to come into their office, kind of reluctant to be honest. I spoke to a free legal firm and they said I can come into the office next Wednesday. Im event more confused as I asked the National Debt line if I would be liable for legal costs if I lost a CCJ case and they said I would?

Thanks

CarJack

Ive received a letter demanding payment. Within 7 days.

They are saying court action will be taken against me, threatening me with bailifs, charging orders (i do not own a home), attachement of earnings ( i do not work)

I refute this payment due to the afore, guys I really dont know what to do.

Thanks

dancingfairy

Either borrow the money from your brother and pay them to get rid of them or prepare to take it to court.
A judge will decide who is in the right and who is in the wrong and as said above you get 30 days to pay. I believe as long as you pay within the 30 days there is no record of it on your credit file.
I doubt very much that in this case that you can be made to pay costs. I think anyway, that it is only about 45 pounds or so to lodge a claim online.
In terms of bailiffs etc etc, well this is all just threats at the moment. They haven't taken you to court, they haven't won (and it's not even certain they would to be honest) so all this is just bluster and if we win then WE MAY do x,y,z (it's the modern day equivalent of the big bad wolf threatening to huff and puff and blow your house down).
Bailiffs can't break in anyway, a charging order is pointless (As you don't own a house) and they can't attach earnings as your not working so basically they are relying on scare tactics.
To be honest, you might as well take it to court. It will be a simple room with a table in. A judge (who might not even be robed- not sure that they even have to wear gowns/robes in a county court), you, your employer (or their representative) and that's about it. You might not even get to the meeting. The judge might just look over the papers on his own without getting to that stage and make a decision to be honest.
df

unlikelyheroine

AP007 wrote: »

A company can make a mistake and then ask for the money back. OP did you not know you had over £600 more in your pay?

You need to write back ASAP recorded post and ask for a full break down.

then check your records and see if it matches - maybe ask for copies of the payslips too and then check your bank for the amounts.

They can take you to court for the money as it was not yours to have/spend.

The only sensible advice in this thread. Is it just me or has the original poster received some REALLY questionable advice in response to his problem? Estoppel is less than straightforward and I struggle to see how it would apply where the former employer has acted quite quickly to point out that money is owed to them. They have not behaved as if a debt was forgiven such that the OP has acted in reliance on this and suffered a detriment (this is closer to the definiton of estoppel than "you have spent money that wasn't yours but it's all gone and it's not fair to ask you for it back").

If the OP has been overpaid, it is well-established that employers can recoup overpayments from current and former employees (especially within a couple of months and where reasonable repayments are agreed). There is nothing wrong with trying to get a discount on it or something - you don't ask, you don't get, after all - but people seem to be advising the OP to risk court action because it may not be financially viable for the former employers to pursue the claim based on their own calculations. OP, that seems to me a high-risk strategy over £600 which I appreciate is a lot of money but not in the realm of unreasonable and unconscionable for you to pay back at your own pace should you have been overpaid it. Whether you like it or not, it is your responsibility to check payments made to you and if an employer notices an error in your favour then they can ask you for the money the same way a bank can when it accidentally credits your account. The money is not yours and has to go back.