Overpaid wages

Black_onyx

In 2010/2011 I worked for Dixons in their call centre. I was there for 10 months and never had a day off sick which was quite unusual there ! I had 2 weeks holiday in the summer and was forced to have "my time" days. These were days that we all had to take , something about summer being quiet periods and rather than cut hours in the summer we all worked but had to have these "my time" days which was probably to ensure that they were not overstaffed during the quiet periods. They were keen for you to get these booked in and a line manager stood over me and very aggressively spoke to me because off the top of my head I couldn't think what days I wanted to take. I know I had taken a few but there were a lot remaining to be taken before I left there at the end of August. The reason I left was because my father was terminally ill, I did not live close to him so I gave up work to go and care for him. I called Dixons to explain. This would not affect them anyway because every 2 weeks they had a whole group of new starters sent from the agency. No one there was valued because you were easily replaced.
My father sadly died, it was devastating. I received a letter from Dixons telling me that they had overpaid my wages and they wanted them back! I can't remember the exact amount but it was well over £1,000 , I think closer to £2,000. I wrote a letter back explaining the reasons I had to leave and that my father had now died. The reply was that they are sorry about my father but I still had to pay! It seems that the problem was with the "my time days". I :mad:was staying in London to deal with the funeral and all the legal things and coping with the upset of losing my father. I had forgotten about the Dixons letter until I got a court summons! I was so upset that I just wrote to them and agreed to pay £10 until goodness knows when! But it was 10 years or more!! I don't think I still have the letters because I have since moved home. I left an abusive relationship and left at short notice so a lot of things were left behind.
I am on low income, a single parent, paying high rent as well as £100 a month standing order for my divorce. Every month I see this £10 payment to Dixons and I am so angry about it. On top of everything else I could do without this. Is there anything I can do about it?

Kayalana99

Hiya,

Its not clear how they over paid you from your post - but the bottom line is if they over paid you then yes you need to pay it back.

If you are saying that your not sure if you owe it... then might be worth explaining futher so people can help you.

Sorry for your loss, it can't of been easy - but why you left is irrelevant to the money owed. (Sorry if that sounds nasty I don't mean it to be just stating the fact that it won't help your cause)

TBagpuss

Unfortunately if you were overpaid then you do have to repay it, and if you responded to the court paperwork it sounds as though you accepted that the debt was owed, so you are, sadly, stuck.

It sounds as though your financial sotuation has changed - if the £10 is casuing you problems you may be able t o apply to cahnge the aumt so it is more affordable.

Alternatively (since they are getting it very slowly and, as you say, over anything up to 15 years, if you have any money at all it might be worth making an offer of payment in full and final settlement to get rid - they might be willing to accept a lump sum of a couple of hundred pounds rather than have it repaid over years and years.

If you don't have the paperwork then you should be able to get duplicates from the court, or (possibly) by writing to Dixons or whoever implements the clawback for them. That way, at least you will have the details.

Black_onyx

Thank you for your replies, they are much appreciated. I need to look for the paperwork or request this from Dixons. It did not get to court I just offered to pay it to save the hassle. I certainly don't believe that I was overpaid because people that started with me had taken more holidays and left before me but didn't get any trouble. There is a large turnover of staff there that come and go. Maybe it's because they actually took me on rather than leave me as an agency worker because they were impressed that I actually showed up each day! Offering a lump sum payment would be a good idea TBagpuss or even making a higher monthly payment to clear it quicker but at the moment I cannot afford to do either of these.
Kayalana99 thanks for the advise, I obviously do have to pay back :-(
I just feel that I had a poor wage for 10 months and I seem to be paying most of it back! Awful company to work for anyway! And I don't know how I was overpaid either as it wasn't made clear. About time I looked into this more..
Thanks again :-)

sharpy2010

My advice is just don't pay it. I got overpaid by some employer or other, they wrote saying I owed them £400. No chance I thought lol and just binned the letter. Ten years later and I haven't heard anything from them. I doubt I will now!

MPH80

Except - Sharpy - as we've already seen - Dixons were more than happy to send out a court action letter.

To the OP - you should request Dixons to send you the calculation of how you were overpaid.

JKSandy

In much the same way as debt, send them a prove it letter, say you are with holding any future payments, as you now believe you where not overpaid, until you get all the information you require.

Tell them you also what an up to date balance they think you owe them along with all the payments you have made.

Regardless of whether you owe them or not I would want all the information they hold on you before paying anymore.

Black_onyx

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your replies. I have just written a letter asking them to send me a full breakdown of what they believe I owe and why. I really just want to stop paying but don't want anymore court letters! Although I am at a different address now!

chattychappy

Was this summons really a summons? Was there a judgment?