Overpayment by employer - Now received invoice

andyuk2005

Hi all,

My employer says they over paid me for the few months I was working with them. They sent me a letter with an invoice asking for the money back.

I was curios if them sending me an invoice is the correct procedure? Isn't an invoice usually something you send in return for a product/service? I would have thought either an employment tribunal, or simply letters or demands would have been appropriate? So is the invoice the correct item for them to send me?

As for the actual case of overpayment, I am dealing with that myself, their HR dept screwed up big time and I think they're trying to save face, they did actually pay me correctly but they're too idiotic to realise! Please no comments of 'it's not your money send it back' please!

Many thanks!

CruisingSaver

I work for an NHS Trust and we also send out invoices for overpayment of salary. It makes it much easier to track how much had been repaid and ultimately refer to a debt collection agency if left unpaid, however we have only had to go as far as this on one occasion.

pelirocco

We would just set up an over payment in a employees loan account in our balance sheet its easy enough to keep track of whats owed /paid . Raising an invoice is ok but its bit of a faff as they would have to raise it without vat and make sure they code it to the right nominal account

JKSandy

It sounds like you have left the company "for the few months I was working with them" which is maybe why they have done it this way.

An invoice is probably easier if you are an ex-employee plus it means they can sell it as a debt to a debt recovering agent if unpaid or just take to you to a small claims court which would be cheaper than a tribunal.

Undervalued

JKSandy wrote: »

An invoice is probably easier if you are an ex-employee plus it means they can sell it as a debt to a debt recovering agent if unpaid or just take to you to a small claims court which would be cheaper than a tribunal.

An employer cannot make a claim at an employment tribunal. They would have to use the small claims court.

poorlittlefish

Undervalued wrote: »

An employer cannot make a claim at an employment tribunal. They would have to use the small claims court.

...and they would need to provide evidence that they took all reasonable steps to notify you of the debt and give you reasonable opportunity to pay - an invoice would therefore be part of that.

makeyourdaddyproud

I wonder if the amount is large and you have no job in order to make the payments?


You could offer to repay them small amounts per month but then they wouldn't have to accept that - in such cases, court action may be inevitable, then you could plead poverty.

poorlittlefish

...and get a CCJ against your name, plus you'd quite likely have to pay court costs (I used to deal with debt recovery). It's much better to either pay up or contact them to see if they'll accept an arrangement to pay.

getmore4less

READ THE POST


there in an invoice for an alleged debt(overpayment) that the OP says they are denying exists in the first place.

poorlittlefish

Why be rude when I gave a qualified answer? The OP asked if an invoice was the correct procedure for dealing with an overpayment and the posts that followed - including mine - dealt with that issue.

The OP also claimed that they had been paid correctly, in which case they've no need to worry whether an invoice was the right method or not.

Takeaway_Addict

OP

They will either drop it after a few more letters threatening court for non payment or they will take it to court and the judge will make a decision based on the facts.

Make sure you are correct.