Old Employer claiming I owe money

ardb27

Hi all

I'd like to get people's advise please. I left my job 4 months ago to join a rival company (estate agent... oops sorry).

Having been chasing my old employer for underpaying me for commision owed on my last pay check for four months (£1500) and being fobbed off my them, they have finally come back to me and notified me that in fact I owe them circa £600 primarily for damage to a company car which I dispute.

I am interested to hear any advice on how enforceable this is? Can they actually take me to court?

If I do agree to pay (which I won't) and don't want to pay in full then what is a reasonable amount to pay back months and over what period?

Thanks in advance

Undervalued

ardb27 wrote: »

Hi all

I'd like to get people's advise please. I left my job 4 months ago to join a rival company (estate agent... oops sorry).

Having been chasing my old employer for underpaying me for commision owed on my last pay check for four months (£1500) and being fobbed off my them, they have finally come back to me and notified me that in fact I owe them circa £600 primarily for damage to a company car which I dispute.

I am interested to hear any advice on how enforceable this is? Can they actually take me to court?

If I do agree to pay (which I won't) and don't want to pay in full then what is a reasonable amount to pay back months and over what period?

Thanks in advance

Yes, they can.

If they do it will be up to the court to decide, on the balance of probabilities, who they believe and how much, if anything, you owe.

You have no right, as such, to pay anything you owe in instalments. The employer may agree but they don't have to. That said, if they take you to court and win but you convince the court you can't pay immediately then you will be ordered to pay by instalment but at a rate the court assesses is affordable.

If you believe they owe you money you can of course sue them. However, check the terms of your bonus scheme very carefully as many are discretionary and / or don't apply during notice periods.

Comms69

Just to add to undervalued's excellent post - anyone can take anyone else to court. There doesn't need to be an concrete case to simply go to court.


There seems to be plenty of defence for the car - a claim 4 months later with no prior notification would be looked upon with much scepticism.

ardb27

Thank you - agree. However I think they would argue that they were getting it fixed and pricing it up. The amount stayed that I owe seems excessive to say the least given the little damage on the car (£1100?!!) and why they could get this paid with insurance, I do not know! Moreover, there is the added layer of ambiguity as to what constitutes as reasonable wear and tear...
I would be prepared to go to court over this but do not want to risk additional costs and ccj if unsuccessful. It is difficult!!

scd3scd4

ardb27 wrote: »

Hi all

I'd like to get people's advise please. I left my job 4 months ago to join a rival company (estate agent... oops sorry).

Having been chasing my old employer for underpaying me for commision owed on my last pay check for four months (£1500) and being fobbed off my them, they have finally come back to me and notified me that in fact I owe them circa £600 primarily for damage to a company car which I dispute.

I am interested to hear any advice on how enforceable this is? Can they actually take me to court?

If I do agree to pay (which I won't) and don't want to pay in full then what is a reasonable amount to pay back months and over what period?

Thanks in advance

Why have they left it so long. I assume they have proof then and not now of damage. Sounds like a play to me in the hope you drop your claim and they would maybe call it quits.

Undervalued

ardb27 wrote: »

Thank you - agree. However I think they would argue that they were getting it fixed and pricing it up. The amount stayed that I owe seems excessive to say the least given the little damage on the car (£1100?!!) and why they could get this paid with insurance, I do not know! Moreover, there is the added layer of ambiguity as to what constitutes as reasonable wear and tear...
I would be prepared to go to court over this but do not want to risk additional costs and ccj if unsuccessful. It is difficult!!

It would only affect your credit if you lost and failed to pay what the court ordered.

They would only be entitled to claim what is a reasonable cost of repair (assuming you were at fault). That said you don't get much done at a reputable / approved body shop for £1100 and they certainly wouldn't be expected to make do with a back street job from Fred with an aerosol!

Comms69

ardb27 wrote: »

Thank you - agree. However I think they would argue that they were getting it fixed and pricing it up. The amount stayed that I owe seems excessive to say the least given the little damage on the car (£1100?!!) and why they could get this paid with insurance, I do not know! Moreover, there is the added layer of ambiguity as to what constitutes as reasonable wear and tear...
I would be prepared to go to court over this but do not want to risk additional costs and ccj if unsuccessful. It is difficult!!

They can argue what they like. Notification of a claim should be prompt. It's well below the 6 years, but certainly it's a reasonable expectation that damage would be noted almost immediately.


A second excellent point, they are obliged to mitigate their losses. If insurance is comprehensive they should have claimed through that and charged you the excess.


Reasonable wear and tear does not typically cover external damage (except small stone chips) - it's basically the kind of depreciation that happens naturally.


You don't get a CCJ unless you fail to pay, losing DOES NOT get you a CCJ

ReadingTim

scd3scd4 wrote: »

Why have they left it so long. I assume they have proof then and not now of damage. Sounds like a play to me in the hope you drop your claim and they would maybe call it quits.

It's possible that it only went back to the leasing company recently, and that's where the damage claim came from - a former employer of mine had returned company cars sitting in the car park for some time before they went back. Leasing companies aren't always known for their reasonable repair bills....

I'd therefore be asking for some evidence/justification of the supposed repair bill, and be checking what evidence I have to back up the assertion that the car wasn't damaged when I handed it back. I'd also be checking again the T&Cs on the commission, in case it was property withheld.

That said, it's entirely possible that they would have been willing to overlook the damage issue if you overlook the commission issue...

Over to you OP to decide if you have a case, and even if you do, whether it's worth fighting - for the sake of less than two grand and a stress-free life, sometimes it's better just to move on...

scd3scd4

ReadingTim wrote: »

It's possible that it only went back to the leasing company recently, and that's where the damage claim came from - a former employer of mine had returned company cars sitting in the car park for some time before they went back. Leasing companies aren't always known for their reasonable repair bills....

I'd therefore be asking for some evidence/justification of the supposed repair bill, and be checking what evidence I have to back up the assertion that the car wasn't damaged when I handed it back. I'd also be checking again the T&Cs on the commission, in case it was property withheld.

That said, it's entirely possible that they would have been willing to overlook the damage issue if you overlook the commission issue...

Over to you OP to decide if you have a case, and even if you do, whether it's worth fighting - for the sake of less than two grand and a stress-free life, sometimes it's better just to move on...

So its been sitting somewhere for 4 hours???..........a lot can happen in that time.


Hopefully the OP took pictures.

Comms69

scd3scd4 wrote: »

Hopefully the OP took pictures.

Especially of the mileage

ReadingTim

scd3scd4 wrote: »

So its been sitting somewhere for 4 hours???..........a lot can happen in that time..

I think you mean 4 months, and yeah...that's the point :T