Overpaid final pay, what are the consequences if I ignore letter?

orikien

Hi all, I would like some advice. Over the summer I was in between jobs, and did 3 week of contract work for a medium sized company. When I finished it, I got a new job and moved to a new city. I never noticed I didn't get paid from the previous company until they paid me last month, that was over 2 months since I left.

However, I received an email today from HR saying they made a mistake and overpaid me by £1300 pounds, I think they are correct as the amount is way higher than I expected. I also checked HMRC record and it displays the amount they paid me (which is wrong I guess). They asked me to 'refund the XXXXX amount ASAP' to the company's bank account, and 'let them know once actioned', Right now the money is sitting in my bank untouched.

I just moved to a new city so any cash is welcome, but my question is if I just ignore the email (I guess the old company haven't got my new address yet), what they will do to me? Will they sue me in court, pass to a debt collector or something? And if I pay the XXXX back will they inform HMRC so I can get my tax allowance back? As I said any cash is welcome at the moment.

Thank you for your time, please don't bash me ethically. If I have 1.3k to spare I will pay it back.

BorisThomson

Yes, they'll take you to small claims and if you fail to pay you'll get a CCJ and your credit file will be trashed.

Take responsibility, call and make an arrangement to pay what you owe.

orikien

BorisThomson wrote: »

Yes, they'll take you to small claims and if you fail to pay you'll get a CCJ and your credit file will be trashed.

Take responsibility, call and make an arrangement to pay what you owe.

Thank you for your advice. One more thing, I never got a payslip from them, they paid me 2.5 months after I left. Can I request one so I can see how much I should be paid? Because I think their calculation is wrong and the refund amount is too much.

marcarm

You can certainly request information as to how they have worked out their figures.

orikien

I'm not trying extra hard to be difficult or something, is there a law against keeping the money? I mean it is their mistake and I didn't lie or cheat for the extra money.

TELLIT01

orikien wrote: »

is there a law against keeping the money?

Yes, there is a law against it, it's called theft. You have money which you know and admit that you have no entitlement to. The fact that a genuine error was made in putting the money into your bank account doesn't mean it becomes your property.

[Deleted User]

Do not rehire/Black mark - seriously I worked for a ftse company that would apply this - it was an extensive process to get the "do not rehire" marker removed of the employees for authorisation to re-hire. It really does happen.

Get it back to them, in case the day comes when you need apply to them again, if nothing else. Honestly.

Comms69

orikien wrote: »

I'm not trying extra hard to be difficult or something, is there a law against keeping the money? I mean it is their mistake and I didn't lie or cheat for the extra money.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/metro.co.uk/2017/02/28/woman-who-found-20-on-the-floor-ended-up-with-a-criminal-record-for-pocketing-it-6477942/amp/

orikien

Wow, I didn't know it count as theft, that seemed to be over the top.... That's kind of scary if people receive a sum of money they have no knowledge of. I thought it would be like debt at most.

Comms69

orikien wrote: »

Wow, I didn't know it count as theft, that seemed to be over the top.... That's kind of scary if people receive a sum of money they have no knowledge of. I thought it would be like debt at most.

Well now you know, so best login to online banking and pay it back ASAP

lincroft1710

orikien wrote: »

Wow, I didn't know it count as theft, that seemed to be over the top.... That's kind of scary if people receive a sum of money they have no knowledge of. I thought it would be like debt at most.

It is theft if you keep something you have been told does not belong to you