Umbrella Company Not Remitting My Wages -15 Weeks Owed

strawberries1

My stomach hurts and I feel sick!
I started a locum assignment in October, to be paid weekly via an Umbrella company. The umbrella company has not paid me at all. The recruiter and the Umbrella both send texts weekly saying they've sent the money to my account but as I've used them several times in the past, I generally trust that of course they would have paid it, we have a signed contract, they are regulated, I took their word for it. I don't check texts/sms and I don't check my bank account. I do my work and that's it but now I need some money and my husband needed to file my tax returns but my bank balance seemed oddly and terrifyingly very low. Admittedly I don't like numbers. I shy away from calculations, numbers don't compute quickly or easily for me as the do others. My husband asked me to log into both banks accounts I have and we couldn't find wages.

We tried to find my wages amongst the transaction but found none. So I emailed them immediately which was at the weekend. Then I rang them first thing on Monday and the person I spoke to said she would listen to the call where the account details was given and I must have given them someone else's account number (not possible as I don't have anyone else's account details. Won't that even be against employment rules to not check the account has authorisation to work in the UK and doesn't match the name I registered with etc?). I asked when I'll hear back, she said within an hour but she never rang me I've not been able to speak to her since. She's never available. Whenever I call they say they're looking into it. They're not replying any of my emails.

Today I pushed my way to speak to a director who's name I'd found online. They said she was unavailable and passed me on to someone else. He says he's the Operations Director. He said
the money might be in my savings account or so and how come I've kept quiet all this while and waited till after 15 weeks of non payment. The first time was understandable but not after that. It's a lot of money and it has left their account and they can't pay it twice.
I didn't wait or keep quiet. The assignment was for just over 3months ending this month. I've used this Umbrella company in 2020 and 2021. I gave them my correct account details. His company has a duty to pay to the account I gave them. I asked him who's account was it paid to; he said he can't say. I asked is it the account I gave during the call? he said he can't say. He can't say anything until the bank tells him where it went. I said but your account and systems will show where you sent it to. He said he can't give me that information as he could be giving me someone else's information.

What can I do??

Update.
For some reason I'm unable to comment or reply to comments so I'm replying/commenting here.

McPitman. I didn't "let it get to 15x ... before deciding to chase". I chased as soon as I found it. They're providing a service to process my payment. I pay them weekly for this service. My role is to do the work at the client's and submit my spreadsheet.

Neither did I "demand an answer within an hour". She said she'll listen to the call to check what account details I gave. I asked when will I hear back, she said within an hour. However, she didn't, so I chased. Why are your so aggravated about that?? 

Penners324 I asked what details I gave during the call. The MP3 file of the call, etc; nothing. They're not responding to my emails. I made a SAR at 4am yday morning and then got an email yday afternoon ignoring all my questions but saying that they will send the amount due before the end of the day. They now have and I've remined them to reply to the questions and provide the missing payslips etc.

74jax I don't recall how I gave bank detail but when I asked for the form during my first call was when she said they don't give forms and only obtain it via audio call. 

Thanks all.

mcpitman

What can you do? Keep chasing them. Ensure the details they now have for you are correct.

Why on earth did you let it get to 15x weekly payments before deciding to chase them down and demand an answer within an hour?

penners324

Ask them what bank account is set up on your account and in their bank for you.

Tell them to check if they've had returned payments once a week due to incorrect errors.


Also download the banking app and check the transactions very regularly.

Most banks send a notification that money has arrived in your account.

74jax

I'm guessing you have given them your correct details now? They should be able to advise if these were the same details or different - they don't need to give you details of the different account, just that they now have the correct details. 
If different, are you saying you never filled in a form with bank details, but gave them over the phone? 

mcpitman

strawberries1 said:

My stomach hurts and I feel sick!
I started a locum assignment in October, to be paid weekly via an Umbrella company. The umbrella company has not paid me at all. The recruiter and the Umbrella both send texts weekly saying they've sent the money to my account but as I've used them several times in the past, I generally trust that of course they would have paid it, we have a signed contract, they are regulated, I took their word for it. I don't check texts/sms and I don't check my bank account. I do my work and that's it but now I need some money and my husband needed to file my tax returns but my bank balance seemed oddly and terrifyingly very low. 

McPitman. I didn't "let it get to 15x ... before deciding to chase". I chased as soon as I found it. They're providing a service to process my payment. I pay them weekly for this service. My role is to do the work at the client's and submit my spreadsheet.

Well if you started in October and only in January realised you had "terrifying low" monies, it would appear you have indeed let 15 weeks pass.

I've emboldened the above for clarity, the bits in your post, where you highlight you never check the comms from the umbrella firm or your bank account. If you hadn't let it go for 15 weeks, why are you only realising now?

My comment was genuine, you need to keep chasing, you need to make sure the details they do hold for you are correct, you need to keep an eye on your bank account, you need to take some accountabilty and sort this out before the next payroll run.

DullGreyGuy

mcpitman said:
I've emboldened the above for clarity, the bits in your post, where you highlight you never check the comms from the umbrella firm or your bank account. If you hadn't let it go for 15 weeks, why are you only realising now?

Not everyone lives pay cheque to pay cheque and we've no idea of the OP's financial situation or arrangements.

A friend works a 0 hour contract working 1 or 2 afternoons a week tops; his husband is the main earner and gives him £3k pocket money/ allowance (or whatever you want to call it) a month plus he's an additional cardholder on the credit cards.

I'm fairly sure his employer could go a year or more without paying him and he wouldn't notice but his reason for working isnt the £150 a month it gives him.

Bobbobbobingalong

In your situation I would speak to them again - immediately, no more delays. You have potentially two things that need to be spoken about:- 1) they need to clarify without delay whether or not the funds were remitted to your account. This is a yes/no answer so there is no breach of confidentiality or any other guff they might try and hide behind. 2) if yes, instruct them to speak with their bank immediately and ascertain what has gone wrong. If no or indeed if they fail to answer the first question, tell them they have 48 hours to resolve matters or you will be seeking to raise a formal grievance in conjunction with an unlawful deduction of wage claim - and you must, this will force their hand.

MrsStepford

My husband has just moved from an interim position to a permanent one. He was paid via an umbrella company and discovered that because the client had missed the invoice cut off date, the agency hadn't paid him for three weeks. They were telling him the they couldn't pay him until they got the money from the client (untrue). He threatened to go to ACAS on Monday and the money went into his account oday. Keep pushing.

Learn the lesson though. DO check your account. You would be batting on a sticky wicket if you were trying to reclaim scammed money from your bank, after 15 weeks.