Mistake at work - help please!

[nevereverplease]

I had a client who owes £500 for work carried out, instead I sent the money to the wrong place for £1100.

I made this mistake an hour ago so will speak to the merchant first thing but assuming I can't reverse it, will take days to refund back to the client.

I will explain all to the client tomorrow, process the refund ASAP and offer a gesture of goodwill of £50.

Is this reasonable? I guess I'm just looking for someone to say it'll be fine in the end although I think it won't 😬

Btw I'm self employed so job isn't on the line but I just feel terrible

@Sorka yes that's correct what you've explained, thank you

I have no idea what’s going on here. But I once owed my hairdresser £78 and they charged me £780.

I only found out when a frantic member of staff called round to my house to explain the mistake and assure me they’d sort it and refund me straight away.

But yes, £78 and £780 you could understand the typo. £500 isn’t nearly like £1100.

I'm guessing then that the OPs job is transferring money between clients, so maybe it's like she got confused between different client accounts? So rather than a typo, it was more like looking at the wrong file? I don't know, it's very confusing!

Anyway, it's done now and sounds like it's not the end of the world. Hope it works out okay, OP.

@queenofknives yes yes and yes you're spot on it was wrong client files and yes my job is to sort payments between client and merchant in part. All legal, all by regulation before anyone asks again lol

@marmitecrisps Thanks, I see what you mean, if you have access to multiple accounts a couple of wrong clicks sends it to the wrong account and/or the wrong amount.

@nevereverplease sounds like it could be easy done if your stressed and in a hurry.

Anyone can make a mistake OP, just explain and apologise for the error, refund and add some on as a goodwill gesture. You're human, mistakes can happen.

I presume the company you've overpaid , from whoever is down £600 will return the money ?

Ah well, that's an easy mistake to make then! I think pp were just really confused (I know I was!) but it sounds like an understandable human error and I'm sure your client will be fine about it. Try not to worry, you'll be able to sort it all in the morning.

@Natsel84 yes that is 100 percent guaranteed they're a big multinational and if they went under in the next few days (just my luck!) then I'd refund it myself.

My client will get the money back whatever I will ensure that happens

I now understand now @Sorka has explained.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/3936889-to-ask-you-about-the-worst-mistake-you-ve-made-at-work

Top of page 2, transferred 650k into wrong account. It’s happens in all businesses, from small to multinational.

Darling I think you are going to feel much more anxious as a result of this thread, it’s stressing me out just reading it!

What’s the worst that could happen as a result of your mistake? Focus on that. No-one has died. It’s £600 not £600,000. Breathe! X

[quote nevereverplease]@Natsel84 yes that is 100 percent guaranteed they're a big multinational and if they went under in the next few days (just my luck!) then I'd refund it myself.

My client will get the money back whatever I will ensure that happens [/quote]
Look we all make mistakes , as long as you know that the money will be returned back then it should be ok . It is annoying that it's happened but you've done all you can for tonight. I just hope this client can be understanding about it .

I think if I were your client, I'd appreciate the goodwill payment, but even more so I'd want to hear from you that you were doing something to alter your system to reduce the chances of a similar error happening in the future. It's when things are pressured that system weaknesses start to show up as actual problems.

@Pythonesque yes I appreciate. I don't know the answer to that yet. I guess fixing this is step 1 and then I will look at processes

Absolutely the right order to deal with it in :) Hope you can get it sorted.

A couple of things jump out
If the client owes you £500 and also owes the merchant £500 - Aren’t they only down by £100?

Also if you refunded yourself - isn’t it the case that they will then also get the £1100 refund in full potentially leaving you out of pocket?

@Ffwithfu yes your second point is correct if we temporarily resumed we have to trust the client or pay back.

First point is incorrect client owes £500 that's it, has had £1100 taken

@Pythonesque thank you 🙏

Really feel for you. I had a client who accidentally overpaid (and individual rather than a business) adding an extra “0” and for various reasons it took a weeks to sort out (she was overseas, we had to do it as a reversal - which my bank were crap at sorting out). I felt awful even though the mistake was actually hers.

As I think someone else said - as bad as it feels now - in a months time you’ll barely remember It.

I would refund myself though if it’s an individual and it’s not going to be a day or two - not too many can afford to lose £600 before Christmas

Our letting agents did this (I'm a land lord) only they paid the right place twice. Was s bit miffed but mistakes happen and they sorted it quickly. I'm still with them!

Just a quick update I had an email from client saying it's no problem and they'll just wait for the refund!!! Sorry for the drama but it's all fine by the sound of it.

Thanks so much for your advice and kind words, I'm so glad you guys pushed me to sort it tonight you were all correct it's better it didn't wait until the morning!!!

Phew thank you x x

@nevereverplease hope you are feeling a little calmer now you’ve contacted the client and have your drink.
You don’t have to keep explaining yourself in here, you’ve plenty of posts now saying what happened. Try and enjoy your evening

@HedgieHog thank you so much I feel a massive sense of relief.

I think I took it so seriously because I really care about providing the best possible service it means a lot to me to do my job as well as possible

@nevereverplease

Just a quick update I had an email from client saying it's no problem and they'll just wait for the refund!!! Sorry for the drama but it's all fine by the sound of it.

Thanks so much for your advice and kind words, I'm so glad you guys pushed me to sort it tonight you were all correct it's better it didn't wait until the morning!!!

Phew thank you x x

Very glad for you OP. Would be worth also having a look in to some extra help for your anxiety if you haven’t already. Have a nice Christmas