AIBU to ignore previous employer's request to repay overpayment?

[IOnlyHopeItsGoingGoingGone]

I worked for a company last year for 7 weeks. I was only there a short time because they were dreadful and my manager was even worse, so I cut my losses and left before it all started to get to me (which I knew it would, it was only a matter of time). So, I left in May 2023. During this time, I didn't get a full month's payslip, so had no idea what my normal monthly pay was. I was also put on emergency tax, so grossly overtaxed for what I did do. I'd also accrued some travelling expenses, which were due back to me, and took me a lot of chasing and over a month after I left to actually get. So it was all a bit of a mess, and I just wrote it off, put it down to experience and moved on. Anyway, a month ago (so over a year after I'd left) I received an email saying that due to an admin error, I'd been overpaid and that I needed to pay back what was owed as a matter of urgency. This was not a huge amount (around £100). They also insinuated in the email that I may have been aware that I had been overpaid (certainly not the case due to the reasons I mentioned above). They gave me 14 days to pay what I owed. I ignored this email. Now, a month later I've received another email saying that the matter is urgent and if I don't pay up within 14 days they will pass my case to their debt collection agency which may incur additional charges and affect my credit score. Would they really do this for such a paltry amount, when it's their error, over a year since I left the business?? Wouldn't it cost more in legal and admin to try and recover it than its worth? Are they just bluffing and AIBU to continue ignoring this? I don't even know if what they're saying is correct anyway!

I’d be inclined to request that they send all evidence relating to this apparent overpayment, including receipts for the expenses. Basically ask them to outline exactly what you should have been paid and when vs what you were paid.

Act as though you’re very keen to cooperate with them but you of course need them to clarify why they believe you owe them £100.

Thank you for your replies everyone. I do agree that if I were genuinely overpaid then I should, of course, pay it back (albeit in instalments to ensure I am not negatively impacted after such a long period of time). However, it is really more complicated than I initially thought it was. I have trawled back through my emails and found more information that muddies the water even more. As I mentioned, I was only there for 7 short weeks. During this time (financially) I went through the following: I started early in April, but late enough to miss the pay day cutoff, so had to wait till May's pay day (end of May) to be paid for May +most of April. I left early June. During that time I started as full time, and at some point, I went to part time (30 hrs). Going to part time meant a reduction in hourly rate. Once part time, I actually did a day's overtime one week, and we had a couple of May Bank hols in the mix. And then I'd accrued some holiday in the 7 weeks I was there that I didn't take and would have been paid for when I left. I was also in the emergency tax code (which is by the by, I accept, but it does make the whole thing even harder to calculate). I'd completely forgotten, but when I left they sent me an email saying I owed them more (than this new amount). I counter emailed with what I believed were my calculations and they then decided the amount was less (than this new amount). As I was still owed several hundred in travelling expenses, I didn't pay it at that time as I wanted my expenses back first. It took an email chain of 20 emails, and over a month after I left the company) to eventually be paid my expenses. By then, I just wanted to forget this company ever existed. I had a new job and wanted to move on with my life. I received no more correspondence regarding the overpayment and assumed it had all been resolved..... until over a year later when they came back to me with yet another totally different amount! So, I think the onus here is for them to provide me with correct calculations (that I can understand) to prove this. I want to know WHY this was not pursued last year when it appears they were obviously aware that something might not be right, WHY it's taken so long to revisit (including 3 months after the end of year calculations would have been made), and WHY the amount now differs from the last email correspondence I have. Only when I am completely satisfied that the calculations are correct, will I offer to pay in instalments. They were a complete shambles from start to finish. My manager was a joke, I was taken on as a manager to run a new department. The first time I met him the first thing he said to me was "Betty (deputy manager long time employee) could have run this department with her eyes closed but you gave a better interview". I knew from that point that things were NOT going to go well. I'd also said in my interview that I had a holiday booked over Christmas. In an initial meeting with him, he said that he's have to go higher to authorise the holiday but it was unlikely I'd get it!. And I was taken on to manage the new department, but in the 7 weeks I was there, I was never actually allowed anywhere near it and it was set up by Betty and the rest of the team whilst I underwent 'training' in a completely different location with incompetents who cut corners and didn't have a clue what they were on about! This is why I jumped after such a short time. The place was toxic and I'm too long in the tooth to put myself through it so I gave my weeks notice and quit with nothing else to go to (although it didn't take me long to find another role).

Legally they can take the money back and they given you a warning. Talk to them. You can't ignore this as you could get in trouble even though it was their fault to start with.

I would pay it.

I had similar from a previous employer, they contacted me about a c£100 overpayment, the first letter said it would be passed to debt collectors etc.

The second letter it did go to debt collectors! Remember it's cheap for them to pass on, you'll pay the costs of debt collectors not them (I've worked for a company who passed debt on in this way). You'll probably get extra charges added, which will be the fees of the collection agency.

Do you really need this much aggravation for £100?!

Reply to them - don't ignore

You have previously acknowledged that you were overpaid, so you were aware of it

I would ask them for revised payslips, along with their calculations so that you can confirm the amount, and that once agreed, you will repay the amount

You'll also find that as an employee you're legally obliged to repay overpayment, it's likely in your contract. Is it really worth all this saga for £100?

It seems that they are not considering the travel expenses and their actions. I would do nothing on principal as they did nothing when the role was reversed

That is their job to highlight how much she was overpaid and what the error was! I’d write bac and say I certainly was not aware, and I will need to see an original and corrected payslip. If you have worked out you think you’ve overpaid me you must be able to explain to me how.

You might have some luck with the principle of "estoppel" have a Google, you may just be able to reply with an estoppel defence and it will go away. Failing that, I would just pay up.

Just pay it. Do you seriously want to risk ruining your credit over ‘such a paltry amount’ (your words)

Thank you for everyone's input. I have gathered my evidence and wasted a morning putting together an email to them pointing out the issues and requesting clarity. At the end, I have said that if they reply to my queries and provide satisfactory responses and I agree with the amount, I will repay. I did feel like telling them, that instead of invoicing for my time, we should call it quits, but didn't 😁. Let's see what they come back with, but, to be honest, they have made themselves look incompetent and complacent!

Yes they will sent it to collection agent and you will be charged their fee as well. It will also.effect credit rating.
Offer to.pay 5 pounds a month to them.

Could it be Betty, having revenge for having her nose out of joint? 😀

Oh dear, that’s not very helpful advice and is actually incorrect.

Firstly, the company need to provide evidence that the OP owes this money and a good explanation as to why it’s taken a year for them to discover THEIR error.

Then they’ll need to go to court if the OP disputes their version of events. A debt collection agency can do nothing other than posture, if they don’t have a court order.

Number one rule is NEVER offer to pay anything if you’re not 100% certain that you owe the full amount being demanded and ALWAYS check any paperwork very thoroughly.

If it’s a relatively small amount and the paperwork is inconsistent, I’d tell them to take me to court and let a court decide what’s reasonable.

Definitely get in touch with HR and ask them to provide evidence of the calculation etc. Also they need to make sure that what you pay back accounts for tax because as you mentioned you have already been taxed on what was paid so you shouldn’t be paying back the gross amount because you’d then need to reclaim the tax and I don’t know how this would work. It’s their error so point this out to them and it’s on them to solve it. I think maybe you pay back the net amount and they have to solve for the tax portion? My DH was overpaid once so had to deal with all this but the company told him pretty much straight away and it was a larger sum. Given the length of time and the small amount I’d say if you ask enough questions they may realise it’s not worth it.

I'd ask for the calculations and see if they were correct.

Did they pay you too much money per your payslips (ie you worked 4 weeks and you actually only worked 3 weeks) or did they pay you more than your payslips said (ie payslip say net pay of £200 but they paid you £300)?

The emergency tax point is moot as it's hard to control what code hmrc out you on when you change jobs and you can claim it back from hmrc if you were overpaid.

If you do repay them make sure it gets reflected in this year's income as a deduction so you don't pay too much tax.

If they sent back a calculation I could understand I would repay but expect to do it in instalments.

Many times someone may be give a stack of files for collection. They either aren't provided with a history, or are auditing, and come up with different figures. Again, they might not have all the emails, etc. I don't know what the statute of limitations is for collection, but I would ask for a complete accounting of your time there. They can take it from there. Many times, for small amounts, they choose to write it off. If they do, ask for a letter confirming that.

Well done op, let's wait and see what they come back with. You did the right thing attacking it head on rather than burying your head in the sand.

Hi. Your P60 should have detailed the amount of pay you received as well, they are also legally obliged to provide this as well. Make sure they provide it, if they have not already done so.

I think it’s a P45 when you leave employment

Then they’ll need to go to court if the OP disputes their version of events. A debt collection agency can do nothing other than posture, if they don’t have a court order.

Is this correct @PotNoodleNancy ?

BT said I owed them money - I didn't.
I kept ringing them and they promised to sort it, they never did. Red bill after red bill arrived!

Next thing they had sold the "debt" to a collection agency. Agency called me and told me that if I paid half they'd write off the debt. Naively I paid half just to put it behind me. Even though it was all BT's error and I had been incorrectly charged cancellation fees

Agency started chasing me for the other half, the half they told me on the phone they'd write off. I ended up paying this too.

Shortly after I started being bombarded with calls and junk Mail from payday loan companies, offering me credit at extortionate interest, having been sold my details by the debt collection company. Horribly exploitative, targeting people with history of debt, bad credit etc

For the sake of £100 I'd avoid this shitshow if you can

The fact it’s been a year is neither here nor there. They have six years to request you repay an overpayment.

I do and I have been in op situation and you legally have to pay an overpayment back. I paid it back over two years at a set amount.

F