Large organisation 'accidentally' paid me 100s of ££ and want it back. Do I have to repay it?

[southparkhamster]

NC for this.

I moved out of a rented house recently. In the course of cleaning it and making it nice, I used a product which made it look worse (being deliberately vague so as not to be outing). I complained to the manufacturer and said that because of their product I might lose my security deposit. I asked the company to pay to have it put right. There was a lot of emailing and a lot of stress (for me). They didn't tell me that they would put it right, instead they asked to deal directly with the landlord, so I put them in touch.

Next thing I know, I receive a cheque from the company for several hundred pounds. It came with a letter that said something along the lines of 'we hope this restores your faith in our company'. The letter said nothing about what the cheque was for - specifically, it did not say anything like, 'this money is to pay for the damage to be put right'.

I paid the cheque into my account. A few weeks later, the company contacted me to say that they sent me the cheque by mistake, and that they meant to pay a contractor that they had booked to do the work. They want me to repay the money.

My view is that they have basically given me a gift and then changed their mind about it, so have no right to demand it back. There was nothing in their communication that could have led me to think this was a mistake - their letter was, basically, 'Hi Hamster, following your complaint, here's some money to make it right'.

Can anyone advise about the law here?

Should have said: the letter was clearly addressed to me. The cheque, obviously, was made out to me.

If you're not entitled to it then it's arguably unjust enrichment and they could sue you for it. If it's in the hundreds, rather than the thousands, then it's questionable as to whether they'd pursue it or not, but you should pay it back or use it to pay the contractor to remedy the works.

Thanks @freckledleopard ... how can anyone work out whether I am 'entitled' to it, though?

The company did not tell me they were going to pay the contractor, and I have since found out (not through the company) that they have already paid this. As I said, the cheque came with a letter addressed to me, telling me the cheque was for me. I was surprised at the generosity but ...

To clarify: I don't want to keep money I am not entitled to. The problem here is that I have paid it into my account, having satisfied myself that the cheque was for me (given the letter), and the money has been accounted for, so repaying it is going to cause difficulties for me. So repaying it is going to result in me encountering difficulties as a result of someone else's mistake.

Ultimately, if this went to Court, it would be for the judge to determine, based on the evidence. If you will have financial difficulties, then perhaps suggest paying it back in instalments?

I was prepared to say YABU but upon reading I think YANBU really although I'm not sure what they could do about it. It seems harsh though that they could send a cheque which was cashed in good faith and could have been spent and then be entitled to it back. The wording of the letter accompanying it heavily suggests that the enclosed cheque was meant for you.

do you still have the letter they sent with the cheque? I think the wording makes it seem like it's for you. why would they write that message if they were paying a contractor?

If someone accidently pays money into your bank account, and you know it's not yours but spend it then you can face consequences. Or if someone was meant to transfer you £50 but accidently sent £500 and you spend it then you could be in trouble. You're not allowed to benefit from someone else's mistake.

But this isn't that. They sent you a letter, addressed to you, apologising and hoping to restore your faith in the company. And they sent a cheque addressed to you. That's not the same as typing in the wrong account information or transferring the wrong amount of money.

They typed a whole letter apologising and gifting you the money. They sent a cheque to your name. Now they want it back. They can't just change their minds like that, and if it went to court and was allowed then anyone who pays compensation could decide to change their mind and demand it back. It doesn't work like that.

Given what you say about the content of the letter it strikes me that it will probably be difficult for the company to argue that you have been unjustly enriched. It would not have been obvious to you that a mistake had been made. You might also have a defence of change of position in any event, if you have spent the money and repayment would (as you say) place you in financial difficulty.

If the company were to pursue you via the courts, it sounds like the amount is low enough to restrict it to a small claims court claim, in which case the company’s costs (which would far outweigh the amount you have been paid) would not be recoverable from you.

Personally I would respond to the company and explain that there was nothing to indicate that the money was not meant for you (and that if they disagree, ask them to explain the basis for that), that it has been spent, and that to repay now would cause you difficulties. I suspect that they will drop it.

No you're not entitled to it. They paid it to you by mistake. Title has never passed.

Keep it they sent it to you as compensation.
Tell them as much and that it's gone

Surely if the letter that was addressed to you made reference to them hoping that this will go some way to restore your faith in the company and the cheque this referred to was written to you, then it would be a reasonable assumption that it was intended for you?

Why would they write a letter like that to a contractor? Doesn’t make sense.

I suspect that someone in their office has made a mistake.

Instead of paying the contractor to fix the issue and close the case - they paid you instead.

But I don't think that entitles the company to ask for the money back. They might have a case if they said in the letter - "here is £x to cover the cost of the contractor we have arranged to fix the issue - please pay this to them after the work is completed to your satisfaction."

But they didn't. They made it sound like a goodwill payment to you for having to sort out the consequences of poor product.

They definitely wouldn’t say “this money is to pay for the damage to be put right” in case you later came back and said “actually it didn’t cover it, it has cost £xxx more”.

It was a good will gesture.

But you know that they dont owe you anything? So pass it back so they can rectify the situation with the landlord. Otherwise your landlord is going to be out of pocket.

Thanks for your views everyone. I still have the letter. I read it several times. I can't see how I could possibly have been expected to think it was a mistake - not only did they not say that the cheque was for a contractor, but at that point I did not even know that they were planning to pay a contractor!

But you know that they dont owe you anything? So pass it back so they can rectify the situation with the landlord. Otherwise your landlord is going to be out of pocket.

I learnt this morning that the company has already paid for the problem to be rectified - the company mentioned it in an email to me. And, I didn't think they owed me anything, exactly, but it was not surprising that they would send me something to make amends.

You should repay, in the circumstances I wouldn't dream of thinking I was entitled to it.

Of course she is entitled to it! They sent it EXPLICITLY as a good will gift. They cannot later change their mind and demand it back. It would only be unjust enrichment if OP should have known it was not for her e.g. an overpayment of a known salary. There was no way she could have known here as they told her it was a gift.

I asked the company to pay to have it put right. There was a lot of emailing and a lot of stress (for me). They didn't tell me that they would put it right, instead they asked to deal directly with the landlord, so I put them in touch.

At that point, OP, any “putting it right” passed out of your hands and directly to the owner of the property, as it should. I assume that the landlord organised the contractor to do the work and the arrangement was the the manufacturer would be paying the contractor’s bill directly to the contractor. Hence the cheque was supposed to go to the contractor.

I don’t know why you thought you were owed hundreds of pounds if you were not out of pocket? had the landlord asked YOU to organise a contractor and get the manufacturer to reimburse you for the cost then that’s when a cheque made out to you would have made some sense. You received a cheque for good reason, I don’t understand why you would have not phoned the landlord to check what the situation was.

I’m assuming that you did indeed get your security deposit back as you don’t make any mention of this. The only situation it would have been right to hVe cashed that cheque was if you HAD lost your security deposit. And I think you know it.

Maybe the contractor hasn't been paid because the money intended for him has gone to you? Maybe they can pursue you privately?

It's not yours so you should pay it back. It seems pretty obvious from reading your post.

but it was not surprising that they would send me something to make amends.

Make amends for what exactly?! It’s your LANDLORD’S property that was damaged. It’s his/her responsibility, hence the manufacturer wanting to deal with the homeowner and not you!! It’s the landlord that has had to deal with the hassle of getting it sorted, so if anyone needs a cheque which “makes amends” for the hassle and inconvenience of damage, it was clearly your landlord!

Can’t you see that?

Hwhoops, My first post should have read “you received a cheque for NO good reason”

Well it did require hassle on her part though. Aside from the worry about damage to her landlord's property, she then had to contact them to seek redress. She had to go out of her way to do something she wouldn't normally do and be worried about something she shouldn't have to be. She says in her opening post that there was a lot of emailing and stress. That's hassle!