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Original poster

Alleged overpayment of over 1K but no money to repay it!

18 replies

cerealqueen · 27/01/2011 22:20

My former work (I left last June) sent me a special delivery letter today saying they had overpaid me by £1174 and to send them a cheque. I will be checking their figures. Thing is, I don't have that amount to pay back. Could I suggest installments, if so, what would be reasonable?

Really hacked off and worried.

OP posts:

Original poster

cerealqueen · 27/01/2011 22:45

Anybody - I need some advice please

OP posts:

welshdeb · 27/01/2011 23:03

They have to explain to you how it arose and how long it went on for. Ask your self honestly if you should have noticed your pay was higher than it should have been.
Do you agree with their calculations?
They can ask for the money back but as you dont work there anymore its not so easy, also it doesn't look good that they waited 7 months to ask for it back.
You could go to CAB for advice but I would say that it depends on the answers above
Was it their error - if so good chance you might not have to repay
Should you have known - if you so good chance you might have to pay it back
Can you pay it back? If you really don't have the money there isn't much they can do.

Beeboles · 27/01/2011 23:03

You could try contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau in your area. I would imagine that your former work would have to be open to negotiations regarding installments as it was there mistake. They cannot just expect you to have the money available immediately.

Original poster

cerealqueen · 27/01/2011 23:52

thanks - instalments sounds a good idea - I didn't notice it, it was my last pay, it looked a bit higher than normal but I was getting childcare vouchers but not for the last coule of weeks.

It was their fault, a delay in processing my leaver form apparently.

I guess I could pay back a small bit each month but I'm not working, money is really tight, its a lot of money when you have very little.
Really annoyed as its January and we are broke anyway but...appreciate they have to recover the money.

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satsumaish · 28/01/2011 14:08

Hi. I have the same situation at the mo. Are you in a union. They are helping me at the moment. They have agreed to me paying back £20 per month. I owe around £900, however, it is still in dispute so I have paid nothing yet.
Good luck.

hairyfairylights · 28/01/2011 16:45

I'm confused as to how you didn't notice over £1k extra in your pay if money is as tight as you say. Have you spent it? Id get a loan and pay it back in one go. That way you're quits with your employer.

Original poster

cerealqueen · 28/01/2011 23:20

Hairy I had a lot of problems with my employer, it took them three months to pay me, then they paid me as full time, which I noticed immediately and paid back, then they worked out they had underpaid me which took a couple of months to sort out and they paid it back and then they owed me a couple of weeks holiday. The final pay was only a couple of hundred pounds different, which I put down to the fact that it did not include a childcare voucher salary sacrifice and that they were still sorting out an underpayment.

OP posts:

Original poster

cerealqueen · 28/01/2011 23:22

I'm not getting a loan, pay interest when they made a mistake, in fact, a series of mistakes? I've suggested instalments.

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hairyfairylights · 28/01/2011 23:26

Ah I see.

woollyideas · 29/01/2011 00:30

Definitely do not burden yourself with a loan if you are already struggling. It's their mistake and they should accept instalments.

Good luck!

MerylStrop · 29/01/2011 00:35

It sounds like they are completely incompetent.

I would definitely check in detail

Get some advice - CAB maybe?

welshdeb · 29/01/2011 09:30

Actually given what you say in you post I think you can say you have acted in good faith. They overpaid you , you overpaid - too much. They then took their time to repay you and now it seems repaid you too much. Well how many bites of the cherry do they want. ?
This is the third recalculation how do you know this one is correct.
I think you could possibly argue that you thought it was settled when they finally repaid you your overpayment.

hairyfairylights · 29/01/2011 12:07

I think I agree with Welshdeb. With all this new info you've posted it sounds like they have really messed about... I wonder if they actually have any real clout in getting the money back at all?

flowery · 29/01/2011 13:39

Perfectly reasonable to suggest instalments, yes. Check the figures carefully though as it does sound within the realms of possibility that they've messed up again.

They obviously can't impose any deductions from salary as they could if you were still there, so you could decide to refuse to pay and see whether they go as far as taking legal action against you to try and recover the money.

But first step is to be absolutely sure you do actually owe that amount.

UselessEmployee · 30/01/2011 19:19

I've had this happen, and they let me keep the money. But then, it was only £40, so not really a comparable sum!

Original poster

cerealqueen · 02/02/2011 22:37

Thanks all - emailed and suggested instalments. I checked their dates and they don't seem to have realised the last two weeks of my contract I took as holiday. I hope that makes a difference.
I ought to pay it back - its the NHS. Though how they have messed up speaks volumes for their general inefficiency. If I wanted to work for them again (and I did do for 17 years) it would come up. Though its in such disarray right now its unlikely!

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overthehillmum · 08/02/2011 09:25

Hi Cereal, I had a similar issue when I left my work three years ago, I got a letter two months later telling me they had overpaid me £2K, I asked them for a breakdown of it and they sent me some faffing letter, I responded and asked for a breakdown of what my last wage was made up for, they then realised that they had not included holidays due for the period I worked there and then recalculated it and I owed them £450, I looked into it at the time and basically they had to accept an offer of payment in instalments as it wasn't my fault. To be honest I totally ignored them afterwards and didn't pay anything, I had left on really bad terms (I was bullied badly) and had done tons of unpaid overtime so I reckoned they could take me to court over it, I didn't hear from them again.

employeeofthemonth · 10/02/2011 13:26

I've just realised that I've been being overpaid since I went back late summer. Spoke to HR today and they they still think it's all fine - I know it's not. Not sure of next move. If I force the point now, then I think I owe them close to £2K for last six months. If I say nothing and they realise later, then I owe them more...We're only just climbing out of the financial hole of moving house/baby no.2 and this is the last thing I needed.

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