Overpayment query

[User01]

Hi. I have name changed to prevent being identified (just in case!). So I work part time, and have been doing a few shifts overtime to help pay off some debts. I was being paid enhanced rates for these overtime shifts.
Now I have recently been informed that I should not have bee paid enhanced rates, I should have been paid flat rate until the number of hours I had worked reached that of full time workers, and only after that, been entitled to enhanced rate. This is okay with me. But they are now demanding I repay some of the overpayment, either in full from my wage, or by working it back.

Now dome people have said I should challenge this, on the basis that
(1) I was never informed of this rule
(2) I have been filling overtime sheets in, with the enhanced rate on it, and still no one told me otherwise that I was doing this wrong and
(3) I have actually rang and queried why sometimes I was paid flat rate and on other times I wasn't. and yet still - No one said anything!!

I cannot afford to have this money deducted from my wages as I am still paying debts off. And I do not like the idea of working it off... I would rather pay by installments. I do not want to be an arse about it, but I am so annoyed and feel I am being penalised for others not doing their jobs properly.

Would it be worth my time to challenge this?

You could challenge this, but as long s they are giving you time to repay (bu installments or working), then you will lose.

You are not being penalised - if they had doen it right you would have less money now and not repaid as much of your debt. Work is not charging interest on the repayment, so they have done you a favour.

All I can do is sympathise. I called in to say id been over paid. They twisted the knife by saying they wouldn't have noticed. Then refused to take the money back en masse there and then but took it out of my salary for 12 months. It was fine, not like I was out of pocket, but highly annoying!