Please help old employer requesting money

[Jane1966]

I left work officially in December 2006, although i had been off sick for 14 months prior th this....stress....teacher !

I have received an invoice today from the local authority for approx £800.
I signed for a hire agreement for a home computing initiative. I was supplied with a computer on the 22nd August 2005 for a 36 month perod in exchange for which I agreed to the reduction of my monthly gross pay by way of salary sacrifice.
The terms read as follows:
If your employment terminates for any reason before the end of the hire period, you agree to pay the sum of the gross monthly salary reduction multiplied by the number of months remaining. The hire period will end on the date which is four weeks after the end of your employment.

Please advise as it has been 14 months since I have worked for them. I am on incapacity benefit and thus have no way of paying this. I am really worried!

[hanzo]

If they wanted to enforce this they would have to take you to small claims court, so it's not really an employment issue.

[cal37]

Write back to them and explain your on incapacity benefit and make them an offer of repayment you can afford.

[RFC1872]

Originally Posted by Jane1966

I left work officially in December 2006, although i had been off sick for 14 months prior th this....stress....teacher !

I have received an invoice today from the local authority for approx £800.
I signed for a hire agreement for a home computing initiative. I was supplied with a computer on the 22nd August 2005 for a 36 month perod in exchange for which I agreed to the reduction of my monthly gross pay by way of salary sacrifice.
The terms read as follows:
If your employment terminates for any reason before the end of the hire period, you agree to pay the sum of the gross monthly salary reduction multiplied by the number of months remaining. The hire period will end on the date which is four weeks after the end of your employment.

Please advise as it has been 14 months since I have worked for them. I am on incapacity benefit and thus have no way of paying this. I am really worried!

If its hire purchase can it not just be returned it to them?

[Jane1966]

Originally Posted by RFC1872

If its hire purchase can it not just be returned it to them?

Thats what I thought....but apparently even if I give it back I have to pay the £800, as it was the HP agreement. I just wondered where I stood as it has taken them 14 months to ask for the money. For an additional £70 I can buy the computer back..as they "do not really want them back".

[Conniff]

Jane - tell us a bit more about this computer. I thought the home initiative gave you up to 50% discount on a computer, but it looks like you may have paid getting on for a year and yet still owe £800. Make and model would be nice.