Can anyone advise on overpayment of wages please?

[1stlifeline]

Asking the question on behalf of my son.

My son lost his job in November 2004. He would have been sacked as he had left a duty unfinished which was against the rules and instead of owning up he tried to cover his tracks as he was embarassed about it. At his disciplinary hearing he resigened rather than being sacked. He got a wage paid into the bank each week for the next 4 weeks. He was unsure as to if it was pay in leiu of notice or holiday backpay. he was also paid a week in arrears so for the first couple of weeks he didnt think it was odd. When they paid him for the 4th week he rang them to query the payment. They told him that he had been overpaid and that he would recieve a letter telling him by how much. He never had a letter and so never bothered about it again. He has now recieved a letter saying that they wrote to him in November 2005 (which was a full year later) saying that he had been overpaid by over £1000 and that they had not recieved a reply. They now say he has 14 days to repay the money and that if he cannot afford to pay it all at once he can pay back £50 per week. He is out of work at the moment and so cannot afford payments. He hasnt got the payslips and so cant remember what hours he was paid for or what holiday pay was on them so has no proof as to how much he was paid. When he rang them to query the letter he was told that they paid him because HE failed to notify the wages office that he had resigned, surely that should have been up to the personel departmente. Is it right that after two and a half years they can now demand money back?.

[diskmandave]

It sounds like they're way out of line!

 

Contact ACAS (early morning is best!), explain the whole situation including the ex-employers bad attitude and neglect of duty! If anyone can give you a one way or the other answer here it's ACAS.

 

Acas - Home

 

Good luck, Dave.

[1stlifeline]

Cant seem to get anywhere with this. ACAS said to talk to his ex employer and explain circumstances. They dont want to know and sat they have written frequently regarding the overpaymant. This is not so, we have been in the same house for years and O/H is our postie. He now has got a letter from a solicitor saying he must pay within 7 days. we have written back to them explaining the situation but are really worried about it.

Can they relly reclaim after two and a half years.?

[barracad]

Can they relly reclaim after two and a half years.?

 

Yes.

 

Your son is probably best writing to them comitting to how much he can realistically afford to repay - even if it is just £5 a week. Also if he disputes the amount he should ask for evidence of the overpayment e.g. copy wage slips.

[Guest ArthurP]

Yes, the former employers can claim this money back. It is standard for most any business to include overpayment correction in a contract.

 

Also, I beleive it is the law that wage payment records are kept for, (I think!), three years at least.

 

No doubt the firm were pretty useless with administration but your son will have to pay back unfortunately.

[1stlifeline]

Further to this story the case went to court and he had to pay the money back as expected but he made them an offer of weekly payments which were accepted. However the final sting in the tail ------ He got a letter from the court at the end of August telling him that the payments started on a date in mid October. He has since started a part time job which causes him to be away half the week. Whilst he was away he realised that the payment date was close but he did not have the paperwork with him and could not remember the actual date it had to be paid or the details to pay it to so was worried that he may miss the date. He called me at 11 pm and told me that he was panicking in case he missed the payment date. (His own fault for forgetting about it!) Anyway the following morning I rang the company concerned after finding one of thier old letters and explained the situation. The lady I spoke to obviously could not discuss the matter with me or give me the details to go and make the payment but said she would put a note on the account and I told her that may son would son would be home the following evening and would make the payment first thing the following morning which he did. 2 days later we got a call from a bailiff who left us a letter from the High Sherrif saying he would be coming back in 48/72 hours to collect. My son explained the situation and showed his payment reciept, BUT - they have now added just over 1,300 pound to the debt. I know its his own fault but the have more than doubled the debt. I just dont know how they can be allowed to do what mounts to legalised robbery!

[powelll]

I take it you are in Scotland? I'm sorry I can't help with Scottish rules in relation to bailiffs; hopefully someone will be along soon. Or you could try posting on the bailiffs forum

[1stlifeline]

Hi Powell. ?????????????? No I am not in Scotland!!!

[1stlifeline]

Now need to add to this thread as I desperately need some more advice. My son has been paying the £5 a week as agreed by the court, but, because he missed the first payment date it is now in the hands of the High Court Enforcement office. A baliff came to see him and agreed the £5 a week payments (he is on job seekers allowance at the moment) so cant afford more. He has been paying that by DDebit. However they now say that they wont accept £20 a month and want £50. He cant afford this. Today a baliff came again to say they would take goods. He wasnt in at the time but he has since rung the guy and spoken to him. They are adamant they want £50. I spoke to him and explained that my son has no car or valuable possesions and that at the moment he is living with me rent free as he cant afford payments. He also has a credit card debt he is paying off weekly. They dont want to know and say they will make him bankrupt if he dosnt come up with the money. He has rung the court where the agreement was made but apparently because he missed the first payment date the court now have no durisdiction over it. The High Court enforecement overrides them.

 

What can we do, he dosnt have the money. He has also just applied for a job he is hoping to get but if they make him bankrupt he wont be allowed to stay in the job.

 

Can anyone advise please, Thanks

[ScarletPimpernel]

Presumably the bailiff is not employed directly by the Court, but by a private company such as High Court Enforcement Ltd or High Court Enforcement Officers Ltd.

 

Best bet is to contact someone like TomTubby on the Bailiff forum, who are expert in these matters.

[1stlifeline]

Thats right ScarletPimpernel. It is a private company. Will do as you suggest, thank you.

[rosierose]

Hi there

 

There is some case law out there with regard to salary overpayment, though I'm not completely sure whether it may apply to you.

 

IIRC there was a precedent whereby if an employer was told of the error but neglected to act promptly he was liable.

 

Please forgive my vagueness and feel free to undertake a bit of research to validate (or otherwise).

[1stlifeline]

Bumping this as still need help.

 

Could someone read my post number 9 on this thread.

 

Thank you so much.

[The GodMother]

Your son will get £187.40 a month on benefits and most courts/baliifs know this.

 

The problem you have is that you have admitted that he lives rent free with you so they have instantly assumed that he has enough money to cover his debt to them.

 

I would advise that you do a I/E sheet saying what he has to pay out and who to and send this to the bailiffs with the first reasonable payment.

 

How much does he owe and to who?

 

As the less he has to pay out the more they will expect him to pay.

 

If that fails you can ask them to take him to court to have the payments set. The courts will not make him pay more than he can afford so that is good but the bailiffs will try it no with you.

 

Continue to make payments he can afford as that makes him look willing to pay the debt.

 

They may say the payment he has offered is not enough but the catch is if they accept the payment, Buy cashing the PO/Cheque, then a court may ask why they are accepting the payments.

 

One of the things the court will ask is why he missed the first payment and why he did not ask you to make the payment on his behalf/ pay buy other means as in send a cheque/ PO in advance or pay buy DD before hand.

 

Chrissi