andyescos

Evening all,

In January a mistake was made by the Admin dept at work and I was paid an advance of £400 toward hotel bills for a course I was on. I submitted the reciepts (which came to £268) after the course and they accidently paid that money into my bank aswell, so I was £532 up on the deal. I rarely check my bank so didn't realise this.

I'm due to leave tomorrow and I start at my new Brigade on Monday, so during my leaving process someone at the pay office has come across this and they want to take it all back out of my last wage. £532! That's nearly half a Firemans wage!

I've checked with the bank and yes, they are right, it all went in and the person who made the mistake has admitted it and apologised. Yes, I did spend the money(without realising where it had come from). Normally they'd take it out in installments but 'cause I'm leaving they obviously can't.

Because a new financial year has passed since then could they have written it off? Do I have to pay it back? Can I pay them in installments even though I've left?

Anyone know any ideas?


Cheers,

Andy

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Surely it's up to your employer as it IS their money

The Sludge

It does depend on what your contract of employment says. The ones we have at work state that any overpayments due to clerical error can be recovered.

Possibly speak to Citizens Advice Bureau mate to see where you stand.

UBster

They can do it and will as they have no real way of chasing you for the money if/when you leave.

Where does the figure of £532 come from though?

They paid you £400 then £268 leaving a balance of £532??

Cheers

Ginge !

you can offer to pay it back in instalments and tell them if they take it all out cause its going ton leave you short then you will get legal action

they cant take 50% of your cash in one go and they cant deduct money with out your consent but you will have to take them to court for them to listen

if you get paied so little then how would you not notice that much money being in your account ?

its not possible if its 50% of your wages unless you have money in your account all the time but then it means you can pay it back

no offence ment when i say this,,, just i never check my account balance until the end of the month but i always have a idea what ive got in my account and i got a 75% disposable income after bills that i spunk on anything

tabetha

Speak to them nicely as they are legally allowed to recover it in one hit if they choose, maybe post dated cheques they might accept ?
tabetha

Ginge !

tabatha they cant if theres a few months gap if it was done and noticed a week later yes but not after the next wages have been paied

imagine they payed him for years 100 quid extra, does that mean that he would never get paied for 3 months ?

my old govnor was paying my pension for 2 years after i left, he requested the cash and i told him he can get it back 5 quid a month or he can wait till I get the cash back,,,, he could do nothing but accept

the down side was he died before i could pay him back,, hes son never chased me for the bill as hes dad gave him all his cash making him a millionare who owned 54 london propertys and 9 bike shops

UBster

Sorry Ginge but your wrong, I worked in local government payroll for 3 years and they can and will take it, in fact just made a quick call to a family member who has worked there for 20+ years and she has confirmed it.

Another reason why they will wan't to take it, other than getting there money back is because they can't write you a valid P45 without the money as the PAYE wont read correctly.

No harm in giving them some lingo on how your mortgage payments will bounce or you wont be able to buy the burns blue pop if they take the money out of your final salary, always worth a go.

Ginge !

ubster over a period of time they cant,,, otherwise he wont have a liveable income for a month,,,, thats against the law in this country to leave someone with no money to survive on hence there being REAL debt management companys that help you deal with this

its treated as a loan even if it is over paied wages i thought ?

Stavros

burn the place down mate!

Lee Reynolds

yep they can take it...they made a little mistake and you have to give it back. Dont see the problem? If you were underpaid and didnt realise till you got your bank statement im quite sure you wouldnt just think 'ah well'

UBster

I'm not saying I like or agree with it, just what has happened in my experience working in the same department that pays Andy.

You never know they might just let it slide for some uknown reason, but I'd be giving the bank a quick ring for a £500 overdraft just in case.

NOTE:

Just read Andy's post again and I noticed your joining a NEW brigade... If that's the case I can't see why they can't work out a £50 payment a month since your still being paid by local governement.

Ginge !

maybe hes joining the boys brigade

SteveB

iTrader: (3)

Happened to me when I left Formula 1..... £541 outta my final pay packet

andyescos

[quote="Ginge !"]

if you get paied so little then how would you not notice that much money being in your account ?

its not possible if its 50% of your wages unless you have money in your account all the time but then it means you can pay it back

quote]

I work all my days off, either at Top Gear or my own intruder Alarm company, things have been v quiet recently with no filming at the mo, and spending more time at home with my family instead of out fixing alarms etc. Hence relying on basic Firemans wage. Gonna have to get off my arse and get out there working again by the looks of it!lol.

Andy

Ginge !

andy i never ment to sound a prick when i typed that, just was wondering how someone wouldnt notice considering most people use 70% of there wages for just bills and have 30% to actually live on after if there lucky

get some PROPER legal advice,,, not shity citizens advice as there fucking wank at times

try and talk to em first but as said they couldnt get all the money off me when it was my pension and they was paying 28 quid a week for that time too which is a few quid

Lee Reynolds

Thought firemen were on about 28k?

Ginge !

they are but after paying back all them over payments

vikingboy

Legally speaking, you didnt earn the money, it isnt yours and need to be repaid. They are within their rights to withhold from final salary but MIGHT if you ask nicely ask if you can repay it it say three installments.

had a lad at my place overpaid by a serious amount. he was on £19k p/a and was paid due to a stupid systems mistake £190000!! he got a months salary that was about his years salary. HR came down to our place to ensure he understood firmly where he stood...in the kind and caring HR way we all have come to love

He said he hadnt noticed! Righto....like anyone wouldnt notice a 20k payment into their account LOL!

tabetha

I asked a barrister WHO WORKS FOR THE GOV, and they sure are good at getting money!!
tabetha

Redkop

That amount is worked out this way...

Advance £400
Less Receipts £268

Leaving a balance of £132 - so add that to the £400 = £532

RWD_cossie_wil

iTrader: (9)

just break into the office overnight, and burn all the computers and filing cabinets

JjCoDeX75

I am not aware of any law that prevents them from deducting the full amount due from your last paypacket unfortunately.

At the end of the day, the law will see that you had benefit of the overpayment.

Your only defence is that you didnt check your bank balance. This would not be looked upon sympathetically by a court of law (hypothetically), as a 'reasonable person' would have done.

Shit situation mate, but the above is my understanding of the law as it stands.

JJ