Ex-employer wants extra payment back

I'm not sure what he *did* write:

Peter : I have trouble with your posts - I suspect that you don't have your news software configured properly in that there is no leading character eg > on quoted text - it's difficult/impossible to see what you are quoting rather than adding yourself.

I would expect to be given a "slate" to which I could chalk up my future purchases of -say- a packet of crisps every day.

Perhaps our OP should offer to pay it back in kind, by doing the occasional spot of consultancy.

I would expect to be given notice before solicitors become involved.

Once one side feels that negotiations have gone as far as they can without leading to a satisfactory conclusion, they must (I feel) give the other side notice that if they don't stop playing silly beggars we'll pass the matter to our solicitors and you'll become responsible for the cost this involves. Unless notice in those or similar terms is given, I don't think there is a sound basis for adding fees to the debt.

But if it's a small claims matter, then there are limits to what can be added by way of expenses, aren't there?

(1) County Court Claim. To include interest pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. Current rate: 8.00% p.a. - Likely but not certain to be awarded against you.

(2) Statutory demand. You pay up within 21 days or run the risk of being adjudicated bankrupt. You have no grounds on which to apply to set aside such a demand. You would find bankruptcy terribly inconvenient.

A lot of grief, by the sound of it. Maybe a CCJ. Maybe a bankruptcy Order. Why not just pay up? It's their money, not yours.

Do not let this distract from his postings. They are pretty well spot on and are worth paying attention to.

In message , scrambled egg writes

Yes.. wot he said. Very difficult to read.

Well, it depends what you've done with the money. If you had spent it in good faith a five year pay back time wouldn't be unreasonable. if you haven't spent it then it might be. In any case - the purposes of the offer is to start a negotiation on a payment schedule so I was envisaging you'd haggle.

Thom

I don't think so. First, I think the assumption would be that your ex-employers was paying back pay or or other money owed. Every time I've moved jobs I've received back pay (usually, but not always, pay settlements back dated one or more years). Second, I think that you wouldn't need to have spent it (e.g., having committed it to a house purchase would also be acceptable).

Thom

"Alex Heney" wrote

They certainly shouldn't expect any interest until the first possible date on which the money could be returned.

For instance, if the employer took a couple of days to provide details of a bank a/c to pay the money back to, and the bank transfer would then take say 3 working days, and there was a weekend in-between; then they certainly shouldn't expect any interest for those 7 calendar days -- even after being made aware of their mistake...

What don't you think so?

Please provide some context for your replies.

The most obvious way to pay back the money would be to send a cheque. Interest would only accrue if the repayment was unreasonably delayed. A weeks' interest on £2500 is going to be negligible, so not really worth discussing. Don't forget that the OP would get to keep all the interest the money has accrued in his bank account up until the time he was notified of the mistake.

"Cynic" wrote

Exactly - *not* "from the date they made him aware", as Alex said.

The plot thickens....

The reason I found out that they know about the money is from an email from the company accountant. I'm friendly with the guy and he mentioned in passing about the letter he'd sent about someone elses salary being paid to me.

Anyway, I did tell him that I'd not recieved the letter (which I haven't!). Haven't heard anything since !

As you've gathered from the other posts, you have to pay the money back, and legally, the only profit you get to make is any accrued interest. Admin charges wouldn't hold up in court for a second - by all means try, but be prepared to reconsider quickly if they call your bluff.

As far as installments, you'd probably be taking the piss to try for any more than 6 months. What you could do is write to them, acknowledging their letter, and tell them you have asked your bank to provide a statement to verify their claim, and you will be deducting any fee for this from the amount they claim. A few weeks later, you can acknowledge their claim, but tell them you are seeking advice from your bank to ensure that the funds cannot be reclaimed electronically at a later date. They can't, but if you're just looking to delay things....

That should buy you a month or two fairly legitimately. After that, you can acknowledge the debt and offer to repay in installments of £500 or so - don't take the piss with this amount - make sure they would end up with the money at least as quickly as they would if they took you to court and all the aggro that would involve.

Meantime, make sure the cash is in a high interest-bearing account.

Sounds reasonable enough. Not had the official letter yet mind !

I'm not suggesting that there is any legal basis for such a charge, just that I think you'd have a reasonable chance of getting away with it, given that the alternative is all the expense and hassle of going to court.

Yes, money claim online is cheap, but someone still has to find the time to do it, and for a business, time is money.