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Overpayment of salary
Today I received this letter:
http://i42.tinypic.com/ncnl3n.jpg
I just want some advice on whether I am actually obliged to pay this/if they will bother taking me to court etc..
http://i42.tinypic.com/ncnl3n.jpg
I just want some advice on whether I am actually obliged to pay this/if they will bother taking me to court etc..
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But surely it was their error that they granted me holiday and they should have been the ones to notice that I didnt have any holiday hours remaining?
Despite that, on my last paycheck, it says I have 5 holiday hours remaining.
May be their error, but you still owe them the money
I think you have to ask yourself if it's worth any potential hassle over £50 odd quid, and bear in mind ASDA have a whole legal department at there disposal....
Don't count on getting a reference from them in the future though.
of course if it's passed to a debit collector theres the impact on your credit rating......
like I said, surely not worth it over £50 odd quid that doesn't even belong to the OP in the first place?
They have offered a repayment plan if you phone the number on the letter.
They may well take you to court if you don't pay it.
I'm not sure that would necessarily follow. It's not a debt as a result of a credit agreement, so I'm not convinced they could register a default on your file. It could end up as a CCJ, but only if they took you to court and won, and then you didn't pay up within 28 days (or whatever the time-scale is).
Regardless, why would anyone with a lick of sense take the risk over £50 odd quid of money that doesn't even belong to them? You'd have to be nuts not to just cough up. A big organisation like ASDA may well be prepared to pursue this quite hard just as a principle, even if it costs them more to do so. I've seen it before plenty of times.
Surely this is completely the wrong way to be thinking though? It's no wonder everybody is so blindly compliant (in many cases paying things they don't even need to) if this is the attitude you and others hold.
I'd see things the other way round.. ASDA is a huge company, making loads of money.. I'd call their bluff, I can't believe they'd waste their time, energy and money recovering such a poxy amount.
As already pointed out, in theory, they could get debt collectors on the case, but as the amount wasn't run up in a credit agreement I wonder whether they would be able to get a CCJ or even an enforceable court order demanding repayment?
But the bottom line in this case is that it isn't the OP's money to keep, it's not like they are asking them to return money not owed to them. I find it hard to advocate for someone (anyone) to keep something that doesn't belong to them.
And yes, I would not be in the least surprised if they did pursue it. No skin off their nose really. I've seen it many times before.
There are specific laws to do with overpayment of wages in error though. The law states that the money must be paid back. Call their bluff if you wish, but the law is on their side should they choose to enforce it.
For £56? Why bother poking them with a stick?! It's not a hill I would die on!
ETA For the record, if they had taken £56 of mine (or the OP's), I would say pursue it of course. But they haven't, they have overpaid by mistake and want their money back.
I know what you mean but enough big companies and corporations in this world have ripped me off and screwed me over. The whole world is just there to effectively rip off everyone else.. I wouldn't ever feel any moral obligation to pay such an amount to a company like ASDA, a bank, a multinational etc.
Small local businesses or the tax-payer? That's different. But ASDA is a private company and they can absorb that loss with ease.
If I knew I could get away with it I'd shoplift from places like this, I couldn't feel morally bad about it. They're exploiting too many people and making too much money out of it.. why would I ever feel bad?
Ah but if I paid you £50 by accident and then asked for it back I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be obliged to give it to me - that's the difference.. it was my understanding for a CCJ you needed a signed credit agreement whereby the person in debt had agreed the money was to be paid back. With an overpayment/accidental payment there's no contract, signature or proof.. there's no agreement that the money was ever to be paid back.
I'm by no means an expert so this could be wrong, but it was just my understanding that this is the key difference here.
I think in an advice forum it's better to take personal grievances out of things though. Bottom line is the law is against the OP, and its not good advise that they take a stand against a company when they are on such shaky legal, and, truthfully, moral, ground.
No, it's still repayable - Google "unjust enrichment".
You might be getting confused with CCA, i.e. the Consumer Credit Act. A CCJ is just a County Court Judgment - which could be to do with a credit agreement, or could be about something completely different.
That's fair enough, thank you for clarifying
Pursuing someone for £56? To what extent? It's hardly worth their while doing more than send a couple of threatening letters.