Overpaid & 100% of wage being taken

Williamleeds · Post by **Williamleeds** » 05 Aug 2016, 06:45

Hi,

In real need of a bit of help.I have recentley been on a sabbatical.I finished at the end of March & literally jumped on a plane to Thailand a few days later.Whilst over there i spent the last £2500 in my bank withdrawing at £400 a time,I was locked out of my internet banking also due to inputting a wrong security code & wasn't really keeping an eye on finances as I had what I had etc & then just used my credit cards.
Anyway upon on returning home after 2 months away I've been astonished to find 6 wage slips totalling £1700 that I've been incorrectly paid for whilst away.The 7th wage slip I opened stated I owed £1700 which is what I've been overpaid.I told a manager this & was informed I would be able to pay this back via a percentage of my wage once I'd returned after my sabbatical.This conversation was informal having by chance bumped into him at my local gym.
I had no problem with this although was a little annoyed as apart from a tiny little amount on the wage slip detailing the overpayment I've had no notification whatever regarding the overpayment how it's been calculated,how to repay it or why the error happened.

I've now returned to work having spent all but £250 of the £1700 & been told that my full wage will be taken each week until the £1700 has been repaid.I was not told this would happen,and I am annoyed at the manner in which I have been treated.I was led to believe I could pay say 30% of my wage each week but have been paid £0 for 25 hours this week.The amount has not gone down either still says I owe £1700 despite now working again.

I get the impression the managers don't want to know & think it reasonable enough to expect me to suffer for 6 weeks on what I've got left.Theyve offered no explanation or written paperwork & fobbed off any questions I had.Do I have any options here or is it bread and water for the next 6 weeks!?Im not in the union currently.

Thanks

slinder123 · Post by **slinder123** » 05 Aug 2016, 07:49

hi william have you tried talking to hr the number is on your wageslip if you are as i think suffering hardship explain to them im sure you can come to some sort of sensible repayment good luck

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 05 Aug 2016, 08:05

maybe get a commsave loan ? will let you spread the amount more reasonably, just an idea.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 05 Aug 2016, 08:36

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 84&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; CWU Overpayments Recovery Procedure

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 05 Aug 2016, 10:39

Dont get a commsave loan.
Speak to the union, it's against the the law to make you pay 100% of wages

ThatsNotPlumb · Post by **ThatsNotPlumb** » 05 Aug 2016, 12:10

I was overpaid for a few weeks in succession when on leave, when I returned they knew about it and wanted to claim money back in full and I told them no as I'd already spent money & I wouldn't be able to live on buttons for 2 weeks so take it in installments. Which they did, think it was like £10 or so each time till the amount owed was paid.

I hadn't spent all the money though as I did notice payslips, but the person that came to me, not a regular manager, was so passively aggressive about it as if it was my fault, I decided to make things awkward for them.

andy.m · Post by **andy.m** » 05 Aug 2016, 13:50

Exact same happened to myself. Went on career break and was paid the week after I went away, which I didn't even know about as I didn't use my Uk bank account while I was away. Came back 1 year later and was told by HR the full amount would have to be taken, which they did. They took full amount (£320ish) which was my full first wage after returning. Manager to me to contact HR, and they were absolute adamant that it had to be paid in full.

mickeymacca · Post by **mickeymacca** » 05 Aug 2016, 18:05

Must be standard policy because it happened to me on my career break as well for about 4 weeks, luckily as I went on my break half way through tax year the overpayment came out of the excess tax I paid for the year. It is shambolic, considering how much notice you give before going on a break, that they can't stop your wages accordingly, i'm guessing its a managers error rather than a HR one, and I'm sure HR would respond sympathetically, good luck

Williamleeds · Post by **Williamleeds** » 08 Aug 2016, 17:49

Hi

Thanks for the replies.I tried hr they were adamant they would not help & that correct procedure was followed.O asked them where was the correspondence informing me of the pay error & how it was calculated & they just fobbed me off,said it was my responsibility to check my bank etc even though I was abroad & had no internet banking or idea what had happened.Im annoyed that my managers will not help at all despite ringing me up whilst I'm on my sabbatical & telling me I could pay back in weekly format.This has now been conveniently forgotten.They now give me extra work beyond my 5 hours thinking I should be great full of the chance of repaying there error.Im fuming they've been really underhand with all of this.Can the union do anything if hr won't?
Cheers again for any help

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 08 Aug 2016, 21:30

The good news is you had an interest free loan.

Post by **Lincox** » 08 Aug 2016, 21:38

Why would the union help when you are not a member? Union members pay a weekly subscription in order to protect themselves against employers who deal with their employees in an underhanded manner.
I suggest that you write to Human Resources pointing out the difficulties that you find yourself in and make them an offer of an amount that you can afford on a weekly basis to settle the overpayment, and point out in a nice manner that you understand that the employer is not legally able to deduct 100% of your wages. Part of employment law is that the employee must receive at least national minimum wage, but in the first instance I would take a low key request and give them the chance to help you out.