Let's say someone I know was overpaid by a former employer. This employer is now asking for the money back. Ethical concerns aside, can this person be compelled to give the money back?

8/13/2012 3:17:27 PM

yes

8/13/2012 3:20:14 PM

I am just guessing at this but if they signed a contract saying they agreed to get paid a certain amount, and the company overpays on accident but then want to correct the error by asking for it back, it's their right to do that. They probably do have to give it back or face being sued.

They're probably going to get fired for not telling the company in the first place that there was a mistake.

8/13/2012 3:21:58 PM

Well, they can't bring criminal charges against you

I'm sure they could sue you for it, though.

8/13/2012 3:22:13 PM

bank error in your favor.


seriously though i got my paycheck with an extra digit once... and i informed payroll because they will get their money.

You know your hourly/monthly/annual wage and thus know this doesn't fit in it.
nor were you made aware of a bonus.

8/13/2012 3:22:26 PM

yep, and if you have direct deposit they can just take it out of your checking account electronically i believe

8/13/2012 3:28:18 PM

This person was, hypothetically, paid for one extra period at the end of the contract. S/he didn't even notice it for some time because it was direct deposit.

8/13/2012 3:31:53 PM

yes, which is why if i ever noticed 10,000,000 in my bank account or some crazy shit i would transfer/withdraw it all and leave the country forever.

8/13/2012 3:32:11 PM

this happened to me once. The check was written correctly but the code was written wrong so when the bank processed it, they put it in with an extra 0 on the end. The company went through the bank to get the money back and never had to deal with me and then bank fixed the error. If your friend doesn't rectify it his or herself, then I'm sure the company will just go through the bank if possible.

8/13/2012 3:32:40 PM

i bet they take it out of the account the same way it went in, as beatsunc suggests

8/13/2012 3:32:41 PM

My last commissions check was overpaid by $380. The company took it out just as easily as they put it in their.

8/13/2012 3:33:15 PM

What if they can't get it out cause it isn't in the account anymore?

Hypothetical person is hypothetically moving into a new place and most of their funds are tied up in that at the moment.

8/13/2012 3:35:02 PM

^ yep...

8/13/2012 3:35:11 PM

Hypothetical person's account is about to overdraft.

8/13/2012 3:36:51 PM

hypothetical guy should close the account and open a new one somewhere else

or, you know, do the right thing and pay it back

8/13/2012 3:38:18 PM

commissions are a little different than straight wages, but a company is supposed to notify you in writing of any deductions from wages...should you fight a draft from your account w/o prior autorization with the DOL, you would win.

they can always sue/send it to a collections agency, but many companies won't do that unless it was a gross overpayment since it's not really cost effective.

8/13/2012 3:41:33 PM

yeah, so with my situation, I pretty much went to town with the money. I was a kid and I was pretty stupid. First Citizens, my bank at the time, took whatever was left and then sent the rest to collections. These people will get their money back and will do whatever they can.

8/13/2012 3:44:47 PM

Minka was all




and the bank was all

8/13/2012 3:58:07 PM

Quote :

"Hypothetical person's account is about to overdraft."

8/13/2012 4:45:54 PM

honesty is the best policy

8/13/2012 5:32:51 PM

Quote :

"yep, and if you have direct deposit they can just take it out of your checking account electronically i believe"

Yes, but within certain limits. If the amount they overpaid is over a certain amount, or older than a certain time period they likely won't be able to simply transfer back the entire amount, at which point they'll ask you to write them a check for the rest. The rules for how much they can directly transfer back are complicated as it depends on your bank, and there's always the possibility the money was put elsewhere in the meantime, for which the blame doesn't fall entiiiirely on the employee.

It happens, it's business. Transactions are a bookkeeping formality in this day and age. The contract is the higher authority.

8/13/2012 6:00:25 PM

Quote :

"yes, which is why if i ever noticed 10,000,000 in my bank account or some crazy shit i would transfer/withdraw it all and leave the country forever."

whatcha gonna do when they come for you: http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/051812_NJ_man_arrested_after_bank_error.html

here's a bigger example: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/man-arrested-after-bank-s-mistake/article_67fd1ff3-1d5c-59b7-a1cb-33bfcb720acb.html

and yes they will cross national borders: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15129689

seriously, don't fuck around with bank errors: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-20/news/32339696_1_abc-news-detroit-man-bank-account

8/13/2012 6:02:22 PM

Quote :

"yep, and if you have direct deposit they can just take it out of your checking account electronically i believe"

Im with SECU, and according to someone I spoke with there recently, having an account number and routing number would allow someone to both deposit and withdraw from a checking account. However, that information would NOT allow them to withdraw from a savings account. That may be SECU specific, but that was what I was told.

8/13/2012 6:13:40 PM

^ this is consistent with my knowledge

8/13/2012 6:39:16 PM

8/13/2012 6:40:38 PM

^^^Wait. So if I wrote someone a check (which has the routing/acct # on it), they could withdraw money at any time from my acct?
That can't be right.

8/13/2012 9:01:59 PM

8/14/2012 4:38:17 AM

^^ direct deposit is more than just giving someone your account and routing numbers.

8/14/2012 9:39:15 AM

I once received a bonus check that was 1000 more than I expected. It was at the end of the year so I "assumed" end of year bonuses were more than regular ones. I promptly booked a trip to NYC to see friends and spent every penny.

3 Months later my boss spoke to me about it but they never asked for the money back.

8/14/2012 9:45:04 AM

^^

Quote :

"having an account number and routing number would allow someone to both deposit and withdraw from a checking account"

they weren't talking about direct deposit

8/14/2012 9:59:45 AM

bad investments were probably antiques and blow

8/14/2012 11:29:27 AM

Quote :

" LESSER FUNDED LOVELL "

8/14/2012 11:58:53 AM

http://consumerist.com/2008/02/commerce-bank-accidentally-gives-you-5-million.html

8/14/2012 12:02:39 PM

Quote :

"The lesser-funded Lovell gave away some of the withdrawn money and blew some of it on gifts, but lost much of it on bad investments, prosecutors said. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331536,00.html#ixzz23XNrrHXO "

8/14/2012 12:09:39 PM

Hypothetical person is dumb to use money they hadn't rightfully earned for moving expenses. It doesn't matter if it's a mistake or not, the money does not belong to the hypothetical person.

8/14/2012 12:55:28 PM

Quote :

"^^^Wait. So if I wrote someone a check (which has the routing/acct # on it), they could withdraw money at any time from my acct? That can't be right."

I find this statement amusing. Obviously from the context I understand what you mean, but that is still the point of a check: it contains all the information needed to withdraw money from your checking account.

8/14/2012 1:42:31 PM