Wow, a free $2,700 that I have to give back.

[Slappy]

I switched jobs/careers a few weeks ago after settling up financially with them, my previous employer still paid me direct deposit. There are so many productive uses I could do with the extra money but I know I need to give it back to them, sucks doesn't it?

[xRUSTYx]

wait ... what? You have been paid continuously although you don't work there anymore? is that what you are talking about?

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I know some folks would just keep it but others like yourself and me for that matter would not feel right about it.

The folks who would just keep it may or may not ever end up having to pay it back. It would sure suck to keep it and then at the most inopportune time have them ask for it back. I think it would be hard for them to collect but I still would not feel right about it.

I know in the military from time to time they would over-pay folks but then once they realized it they would just withhold it back from your pay. I dont know how it would work for a civilian company. They cant just debit your account and you no longer have a paycheck from them for them to deduct it from.

If a company sends you something in the mail that you did not order, you can legally keep it, or so I have been told, it has never happened to me. I have gotten bills I dont owe but never no goodies I didnt pay for.

I would say call them and tell them about it, there is a slight chance that they will tell you to just keep it. Certainly a slight chance but it is possible and if they do you wont feel like you have done anything wrong because you would not have.

If the company is large enough it may well be too much of a PITA for them to figure out how to take it back so they may would say just keep it.

I would just call them about it if it was me.

[Dolomite_supafly]

It is legal for an employer to reverse a direct deposit. From a little research on the web the company has 5 days to do a reversal and get a refund from your account. After the five days if they haven't taken the money out of your account they can't get it by reversing the payment.

After the five days I would call them and notify them of what has happened. Then when they say they want their money back I would do this.

Cut a personal check for the exact amount you were overpaid. Make the check out to your previous employer and mail it to them. Make sure to mail it with a signature required and keep all evidence that you sent it. After that just wait but in the meantime I would put that money into a savings account to try to get interest off of it if you can. When your checking account becomes overdrawn you knw why and just transfer the money out of savings and back into checking to cover the cashed check. I suspect they will cash your check almost immediately but if they never do at least you can prove you tried to do everything to repay them. They can always come after you for that amount later but how much later I am not sure.

Dolomite

Edited November 1, 2010 by Dolomite_supafly

[Guest Armgdnman]

spend it all on hookers and blow

[Guest tnxdshooter]

It is legal for an employer to reverse a direct deposit. From a little research on the web the company has 5 days to do a reversal and get a refund from your account. After the five days if they haven't taken the money out of your account they can't get it by reversing the payment.

After the five days I would call them and notify them of what has happened. Then when they say they want their money back I would do this.

Cut a personal check for the exact amount you were overpaid. Make the check out to your previous employer and mail it to them. Make sure to mail it with a signature required and keep all evidence that you sent it. After that just wait but in the meantime I would put that money into a savings account to try to get interest off of it if you can. When your checking account becomes overdrawn you knw why and just transfer the money out of savings and back into checking to cover the cashed check. I suspect they will cash your check almost immediately but if they never do at least you can prove you tried to do everything to repay them. They can always come after you for that amount later but how much later I am not sure.

Dolomite

My previous employers had a policy to where if they screwed up on the pay roll like that then the person got to keep the money.

[Guest tnxdshooter]

It is legal for an employer to reverse a direct deposit. From a little research on the web the company has 5 days to do a reversal and get a refund from your account. After the five days if they haven't taken the money out of your account they can't get it by reversing the payment.

After the five days I would call them and notify them of what has happened. Then when they say they want their money back I would do this.

Cut a personal check for the exact amount you were overpaid. Make the check out to your previous employer and mail it to them. Make sure to mail it with a signature required and keep all evidence that you sent it. After that just wait but in the meantime I would put that money into a savings account to try to get interest off of it if you can. When your checking account becomes overdrawn you knw why and just transfer the money out of savings and back into checking to cover the cashed check. I suspect they will cash your check almost immediately but if they never do at least you can prove you tried to do everything to repay them. They can always come after you for that amount later but how much later I am not sure.

Dolomite

Ummmmmmmmmm you are aware that check kiting is illegal right?

[Guest tnxdshooter]

It is legal for an employer to reverse a direct deposit. From a little research on the web the company has 5 days to do a reversal and get a refund from your account. After the five days if they haven't taken the money out of your account they can't get it by reversing the payment.

After the five days I would call them and notify them of what has happened. Then when they say they want their money back I would do this.

Cut a personal check for the exact amount you were overpaid. Make the check out to your previous employer and mail it to them. Make sure to mail it with a signature required and keep all evidence that you sent it. After that just wait but in the meantime I would put that money into a savings account to try to get interest off of it if you can. When your checking account becomes overdrawn you knw why and just transfer the money out of savings and back into checking to cover the cashed check. I suspect they will cash your check almost immediately but if they never do at least you can prove you tried to do everything to repay them. They can always come after you for that amount later but how much later I am not sure.

Dolomite

up to 7-10 years is usually how long someone has to come after you over a civil money deal.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Ummmmmmmmmm you are aware that check kiting is illegal right?

The funds are there. It would be a problem if you didn't actually have the money and trying to float a check expecting the funds.

Dolomite

[Guest tnxdshooter]

When I did collections work for a big firm people would do that and then transfer the money over after the account was already over drawn so we got alot of people brought up on warrants for check kiting. Not real sure how, or why but I know they had the money in at least one of their accounts. So, also, in my collections experience I can tell yall 7-10 years is what you normally have to collect on something such as that. I know we (parents and I) had a renter in our duplex that skipped out and we sued them and got a judgment against them 7 years after the fact. It took that long to track em down.

[Daniel]

spend it all on hookers and blow

this.

[Slappy]

and.............they called and are taking it back out of my account. haha.

[Sean]

No hookers and blow.

[Dolomite_supafly]

No hookers and blow.

At least not nice ones.

Dolomite

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

and.............they called and are taking it back out of my account. haha.

Well Hey at least they did take the time to call and tell ya.

Ya cant buy much with that but they didnt have to even call you and now you have no decisions to make. ALL GOOD in the end.

[kckndrgn]

Cut a personal check for the exact amount you were overpaid. Make the check out to your previous employer and mail it to them. Make sure to mail it with a signature required and keep all evidence that you sent it. After that just wait but in the meantime I would put that money into a savings account to try to get interest off of it if you can. When your checking account becomes overdrawn you knw why and just transfer the money out of savings and back into checking to cover the cashed check. I suspect they will cash your check almost immediately but if they never do at least you can prove you tried to do everything to repay them. They can always come after you for that amount later but how much later I am not sure.

Dolomite

Um, ok, so you incur an overdraft charge of what $35.00 now? Are you really going to be able to get enough interest out of the money in your savings account in the short amount of time it will be there to cover that?

[Guest Jamie]

Y'know, it's not really "a free $2,700" if ya have to give it back...

Sort'a like it ain't a free beer if they won't let ya drink it.

...Just sayin'.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Um, ok, so you incur an overdraft charge of what $35.00 now? Are you really going to be able to get enough interest out of the money in your savings account in the short amount of time it will be there to cover that?

I was talking long term, not what has happened with them taking it back immediately. If the OP had $2,700 sitting in a savings account for a few months that would make him a little money while leaving it in checking generally wouldn't.

Also, I was assuming the OP does what I do and check my accounts daily. My bank lets me know 24-48 hours in advance before something is actually deducted from my account. This gives me time to move money to cover any deductions before they bring the account into an overdrawn status. The account I use for my Paypal purchases rarely has much more in it that what is needed to cover purchases. In the few instances where I had fraudulent charges on that account I was able to move money to cover them until I got everything sorted out.

Dolomite