My Last Contact Double Paid Me...Now They Want It Back!

[Taita]

Firstly, it's not theft. It is known as unjust enrichment. Secondly, contrary to the howling from the unwashed there is a defence. It's known as Change of position, there's a lot of stuff out there on the internet, however you can read about it here. That is an article for an American Law Review, but it does concern the English position. There are better articles out there, but you would have to pay for them.

The basic concept is that you'd have to argue you've put yourself into a 'worse' position due to you receiving the unjust enrichment. The fact that you are now worse off than before is not a defence, there needs to be a link between the additional money and you being worse off, for example you received an extra £1000 in your pay and thinking it was a bonus, you proceed to invest it in shares that then take a tanking and you lose the money. You'd really need to consult legal advice if arguing that and be prepared for the other side to sue you. If they win, as it is >5K you would be liable for all costs, however if you won they would be liable for yours. If it proceeded to court, the other side would claim interest on the figure as well, calculated daily from the date of the overpayments.

To conclude, you have done nothing that is morally wrong. If, as you state, you honestly had no idea you were being overpaid then you there is an argument that you should not be liable for their mistake. To use as an example, a bank overpays you £25000 into your account. You notice it and before you can report it to the bank your account is hacked and the £25000 is stolen. Does anyone here honestly think that the person in question should still be liable for the £25k?

OP, perhaps you should negotiate with the other side? Advise you'll pay back half the money over a period of time.

Agreed. There is a defence in favour of the OP's position. However, it revolves on genuinely not knowing that he had undeservedly been enriched. That would involve believing that there was a reason to expect additional payment - a bonus perhaps. However, there was absolutely no reason for that in this case and as a reasonable, intelligent human being there is also a duty of care. Finally the legal doctrine of genuine mistake could be invoked. This allows the maker of a mistake to reasonably recover their loss. The offer of an instalment plan could cover this.

Leaving the legal position aside, I am encouraged by the outrage here at the OP's presumption that he has some right to profit from another's genuine error. If somebody finds his wallet in the street are they legally entitled to its contents because he was careless enough to lose it?