'Demand for Repayment' from agent

**Taita** · 7 March 2013, 17:43

Originally posted by BeavisUK1 View Post

Hi guys,

My first post on contractor UK. Late last year I received a 'demand for repayment' e-mail from my previous agent. Evidently (after some back and forth) it looks like they made a mistake and overpaid me by a day for a contract I was on early in 2011. I had input the correct amount into the automated payment system, but, somehow they overpaid.

Fine, no problem - As I said to them im happy to repay them - it's not 'my money', but, I don't like the way they've gone about this. The language in e-mails has been on the aggressive side as per the quote in my title.

My question is; to verify their claims, go back through my records of two years ago and to visit and discuss with my accountant, should I not charge them an administration fee. After all, any other walk of life, banks, accountants solicitors etc would all charge for their time in such a case. I estimate it will take a good couple of hours to sort out, plus anything the accountant would charge for a short consultation.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Beavis

I too would be miffed at their attitude but firing off in return is a waste of effort unless you enjoy a little conflict from time to time.

They are entitled to the correction of a mistake made in good faith. I would charge them an admin fee of about £25 because you want to get this off your plate and get on with your life. If you ask for much more they will probably balk and you will be exchanging emails long into the summer.....

**cojak** · 7 March 2013, 17:57

Originally posted by Taita View Post

I too would be miffed at their attitude but firing off in return is a waste of effort unless you enjoy a little conflict from time to time.

They are entitled to the correction of a mistake made in good faith. I would charge them an admin fee of about £25 because you want to get this off your plate and get on with your life. If you ask for much more they will probably balk and you will be exchanging emails long into the summer.....

WTS

Ultimately it's not yours, charge them the admin fee on principle then move on.

**Alan @ BroomeAffinity** · 7 March 2013, 18:01

Never mind the accountant charging you for a short consultation, he'd be better explaining why he was able to square your debtors account at the year end with an extra payment going into your bank account.

If you had you eye on your finances you'd have noticed this overpayment at the time as well.

**northernladuk** · 7 March 2013, 18:03

Although it isn't very nice being on the receiving end and there are better ways to do it but there is something to be said for going in fast and hard. Get's the job done I am afraid.

I am sure they have tried to be nice in the past and got nowhere so switched stance.

**Wanderer** · 7 March 2013, 19:52

Originally posted by Just1morethen View Post

Never mind the accountant charging you for a short consultation, he'd be better explaining why he was able to square your debtors account at the year end with an extra payment going into your bank account. If you had you eye on your finances you'd have noticed this overpayment at the time as well.

Self billing, innit. You submit timesheets and the agency raises an invoice based on the hours worked. The invoice amount is entered into the company accounts without cross checking against the hours worked.

But yeah, I agree with the gist of what you are saying. A prudent book keeper should check each self billing invoice against the expected amount based on the timesheets in case the value is understated against the timesheet...

**Alan @ BroomeAffinity** · 7 March 2013, 20:38

Fair point Wanderer. I wouldn't mind betting however that the OP would have raised the issue much, much sooner had it been a day short rather than a day extra. But that's getting off the point, somewhat.

**BeavisUK1** · 7 March 2013, 22:08

Originally posted by Wanderer View Post

Self billing, innit. You submit timesheets and the agency raises an invoice based on the hours worked. The invoice amount is entered into the company accounts without cross checking against the hours worked.

But yeah, I agree with the gist of what you are saying. A prudent book keeper should check each self billing invoice against the expected amount based on the timesheets in case the value is understated against the timesheet...

Precisely that Wanderer... As it happens the reason it was missed was due to holiday, I just checked for a variance in the usual amount some weeks after inputting it into the automated system which is why I missed it.

Well, I replied to them earlier stating my intention to charge an administration fee... So we'll see what they have to say. It is after all their ineptitude which is causing me additional work and time lost!

@Justonemorethen - On the contrary - I have on several occasions spotted billing errors in both directions, including fairly recently a huge cockup by my agent with VAT!

**craig1** · 8 March 2013, 17:10

Quick Q: Did the agency use self-billing systems where they generate the invoice on your behalf? If so, did that invoice show the extra day of pay and you automatically used their invoice for your records? Then you'll be screwing your accounts up if you simply pay out, you'll have to issue a credit note to square away your accounts. That would also explain why you managed to get your accounts to balance at the end of the financial year.

The few times I've used agencies that generate their own invoices I've done my own then reconciled theirs against mine. Three times in total I've found errors, twice I found very small errors in VAT calculations but one was missing two days of billing. Never trust anyone else, including your accountant, to do things with your money without you at least double checking.

**IR35FanClub** · 8 March 2013, 17:51

Originally posted by Wanderer View Post

Self billing, innit. You submit timesheets and the agency raises an invoice based on the hours worked. The invoice amount is entered into the company accounts without cross checking against the hours worked.

But yeah, I agree with the gist of what you are saying. A prudent book keeper should check each self billing invoice against the expected amount based on the timesheets in case the value is understated against the timesheet...

I was about to say the same, but then I dont self bill. I know exactly what payment Im expecting once Ive sent the invoice. Too much money at stake to let someone else try and get it right. As the OP has proven.

'Demand for Repayment' from agent