Reply to: Dispute on paid invoice from last year

[Contreras]

However as there was the dispute with the original agency they asked us to fill out a spreadsheet and include any unpaid invoices, which i did and then updated as per the request when the overlap of dates was highlighted. The company payed me directly rather than through the agency. However they sent me the original invoiced amount and not the revised figure!

Just to be clear, the client paid 'You' directly, or 'YourCo' directly.?

My contract finished in December last year and i am now consulting elsewhere. They have been in touch via email only stating they now realise their mistake, asking for the funds to be returned.

A perfectly reasonable request. Their next step would be to pursue a legal claim, and you really don't want that.

[Lance]

If you take some of the bad advice given by some on here who are well known for giving poor advice, you may find yourself in deep water for committing fraud.

THIS ^^^^^^^ in spades.

At the end of the day, you (OP) know you've been overpaid. That means you owe the money back. End of story.
Well, it would be the end of the story if you knew who you should pay back. And as you may well have breached two different contracts with two different agencies you need to be careful how you approach this.

Step 1) Know the facts. If there are any that aren't clear find out. Discuss with the client who they've paid, and when, and for what.
Step 2) Know what facts the agencies know. They might have different facts to you.
Step 3) repay the owed money, to the correct place, and ensure you get in writing that it is in full and final settlement of the dispute.
Step 4) Tell the other parties what you've done, in writing, with the evidence as to how you've made that determination, and ask for acceptance that it is agreed and full and final.

At least then you can demonstrated to have acted in good faith (eventually) so in court you'll not look like a crook (if it ever gets that far).

[WTFH]

No answer to this. I suspect it was pretty soon after the second payment was received.

There's bits of the story that don't ring true and maybe if the OP came back to fill in the gaps that would help.
Most replies have focused on how to keep the money, ignoring these parts.

e.g.

Hi, I have been contacted by a company i used to provide consulting services to saying they have paid me twice. This was done in oct/nov 2019

How many days/weeks pay was sent incorrectly?

... mid contract they asked me to switch agencies as they had a dispute with the original one...

Did you discuss this with the original agency?

I did make them aware of this at the time and they asked me to update the invoices accordingly.

There was an overlap of dates, but you are paid based on invoices. Are you saying you deliberately invoiced two different agencies for the same piece of work?

they asked us to fill out a spreadsheet and include any unpaid invoices,

Unpaid or past due?

The company payed me directly rather than through the agency

This would be in breach of contract you had with one or both agencies.

However they sent me the original invoiced amount and not the revised figure!

At what point did you notice that they had not paid what you had invoiced but a completely different figure?

My contract finished in December

So, they got you to switch agencies for 1 month of work, or is there more to the story? When was your contract due to end?

... they messed me around so much and it was very stressful at the time.

How did "they" mess you around?
Who is the "they" you are referring to? Is it the original agent, the new agent, the client, or someone else?

Does anyone know from a legal perspective where i stand / where the customer stands.

You should only worry about where you stand. You've been paid money you weren't owed and are refusing to return it.

From my perspective all invoices have been paid...

No they haven't.
Unpicking what you said, you submitted an invoice to agency 1.
Was that invoice paid by that agency?
Did you ever send a cancellation invoice to agency 1 when you filled out the spreadsheet saying you hadn't been paid?

You appear to have submitted an invoice to agency 2 (or direct to the client) for the same work as you had submitted to agency 1.
This has then been paid at a different value to that of the invoice. Therefore the payment does not match the invoice. Your accountant should have picked up on that when preparing your year end accounts.

What it sounds like to me is that you got paid twice for a piece of work, and now the client and agency 1 are in a legal battle as to why the client has to pay them, given that you got paid direct.

If you take some of the bad advice given by some on here who are well known for giving poor advice, you may find yourself in deep water for committing fraud.

[Paralytic]

At what point did YOU know you'd been paid twice????

OP.. When did you know you'd been over paid?

No answer to this. I suspect it was pretty soon after the second payment was received.

[jayn200]

I've had a couple different companies double pay an invoice over the years. I actually had this happen just a couple months ago because the person who usually pays it was furloughed and whoever paid it just didn't know what they were doing (I am contracting direct with end client).

I always notify them immediately and just apply the amount to a future invoice. That is much easier to deal with and also helps to build trust with the person paying your invoice. Remember that in some companies they get to influence who gets paid and who is going to get paid late when they are short on cash so being nice to them can only work in your favour. Of course it's too late for that in your case but if you owe them the money you need to pay it, just ask your accountant what's the best way to handle the return their payment given that it's a new tax year.

It's not just another company on the other side, there is a real human who made a mistake and is trying to rectify it and you are most likely legally obligated to return the over payment anyway. Just be a good person and help sort it out.

[SueEllen]

Just say sorry due to Covid-19 you can currently only afford to pay them £x a month.

Then just before the company accounts are submitted pay them the full amount.

[northernladuk]

OP.. When did you know you'd been over paid?

[billybiro]

Empty the company by paying yourself a fat salary

Start a new limited company. Let them sue the old one.

I would not give it back

This.

Put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. Imagine the company owed you money. How easy do you think they'd make it for you to get that money? Now switch it back around. Keep everything above board and understand that you may well have to pay that money back eventually, but if it were me, I'd be dragging this out for as long as possible and I'd not make it easy for them at all. Remember, the longer you can keep hold of their money, the more interest you can earn on it that you get to keep.

[elsergiovolador]

If you have been paid twice then return the money. Not sure why are you even have any doubts. Just make sure it goes to the right company.

[LondonPM1]

Hi, I have been contacted by a company i used to provide consulting services to saying they have paid me twice. This was done in oct/nov 2019

Initially i started with one agency, then mid contract they asked me to switch agencies as they had a dispute with the original one. I did and signed the new contract. There was an overlap of dates as the new contract had a start date a week in the past ! I did make them aware of this at the time and they asked me to update the invoices accordingly.

However as there was the dispute with the original agency they asked us to fill out a spreadsheet and include any unpaid invoices, which i did and then updated as per the request when the overlap of dates was highlighted. The company payed me directly rather than through the agency. However they sent me the original invoiced amount and not the revised figure!

My contract finished in December last year and i am now consulting elsewhere. They have been in touch via email only stating they now realise their mistake, asking for the funds to be returned.

From my perspective i kind of want to tell the company to go and whistle as they messed me around so much and it was very stressful at the time.

Does anyone know from a legal perspective where i stand / where the customer stands. From my perspective all invoices have been paid and last years accounts are closed.. I think if i was to challenge the customer to show *all invoices for my services for us to conduct an investigation they would struggle as they don't seem to know their a55 from their elbow and typically are an offshore organisation and hide behind email address's.

thanks in advance. Nazzer

Empty the company by paying yourself a fat salary

Start a new limited company. Let them sue the old one.

I would not give it back

[northernladuk]

At what point did YOU know you'd been paid twice????

[TheDogsNads]

Hi, I have been contacted by a company i used to provide consulting services to saying they have paid me twice. This was done in oct/nov 2019

Initially i started with one agency, then mid contract they asked me to switch agencies as they had a dispute with the original one. I did and signed the new contract. There was an overlap of dates as the new contract had a start date a week in the past ! I did make them aware of this at the time and they asked me to update the invoices accordingly.

However as there was the dispute with the original agency they asked us to fill out a spreadsheet and include any unpaid invoices, which i did and then updated as per the request when the overlap of dates was highlighted. The company payed me directly rather than through the agency. However they sent me the original invoiced amount and not the revised figure!

My contract finished in December last year and i am now consulting elsewhere. They have been in touch via email only stating they now realise their mistake, asking for the funds to be returned.

From my perspective i kind of want to tell the company to go and whistle as they messed me around so much and it was very stressful at the time.

Does anyone know from a legal perspective where i stand / where the customer stands. From my perspective all invoices have been paid and last years accounts are closed.. I think if i was to challenge the customer to show *all invoices for my services for us to conduct an investigation they would struggle as they don't seem to know their a55 from their elbow and typically are an offshore organisation and hide behind email address's.

thanks in advance. Nazzer

The simple test here is, if you or your accountant discovered you hadnt been paid for a week, would you want paying by the agency?

Not wanting to pay back an error doesnt mean you're entitled to keep the money. You should look at your contract to see what it says about 'overpayments' and \ or errors.

If they've asked for it back and they can show they have paid you twice for the same week, Id pay it back however reluctant I was. But that's just me and I suspect you're looking for forum approval to tell them to whistle.

[BlasterBates]

Hi, and thanks for your input. The more i think about this, i actually never had a relationship directly with the end client. It was always with the agencies. However when the dispute started and a risk of not being paid the client contacted us directly asking for copies upaid invoices etc and paid us directly. There was a supporting document that went with that saying in no such way we have a relationship and they were just helping out the original agency. They wanted us to sign it and send it back. I never did.

So to turn around months later asking for money back, its a bit of a strange situation. Thanks again

Well, the fact that they transferred payment directly to you means they have a valid reason for arguing over payment, ie. it isn't simply between you and the agency. This is not clear cut, and you simply have to take your chances they don't pursue it. It is complicated, I suspect a lawyer will probably tell you the same thing.

My view would be if I was overpaid I'd pay it back, but in this case I would deduct costs to cover your accountant and VAT which you can't easily get refunded.

[nazzer]

You're normally obliged to pay the agency back if he overpaid. This should normally be sorted out when you check your payments to prevent these kind of problems.

I’ve Been Overpaid! What Should I Do? | Crunch

You'd need to consult a lawyer to see whether you can find an argument not to pay it back. Basically you've been paid twice for the same weeks work for which the client is normally entitled to a refund, however as you mentioned this was several months ago.

If you do pay it back you need to discuss with your accountant about how to account for VAT. Maybe you can get the agency to compensate.

Hi, and thanks for your input. The more i think about this, i actually never had a relationship directly with the end client. It was always with the agencies. However when the dispute started and a risk of not being paid the client contacted us directly asking for copies upaid invoices etc and paid us directly. There was a supporting document that went with that saying in no such way we have a relationship and they were just helping out the original agency. They wanted us to sign it and send it back. I never did.

So to turn around months later asking for money back, its a bit of a strange situation. Thanks again

[BlasterBates]

You're normally obliged to pay the agency back if he overpaid. This should normally be sorted out when you check your payments to prevent these kind of problems.

I’ve Been Overpaid! What Should I Do? | Crunch

You'd need to consult a lawyer to see whether you can find an argument not to pay it back. Basically you've been paid twice for the same weeks work for which the client is normally entitled to a refund, however as you mentioned this was several months ago.

If you do pay it back you need to discuss with your accountant about how to account for VAT. Maybe you can get the agency to compensate.