Advice please. My employer underpaid me and i have incurred bank charges. Can i claim them back?

Question

Ok, I'm in the UK so relevant answers please.

My employer (a global company) got my wages wrong and I was underpaid. Due to this i went over my limit at the bank by £20 and got charged £30.

The amount i was underpaid by was more than £20 so if my wages had been correct I wouldn't have been charged by the bank.

Can I claim the charges back from my employer? They seem to think not. Please help me here.

Answer 1

I don't think the UK matters in the question.  If you are in a contract with a company, that says you get paid x amount of dollars, and they don't give you x amount of dollars, you can sue them.  As for paying the bank fees, they can tell you that you are in charge of knowing what is in your bank account, and spending appropriately.  

Answer 2

Oh heavens, dear woman, how tempestuous and turmoilous for you!

Shall I sic the corgies on your employers? A transnational will surely have the means to reimburse you £30. It's far less significant to their bottom line than to yours.

Try the forums at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com. It's Martin Lewis' site, you know, that adorable man from the telly. They're a veritable font of knowledge and wisdom when it comes to bank charges and other money matters.

Best of luck to you, darling. x

Answer 3

Speak to the bank very nicely explaining the situation. Plead with them that this was beyond your control and hope for the best - usually works for me!

Answer 4

I would remind your employer in a letter that they have a duty to pay you as per your contract. Anything less then they are in breach of it.

Ask for your bank charges from your employer. You are not a charity and any under-payment from your employer is giving them an interest free loan.

Check out the Industrial Tribunal website.

Answer 5

In this day and age it should be easy enough to check your available balance on-line (and account for payments that have not cleared yet).

Mistakes are made sometimes.  My employer actually took back a direct deposit and sent me a check instead when they accidentally paid me too much.  But they called me to let me know.

The best you can do is plead with the bank, assuming you brought it back positive and are not in the habit of overdrafts.