A woman says her workplace asked her to pay back $1,000 that it accidentally overpaid her. The only problem? She says she already spent the money.
TikTok user Ashley (@ashmani95) posted the video in which she describes the situation on Aug. 2. “My employer wants me to pay them $1,000, because apparently back in November they overpaid me,” she says to start the video.
She continues, “How is that my problem? That y’all don’t know where you put your money. That is not my problem. And, baby, that [expletive] gone. It came in November. And it left in November. This just seems like a personal problem, and you just gotta take the loss. This is not my problem.
Viewers weigh in on the situation
The video has amassed more than 16,000 views since it was posted. Several users pointed out in the comments that not returning money accidentally deposited into your account can be considered theft.
One user wrote, “Nope, they will simply deduct it. Look, you knew. You knew.”
A second user said, “the fact is you knew when it happened and said or did nothing it’s considered stealing and they can and will get it back and it’s legal for them to do so.”
However, not everyone agreed Ashley is in the wrong. One user said, “Their payroll should’ve had their stuff together.” Ashley replied, “Facts.”
@ashmani95 Sorry no returns after 30 days 🤷🏽♀️ #work #money #moneyback #job #notmyproblem #workproblems ♬ original sound – Ashley
Ashley says she didn’t know until her employer told her
In a follow-up video, Ashley says she didn’t knowingly do anything wrong. “So this is a period of time when I was transitioning from full-time to part-time work, so I wasn’t aware, really, of how much I was supposed to be paid really,” she explains. “And I don’t typically look at my paycheck. I have direct deposit. I don’t know many people who look at their paycheck all the time.”
Additionally, Ashley revealed that she received a severance during this period of time. That is another reason that $1,000 extra in her account did not seem suspicious to her. In the comments, several users said this is not a good excuse.
Is it illegal to keep money paid on accident?
According to HRC Law, receiving money from a business in error could be known as unjust enrichment. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Ashley did something criminally wrong. While a court could potentially award her employer a judgement, “There may be a defence available for the recipient where they change their position to their detriment as a result of the payment,” the article states.
It continues, “This could be buying something with the windfall which they would not have bought without it. However, this does not mean that the recipient can rush off to spend money to avoid paying it back. This change of position defence only applies where the recipient is acting in good faith. They will not be acting in good faith if they spend the money believing (or having a suspicion that) it was paid in error, or that they were not otherwise entitled to it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ashley via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.
Update Aug. 25, 12:40am CT: In a comment to the Daily Dot, Ashley wrote, “At the moment, [the situation] has not been resolved. I reviewed their calculations and it was incorrect, so I sent them what it should be and they stated they’d get back to me.”
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