Money Help Desk: Do I have to return cash paid in error?

I RECENTLY ended my employment with an engineering group.

About two weeks after terminating my employment, I received a letter from them advising me of an overpayment to my salary of approximately 1,000 and asking me to arrange for a cheque for the amount to be sent to them. No detail as to how the overpayment was made, only to advise me it was an overpayment of holidays. How do I stand legally?

JJ, via e-mail

Chris Leitch, associate with Tods Murray's employment team, writes:

Mistakes in paying sums on termination are surprisingly common. The first thing I would do would be to ask your employer in writing exactly how the overpayment is broken down and check if they are right about your holiday pay.

If you actually have been paid more than was due under your contract of employment then your former employer could sue you for the money, interest and potentially seek court costs if you don't pay it back when it is demanded.

If you have definitely been overpaid and you have a cash flow problem you could always try to arrange instalment payments. They might agree, given the mistake was caused by the company in the first place.

Can you help solve mystery of missing shares?

WE HELD very small amounts of shares with five companies through Mansion House. Unfortunately, since the demise of Mansion House we are finding it very difficult to find any details of the shares.

We have checked with Companies House, who confirm that it looks like the companies in question are still trading. Can you help us to find out if this is the case and whether they are still floating on a stock exchange somewhere and, if so, where we can access the share price? The companies are Allied Oil and Gas, Bushveld Platinum, Hilton Head, Diamonds Sui Generis and Allied Gold Resources.

R&H W

Kristian Overend, a partner at stockbrokers Killik & Co, writes:

After quite a bit of digging around it would appear these stocks are of negligible value. Bushveld Platinum, which was acquired by Australian Motor Finance Group Limited, is currently suspended from the Australian Stock Exchange and Hilton Head withdrew from the PLUS-quoted market in London in January 2010. There also appeared to be a connection between an individual working as non-executive director for both Bushveld Platinum and Diamonds Sui Generis (both firms' addresses appear listed as Yorkshire Building Society).

Allied Oil and Gas as well as Allied Gold Resources are both registered to a mailing address in Croydon and have both changed auditors due to "unprofessional conduct" and also deny that the companies have debts and state that directors are not taking salaries.

Other than the two Allied companies, the firms don't appear to have websites and there is very little further information relating to them on the web.

We have collated some more background information for the reader and will forward this to help them pursue matters further.

Will I end up counting my losses in pension revamp?

HAVING retired, I am very interested in the statements regarding the improvement of the basic state pension but am alarmed at comments which appear to link in the additional enhancements (SERPS etc) and even suggest that these will now be absorbed into this projected improved state pension.

I was encouraged throughout my working life not to opt out of SERPS etc as the investment would enhance my old age state pension. Am I now to assume this new government is proposing to default on the contract I made with the state?

If the projections in the press, regarding the elimination of the SERPS and other additional benefits, are correct then the government will slash what is effectively my second pension and dramatically cut my standard of living in retirement.

Any reduction in my current state pension, including the SERPS and other benefits, would be a betrayal of that trust, and if you cannot trust your own government to honour its commitments then just who can you trust?

AM, via e-mail

Teresa Hunter writes:

So far, details of what the government is planning by way of a universal state pension is patchy. We are expecting more details before the end of the year. Piecing together what information we have been given, it appears the government is keen to introduce a state pension of 140 for everyone.

Such an outcome would be extremely welcome. The state pension system in its present form is far too complicated and leads to great uncertainty in pension planning. The difficulty for the government will be how it reaches this outcome, as in moving to such a system it seems inevitable that although many will benefit, some will get less than they were expecting.

It is likely the basic state pension, additional state pension and pension credit will be rolled together to produce the 140 universal state pension. It seems unthinkable that those who have contracted out of the additional state pension will not have this 'universal' state pension reduced to reflect that.

How those who have contracted in will be treated remains to be seen, but I would expect the government to protect the entitlement of those who have already started drawing their state pension and possibly even those who are close to drawing their state pension. For many people this change to the state pension will necessitate a review of their plans; watch this space.

Readers should seek independent financial advice before taking action. Replies to readers' queries are offered on the basis that no legal liability is created thereby.

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