Solicitor asking for money back!!

[racy tracy]

to tsx....when i rang i was asked to confirm security and then i was put through to my claim handler, I didnt actually mention figures or amounts I just said that I had received a cheque and I wanted to check that it was right and also to double check if there was anything else that I needed to do, i.e. send payment to anyone etc. My claim handler said no there wasn't anything else for me to do but if I wanted her to she would confirm this with her manager, I said yes if you dont mind and so she put me on hold. When she came back on the phone I was told yes the cheque i had received was correct and no, there was nothing else that i needed to do now, i was ok to go ahead and pay the cheque into my bank. Also surely it wouldnt be up to me to start diviing money up and sending it off, that would be the job for my solicitor to do. Hope that makes it more clearer

[Ganymede]

I would have thought the Insurers would have had to settle the Physio bill, if the contract is with them.

 

 

 

No that is not correct.

 

The OP is legally responsible for the physio costs and were paid them in error.

 

The OP needs to pay the physio direct or return the £440.00 to the solicitors otherwise the physio could sue the OP for the money.

[Ganymede]

so, if I stick to my guns and refuse to pay this money back as I accepted the cheque in good faith that it was correct, and because I also have it in writing from the solicitors that the cheque is in full and final payment on a 100% basis, and because I double checked that it was correct by ringing up, I wont be doing anything wrong by refusing to repay the money?

 

I spoke to my brother in law about this last night and his opinion is......when a solicitor sends any letters out they have to be checked and verified ESPECIALLY when the letter contains secure information as a cheque etc. In this case, the same claim handler has been dealing with my claim from the beginning so every time I ring and am asked to quote my ref no, that is so they can put me through to the right person who has been dealing with it. He said what he thinks has happened is......the third party has sent my solicitor a cheque for £2940.00, then my solicitor or claim handler should of deducted the £440.00 from that, and sent me a cheque for the remainder, but they haven't done this. The claim handler has instead, drafted a letter stating that the £2940.00 is in full and final settlement, and then proceeded to send that with the cheque out to myself. This is when she should of realised her mistake and either followed that up with an immediate phone call or another letter explaining the mistake that she had made, but she didnt. Even so, she still had the opportunity to check again when I rang to acknowledge receipt of the cheque, but she didn't. So my brother in law thinks that she may of only realised her mistake, possibly when the physio people got in touch to chase the payment, she has then realised what has happened and rang me asking to return the money. He doesn't seem to think that it will go any further, he suspects that after speaking to her manager yesterday, she will have had a good telling off and been told to write the remainder off as a loss, because he doesnt think the solicitor would take it further, purely based on the fact that I have a letter stating that the payment was in full and final settlement and he says that that would stand up in any court in the land, as that is the last form of contact that I have from the solicitors and so super seeds any other contact either by letter or telephone

 

 

 

You are getting confused and are mistaken over the meaning of full & final settlement.

 

Your claim has been settle din full by the TPI and the £440.00 is part of that settlement. You are still responsible for your physio so just pay it back.

[racy tracy]

well since that phone call i haven't had another phone call or a letter from them, which if I was still expected to pay the money back, i thought i would have heard something by now. To Gannmede, I understand what you are saying regarding payment of the physio, but surely im not responsible for paying that. I was told that my solicitor would send payment to them out of my settlement, and i know that they haven't done that and instead have just sent the full payment to me. But surely I cant be blamed for that....can i? after all im not the solicitor here.....and i know that it is probably a genunie mistake but i reiterate what i have said earlier........that when I received the cheque, because it was for more than what I was expecting I rang my solicitor up and asked them to confirm that it was correct, and then did........so from my point of view, what have i done wrong? I have done everything resonable to check that what I received was correct, and I was told as much by my solicitor.....and now it feels like im doing something wrong.......im so confused, im now wishing i hadn't bothered with the flipping injury claim and just put up with the pain (

[Ganymede]

Just pay it back. End of problem.

[racy tracy]

i cant pay it back as i know longer have the money. It has been used to clear my bank overdraft, clear unpaid bills going back 6 months, pay off credit cards, buy road tax, insurance and tyres for my car and to pay money back owed to my parents, and as i am out of work, I have no incoming funds to pay it back

[Ganymede]

Well you may get lucky and the solicitors may pay the physio and then write if off if you tell them you have spent it.

 

Really you should have figured it out when you had the cheque but hey ho.

[racy tracy]

ok, but i did figure it out that i had possibly received the wrong amount thats why i rang my solicitor to check, and then i was told that the amount id received was correct, there was nothing else that I needed to do now other than pay the cheque into my bank, and thats the end of it........i suppose il just have to wait and see if anything comes of it in the future, and if they do get back in touch and insist that i pay the money back, then the only way that I will be able to do that would be, x amount of pounds per week. Its certainly a lesson learned.....