w124bob Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Firstly apologies if this is in the wrong forum , but it's not directly related to trains. My son has received a letter from Abellio regarding just over £2k in over payed wages for period in September of this year, oddly he has never worked for them and does not work for the current TOC either. He applied for a temp job(bus replacement, man in yellow vest on station approach) in the summer of 2016 but never took up the offer, so clearly there is a c*** *p. The letter has an incorrect email for the head of HR but other details, persons name, an address in London SE5 which tallies with the Abellio London bus headquarters are correct. It also states a TUPE date of the 11th Sept as the tranfer to Arriva. So any Northern empployees had similar letters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Moxy Posted October 7, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2017 (edited) I don't work for Northern, but reading what you describe, that sounds to me like some sort of scam. Head office address (and possibly even HR manager's name) would be on public record, but an incorrect e-mail address on an official letter? More like fake e-mail address designed to get recipient to possibly disclose sensitive personal information. Either ignore it, or refer it to his union rep. If he hasn't worked for them then he can't be asked to repay wages he hasn't had. It could be an error, but my gut feeling tells me it's a phishing scam of some sort. Another thought occurs, if your wages are wrong, don't HMRC usually write to you to adjust your tax code? HTH Moxy Edited October 7, 2017 by Moxy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted October 7, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2017 Oh god, TUPE....what a nightmare that was. One of the reasons I left HR. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 A long while ago, but when I was working for Pye in Cambridge they overpaid me one week. When I queried it with the wages dept., I was told to keep it, saying that it was illegal for them to claim it back. I don't know if that is actually true however! Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Dread Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 (edited) A number of years ago now, my employer paid my wages directly into my bank account. In the bank statement sent to me at the end of the following quarter it showed a double wages payment. I called in at the bank and inquired why and was told my employer had indeed paid me twice. The following day, at work I rang the finance department and was told they would get back to me. After three weeks I received no reply and so I tried the bank again. They advised me to open a new account and park the excess money there for six months. After this time I was told I could claim the money. This I did and heard no more. Edited October 7, 2017 by Judge Dread Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted October 7, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 7, 2017 Rule 1- Don't contact anyone asking for money. It sounds like a scam where if you reply to the email address they have a way into your personal details. Personally I would do nothing unless there is a second attempt to make contact. If there was I would contact them via a Signed For letter to the M.D. by name, asking him what is going on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Rule 1- Don't contact anyone asking for money. It sounds like a scam where if you reply to the email address they have a way into your personal details.... Rule 2: if in doubt, refer to Rule 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Saunders Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 The one thing never to ignore is a court summons as it means if you ignore it the balifs can call as you have been found guilty in absence! It is a scam several companies have fallen for as they know there is no debt but the court does not know that! Mark Saunders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted October 7, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2017 Is there any reporting mechanism to send stuff like this to so authorities are alerted? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Is there any reporting mechanism to send stuff like this to so authorities are alerted? I suppose you could try Inaction Fraud..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted October 7, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2017 Is there any reporting mechanism to send stuff like this to so authorities are alerted? I believe it to be a total waste of time. Just keep rubbish for a short time & see if anything further comes of it - most unlikely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted October 8, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 8, 2017 I believe it to be a total waste of time. Just keep rubbish for a short time & see if anything further comes of it - most unlikely. But the firms involved should be informed. The scammers obviously got his e-mail address from somewhere and I can't imagine them randomly selecting people for a scam such as this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 (edited) I would ignore it at first (why waste any effort on what is probably a scam), then if contacted again I would contact the TOC involved by using a proper email and not using one of the emails in the letter. Edited October 8, 2017 by royaloak Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted October 9, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2017 But the firms involved should be informed. The scammers obviously got his e-mail address from somewhere and I can't imagine them randomly selecting people for a scam such as this. It could be from anyone's infected computer, perhaps a friend's or family member. In that sense it isn't random but from an address book. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Alternatively the scam could be internal fraud at Abellio, someone generating wage payments on a 'ghost employee' created on the basis of real interview information. As BoD suggests, either directly or via the union contact Abellio to obtain a statement that he has never been an employee. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 Having spent time on the phone at Abellio HQ I have established that the letter is real but has been sent to the wrong person. Same intial and surname, the wheels are in motion to remove my sons name from their records. Thank fully it would appear to affect less than 10 people so is easy to track back, HR person knew as soon as I confirmed my sons christian name that they have a crossed wire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted October 10, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 10, 2017 Having spent time on the phone at Abellio HQ I have established that the letter is real but has been sent to the wrong person. Same intial and surname, the wheels are in motion to remove my sons name from their records. Thank fully it would appear to affect less than 10 people so is easy to track back, HR person knew as soon as I confirmed my sons christian name that they have a crossed wire. They have also ignored the data protection act as well. Whilst he was an applicant for employment, he never took up the offer, as such he should not be on their records as an 'active' employee able to receive income. I would question them further as to what information they hold on him as he has already been confused with another. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted October 10, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 10, 2017 They have also ignored the data protection act as well. Whilst he was an applicant for employment, he never took up the offer, as such he should not be on their records as an 'active' employee able to receive income. I would question them further as to what information they hold on him as he has already been confused with another. Symptomatic of behaviours by people who are not trained and know nothing. Unbelievable level of incompetence where somebody cannot tell the difference between an applicant and employee. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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