• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Property '06 taxes mistakingly paid by someone else, now they want money back.

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

floridacoast

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida

I am not sure if this is the correct category for this question, but I hope someone would be of assistance.

I was unaware of this until I received a surprising letter from let's call them "XYZ" Company. Apparently in Dec. '05 or Jan '06 XYZ Company inadvertently paid my 2006 Property Taxes for my condo (about $1500). My own Mortgage company paid these as well with my escrow. So, all this time I have had an overpayment (because of XYZ's mistake) and have a positive balance in my current escrow (I assumed because it was a miscalculation but now I know why). Apparently XYZ company made a huge error when closing someone elses property.

XYZ company apparently discovered their error and recently contacted me, by regular mail. They are informed me of the mistake and added they want their money back with the following statement: "Because XYZ Company had no legal obligation to pay your taxes, you have been unjustly enriched by its payment. In a legal procedure, a court could force you to reimburse us based on the unjust benefit that you received."

What should I do? In all honesty, if i had the money, I would research and confirm the error and send them a payment. However, times are hard (new, lower paying job due to company under sizing -- bad year with medical payments for children) and their error has been an unexpected godsend which has helped my own mortgage payments by reducing the escrow over the past year (as i said before, i had no idea until now. i assumed it was a miscalculation in my own closing which the mortgage company corrected).

So, do they have any legal means to force me to pay back their error (assuming it is correct)? They sent me a regular letter and a certified one (which I have not signed as of yet) -- Should I accept the certified letter? If the answer is they have no legal right, can they make my life hectic by attempting legal action? Would it be civil court?

If the answer is that they DO have a legal right, then, since it was their error and I really did not realize it until their letter, how should i approach them about letting them now that I cannot pay them in full (setup payments WITHOUT interest or penalty)?

Of course, if they have no legal recourse, then please let me know if I should reply and, if I should reply, exactly what to say (including any legalese that I could include that will make them think twice about harassing me).

Thank you for your help.What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
 


Happy Trails

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida

I am not sure if this is the correct category for this question, but I hope someone would be of assistance.

I was unaware of this until I received a surprising letter from let's call them "XYZ" Company. Apparently in Dec. '05 or Jan '06 XYZ Company inadvertently paid my 2006 Property Taxes for my condo (about $1500). My own Mortgage company paid these as well with my escrow. So, all this time I have had an overpayment (because of XYZ's mistake) and have a positive balance in my current escrow (I assumed because it was a miscalculation but now I know why). Apparently XYZ company made a huge error when closing someone elses property.

XYZ company apparently discovered their error and recently contacted me, by regular mail. They are informed me of the mistake and added they want their money back with the following statement: "Because XYZ Company had no legal obligation to pay your taxes, you have been unjustly enriched by its payment. In a legal procedure, a court could force you to reimburse us based on the unjust benefit that you received."

What should I do? In all honesty, if i had the money, I would research and confirm the error and send them a payment. However, times are hard (new, lower paying job due to company under sizing -- bad year with medical payments for children) and their error has been an unexpected godsend which has helped my own mortgage payments by reducing the escrow over the past year (as i said before, i had no idea until now. i assumed it was a miscalculation in my own closing which the mortgage company corrected).

So, do they have any legal means to force me to pay back their error (assuming it is correct)? They sent me a regular letter and a certified one (which I have not signed as of yet) -- Should I accept the certified letter? If the answer is they have no legal right, can they make my life hectic by attempting legal action? Would it be civil court?

If the answer is that they DO have a legal right, then, since it was their error and I really did not realize it until their letter, how should i approach them about letting them now that I cannot pay them in full (setup payments WITHOUT interest or penalty)?

Of course, if they have no legal recourse, then please let me know if I should reply and, if I should reply, exactly what to say (including any legalese that I could include that will make them think twice about harassing me).

Thank you for your help.What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

Yes, they do have a legal right to try and correct an error that was made. You have been unjustly enriched by a mistke; that doesn't give you the legal right to keep their money.

No one can say if they willl be willing to accept payments or not, but it is possible.

If you don't accept the certified letter, you won't know if they are given you notice of being civilly sued. That could result in a default judgment being placed against you.
 

floridacoast

Junior Member
Happy trails: Thank you for the reply.

OK, so if they do have a legal right then how should I apporach them (how should I word my approach) regarding my current financial situation. as mentioned before, there was never any malice by my part and I never knew about this until i received their letter. Over the past year, my escrow payments have just been significantly lower (which can now be explained by XYZ's error) but, at the time, my mortgage company just told me it was an "adjustment" and I happily never questioned it.

In other words, how should I word my contact with them (by phone or by mail?)? I would like to setup equal payments that will cover their actual over-payment (because it was their error, I do not think they are in the position to ask for interest or penalties).

Also, i welcome any other replies or ideas.

Thank you.
 

BoredAtty

Member
Based on what you wrote, you would lose the case if sued (for the reasons stated in the letter: unjust enrichment).

As for a payment plan: if you offer a reasonable plan, they basically have no choice but to accept it. This is because the other option is to sue you, get a judgment, and then attempt to collect via wage garnishments, bank garnishments, liens, etc. It will be a pain, and will likely not result in them getting a lump sum anyway.
 

TinkerBelleLuvr

Senior Member
My own Mortgage company paid these as well with my escrow.
Forward the letter to the escrow company for them to pay it out of the funds that you pay each month. Chances are the escrow company originally tried to pay it and they sent the money back. Now is their chance to pay it correctly.
 

floridacoast

Junior Member
To Ginny: Unfortunately that will not work. Because My escrow company had reduced my escrow payments since early 2006 to account for (what we know NOW to be) XYZ's mistake payment of my 2006 property taxes. Thus, any escrow that I have paid through 2006 is just enough to pay for my properry taxes in 2007 ... there is no excess to use. If there were, I would just use that money to pay XYZ.
 

floridacoast

Junior Member
Based on what you wrote, you would lose the case if sued (for the reasons stated in the letter: unjust enrichment).

As for a payment plan: if you offer a reasonable plan, they basically have no choice but to accept it. This is because the other option is to sue you, get a judgment, and then attempt to collect via wage garnishments, bank garnishments, liens, etc. It will be a pain, and will likely not result in them getting a lump sum anyway.
BoredAtty: Thank you for the reply. Hopefully you or someone could reply again to the following. Would you agree with me writing them a letter/reply (certified)? In this reply, I plan to ask them if they are agreeable to six equal monthly payments to payoff their payment with no penalties and/or interest (because it was their error -- is this a reasonable payment?). I will explain exaclty what i have written in this post ... That I was not aware of XYZ'x mistake until their letter and that my own Escrow/Mortgage company only informed me that they had made an "adjustment" to my escrow, early this year, in my favor because of an over balance of my closing ... I never questioned this and I never imagined that the reason was that someone else (XYZ) had made a mistake. I would explain my financial situation/current budget and that there was no way I could pay them back in one payment or any payments more than six equal monthly payments.

Does this sound reasonable? is there anything you or anyone else suggest that I should add/delete from the letter. Should i ask them to reply, in letter, that they agree with six equal payments OR should I include a check with my letter stating that "if they cash this check, they are in agreement with my offer" ... I am assuming the former is better.

thank you.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
BoredAtty: Thank you for the reply. Hopefully you or someone could reply again to the following. Would you agree with me writing them a letter/reply (certified)? In this reply, I plan to ask them if they are agreeable to six equal monthly payments to payoff their payment with no penalties and/or interest (because it was their error -- is this a reasonable payment?). I will explain exaclty what i have written in this post ... That I was not aware of XYZ'x mistake until their letter and that my own Escrow/Mortgage company only informed me that they had made an "adjustment" to my escrow, early this year, in my favor because of an over balance of my closing ... I never questioned this and I never imagined that the reason was that someone else (XYZ) had made a mistake. I would explain my financial situation/current budget and that there was no way I could pay them back in one payment or any payments more than six equal monthly payments.

Does this sound reasonable? is there anything you or anyone else suggest that I should add/delete from the letter. Should i ask them to reply, in letter, that they agree with six equal payments OR should I include a check with my letter stating that "if they cash this check, they are in agreement with my offer" ... I am assuming the former is better.

thank you.
Pick up the phone and call them. If they agree to it, then ask them to send a letter stating they agree to it (which you will also sign and return to them).
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top