Is it legal for a university to make you pay back a refund check they sent you, if they sent it to you by mistake?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Is it legal for a university to make you pay back a refund check they sent you, if they sent it to you by mistake?

My university sent me 2 refund checks. They said 1 of the checks they sent to me was sent by mistake and now they’re saying that I have to pay it back in order to continue my education. I do not think that their mistake is my fault and I don’t feel that I should have to pay it back.

Asked on October 27, 2011 under Business Law, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

The extra check may not be your fault--that is, no blame or penalties may attach to you, if you did  not cause it to be issued--but that still does not entitle you to keep it. A mistake by another does not give you a right to their money or title to their assets. Consider: if you had accidentally mailed your tuitation check to the wrong person and they were able to cash it, would their mistake allow them to keep the money? Or your accidentally wrote too large a tuition check, could the university keep the extra? Of course not--and similarly, you can't keep the extra just because they made an administrative mistake, because their mistake creates no right in you to that money.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption