Recruiter Makes A Typo In A Man’s Offer Letter & Lists The Salary At $190K Vs. $100K — He Isn’t Sure If He Should Correct The Mistake
Despite the allure of a doubled salary, he can’t help but worry about the repercussions.
dragana991 / CanvaPro With so many people struggling to find a job that pays a living wage, one man's story shared on TikTok is far from relatable.
After accepting a new job with an agreed-upon salary of just over $100K, he was shocked when he received his offer letter.
The man admitted to signing an offer letter with a huge recruiter mistake — offering him a salary of $190K instead of $100K.
Grappling with the mistaken doubled salary, just waiting for him to sign, the man decided to first ask for advice on an employment forum. Hoping to ease his anxieties and potentially get reassurance on the boundaries of integrity, he was only met with more confusion as comments debated the right course of action.
“This person hit a home run,” employment creator Steven Oleson admitted while covering the story. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen, but it happened to him.”
“My salary was supposed to be $100,043, but I’m pretty sure the recruiter made a typo, and it says $190,043. Should I say anything?” the candidate wrote in his post. While Oleson claimed he couldn’t slyly ignore the $90,000 mistake, others in the comments shamelessly advised the original poster to do just that.
“I would sign it, send it back, and provide a letter thanking them,” one person wrote. “This is even more than I anticipated. So happy to be working at a place that values me. Or something to that effect.”
Despite debates over the offer letter, the poster admitted he’s considering telling the company — concerned he would have to pay it back.
“No, you idiot,” one person added under the video. “Sign it and send it back.”
“Well, that’s what I did,” he responded, admitting to signing the offer letter, “but should I tell them? What if they make me pay that money back later?”
Especially with such a huge disparity in the salary — almost double the agreed amount — it’s not unreasonable for this man to be anxious about potentially having to pay it back. However, employment protection and regulations on “overpayments of wages” suggest everything goes back to signed documentation.
If you signed an offer letter for $70K a year but were paid $80K by mistake, they could require you to return those wages. However, if they don’t find the salary mistake or rescind the offer letter, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had to stick to the signed offer letter — a document that would be held up in employment court — once you received the first paycheck. If you signed an offer letter for $80K, that document must be upheld.
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Of course, anyone could confess to “overlooking” the incorrect salary in the offer letter, but whether you double down on it when the first paycheck comes is another story.
Technically, according to the sticky and vague employment regulations in many industries, you could be entitled to that salary.
Other recruiter ‘horror stories’ serve as a reminder to always double-check your offer letters for mistakes — whether you choose to correct them is your choice.
Recruiter duo @envisioninclusion on TikTok admitted “inconsistencies and mistakes” in offer letters are more prevalent than the average candidate might assume — whether intentional or not.
“Double and triple-check your offer letter before you sign,” they advised. “I’ve heard from a lot of candidates that have been tricked into signing something different than what they accepted.”
Not only could this be a lower salary or a different set of benefits, but also an agreement to work an “in-office position” when you previously agreed to a remote one. Of course, everyone is human — both of these recruiters admit that people make mistakes — but double-checking your offer letter could save everyone a lot of time and energy later.
“Sometimes the company is being shady,” they added. “They’ll tell you what you want to hear, but they don’t actually mean it. They’re just hoping that you won’t read the offer letter too closely.”
Considering the nature of some company’s shadiness above, you might be able to consider the offer letter with a double salary to be a cosmic gift — but if that’s not you, integrity sounds like it could be a nice karmic output.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.