......... so now I have to pay it back.
/QUOTE]
Who says you have to pay it back? The company or the unemployment people?
If the company said to pay it back, I wouldn't do anything......the company isn't the unemployment commission.
If you received a letter from the unemployment office you may want to read that letter REALLY closely. There has to be a specific demand for payment stated in that letter. If the letter simply says, "....you are overpaid.....", that's not a demand for payment.
The worst that will happen in the case of the latter is you will receive a really official looking letter with a lawsuit enclosed in it and a date/time for you to appear in court. Don't go. You will lose but you still don't have to pay the money back. The company is only interested in maintaining their "pristine" appearance before the unemployment commission and they want you/this off their record.
I knew someone this happened to.
Have you been to an appeals tribunal? I'm guessing you had to have been to an appeals tribunal in order to have received the funds that you received because the company probably denied your first claim?