Pay on Time. The Complete Guide to the
Late Payment of Commercial Debts

Dear James

The Forum of Private Business was one of the champions of the legislation and have used it to good effect in getting small businesses compensated for what they have been owed. You only have to look at the millions that were repaid to the farming community for the cleanup following the foot and mouth crisis.

www.fpb.org/news/1229/Yb1-YKc.html

The legislation was never designed to be a tool used in isolation. Used as part of a very sound end to end credit management process it is useful.

Best wishes




Chris

I'am a member of the forum of private business, and they are excellent, I fully support them on the issue of late payment.

However, there are still no clear cut cases on the issue of the late payment legalisation. Yes, we can use it as part of our credit control procedures, but still what happens when our demands for late payment are ignored ? Do we go to court ? If so, can we win or will we get costs ?

Again, I ask to hear actual cases that have been heard on this subject and the outcome, to date I have yet to hear anything that brings clarity to the implementation of this act. Has a judge ever made a ruling on this ?

This act is statute law, if you are paid late you are entitled to compensation and interest, but still there is a risk that the judge can ' in the interest of justice ' kick a claim out !

If such a ruling was made, would it kill the act, as there would then be no point to it ?

Hi people!

Good news. We have been successful in being awarded our claim through a small claims court the debt (which is the first of 20 to be issued) was awarded to us and they have been ordered to pay. The debt compensation and interest relates to late paid inovices from 2004. Each individual invoice was charged at £40 PER invoice unless it was over £999.99 then it was £70.

This case was against a multi million pound very well know plc with their own in house legal team, they lost dispite all the spanners they tried to throw in the works. I intend to go public once the rest of the claims are sorted, possibly involving national newspapers.

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

This is great news !

These are the sort of posts that are needed here. The background of these cases, ( without names ) would be very helpful to alot of small business people. We need to hear more about actual cases.

I prepared many small claims in relation to the late payment legalisation. I linked software to my accounting package which trailed through all invoices and payments for 6 years and then produced a legally worded demand. I settled around £15,000 without going to court, however the remainder I with drew, as I just felt too uncertain. Many of the demands just fell on deaf ears.

I have found the forumn of private business excellent to opening up the media for articles on late payments.

I want to hear more !

Hello Lisa

Very glad to hear that you have been successful in your claim and thank you for posting. Like James, we would be interested to hear the details of this case. Particularly relating to the compensation being applied separately to each invoice.

I have read elsewhere James that you have had success with some claims. Did you apply the compensation charge to each individual invoice? Or were some invoices batched together and one claim made?

This area is still a little grey so hearing about actual cases will help us all understand how to apply the compensation (and what is classed as reasonable).

David

The compensation charge we applied is to each invoice. Our terms state each part delivery of an order is to be treated as a separate contract..

Sometimes our goods where shipped part, and this would have meant more than 1 invoice, as we invoice on each dispatch.

It is a compensation charge for every invoice.

It is important to hear more about the cases which have actually went before the courts, where a court order has been obtained.

My cases currently where settled out of court, but I have one pending in the high court, which I have not pushed as yet.

Hope this helps and please can we hear as much as possible about actual court outcomes, because without this, we can demand and demand, but many will say go away !