NEVER GET PAID ON TIME

Ive recentley set up my own maintenance business and complete work for one letting agent at the mo on rented properties.
They specify that I will get paid within 30 days and invoices are to be submitted by 21st of each month for work completed last calender month.
Ive only been set up for 3 months and some 33 - 46 days after each invoice I have to chase up payment each time, then ask for remittance advice. I dont seem to get anything util I ask, and then get poor excuses such as Ive been mega busy or ive sent remmitance via email already..havent you received it "...
All payments have been late and incorrect and I have to request an invoice to see what I havent been paid for , then have to chase it up .
What rights do I have.

It sounds to us like the client in question is either just completely disorganised, or they are using this as an excuse to delay payment thereby artificially increasing their cashflow at your cost.

You have the right to charge late payment costs and interest on every invoice paid after the due date.

If however this is your only client you may not want to rock the boat so keep good records of payment data as you can potentially pursue these charges at a later date.

In the meantime it may be useful to start contacting this client before the due date to confirm the date and amount payment will be made.

Thanks for the reply,since the initial thread, 3 pay dates have been and gone and all have been late.
Pyament terms in the contact are contradictory.

I have copied them to the thread as follows.....

I write to confirm that we have now added you to our list of Qualified Contractors.


Our payment terms are 30 days after receipt of the Invoice and we prefer to make payment direct to your Bank Account. If you were able to provide us with your current Bank details for this purpose this would be most helpful.



On preparing quotations, we would remind you that, we levy a commission for all works completed on behalf of ********* and our Landlords. This will be at a rate of 15% and will be deducted from your monthly statement

It is our intention to pay all contractors invoices dated for the month, by the fourth week of the following month. To facilitate this we must receive all invoices for that previous month by the 21st day.


************* So the first question Im asking is , is payment in 30 days or the end of each month for work done the previous month ??? If I did a job the first week of a month Id wait 7 weeks for payment which clearly isnt 30 days !!!

Now today, Im still waiting for payment on Septembers invoices. They are overdue, whichever way you interpret their so called contract. Ive been fobbed off for the last 2 days and promises of instant payments.
Its now friday evening and nothing has gone in or pending.
ive ceased work with the company and have work from October completed and invoices submitted. In theory,I should get them at the end of November...no chance.
Where do I stand with dictating a due date, and what happens when they dont pay up on time. Now im not on their list, I expect I will be even lower on their list of priorities.
I no that 3 other contractors havent been paid either.
Is a CCJ worth considering and what are the financial implications.
To top it all off, the accountants woman said I must be desperate if im counting on my money from them !!! Well as I have 3 kids and have worked my a** off, completed all jobs on time...Im the only contractor the have who has no outstanding work..having compled 18 jobs in the last 7 weeks !
As you can tell, Im really annoyed at the mo, and really want some comeback for the company who clearly has no regard for anyone !

Hi Again,

Sorry for the delay!

Yes you are right, the terms are confusing...

cartwright wrote:

Our payment terms are 30 days after receipt of the Invoice snip...

OK so according to that, payment is due no later than 30 days from the date the invoice is received. But then they say:

cartwright wrote:

It is our intention to pay all contractors invoices dated for the month, by the fourth week of the following month. To facilitate this we must receive all invoices for that previous month by the 21st day.

Which is more than 30 days and as you say, completely contradictory!

cartwright wrote:

So the first question Im asking is , is payment in 30 days or the end of each month for work done the previous month ??? If I did a job the first week of a month Id wait 7 weeks for payment which clearly isnt 30 days !!!

No idea, and neither does the client. This needs to be nailed down.

Is it payment in 30 days or payment in 30 days from months end?!?

cartwright wrote:

Now today, Im still waiting for payment on Septembers invoices. They are overdue, whichever way you interpret their so called contract. Ive been fobbed off for the last 2 days and promises of instant payments.
Its now friday evening and nothing has gone in or pending.
ive ceased work with the company and have work from October completed and invoices submitted. In theory,I should get them at the end of November...no chance.
Where do I stand with dictating a due date, and what happens when they dont pay up on time. Now im not on their list, I expect I will be even lower on their list of priorities.

We would say that given the confusing contractual payment terms, that you have a right to default to standard 30 day terms.

cartwright wrote:

I no that 3 other contractors havent been paid either.

Not surprising...

cartwright wrote:

Is a CCJ worth considering and what are the financial implications.

Depends, it will kill the relationship and probably take longer than just waiting patiently or putting it to collections and it does cost you to issue the proceedings and enforce them if the judgment is not paid.

cartwright wrote:

To top it all off, the accountants woman said I must be desperate if im counting on my money from them !!! Well as I have 3 kids and have worked my a** off, completed all jobs on time...Im the only contractor the have who has no outstanding work..having compled 18 jobs in the last 7 weeks !

Desperate? No you just forecast your cashflow on the basis that you will be paid to agreed terms... Not the best.

cartwright wrote:

As you can tell, Im really annoyed at the mo, and really want some comeback for the company who clearly has no regard for anyone !

It is theoretically possible to claim the fees back on any invoice paid outside of the agreed terms in the last six years. But again we are back to the what are the terms question.

Safest bet is to calculate the invoices that have been paid beyond the fourth week of the following month as this is the longest term.

Let us know how you get on :)