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Late payer really dragging his heels!

  • nerion
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11 years 7 months ago - 11 years 7 months ago #912 by nerion
Late payer really dragging his heels! was created by nerion
Hi there,

Firstly, thanks for the website. It's a brilliant resource, so keep up the excellent work.

OK, I have a late payer. I sent him an invoice for £210 (which is a lot of money to me!) and it was due on November 4. I chased him and chased him and chased him and he still insisted he'd pay - but never did.

So then I found your website and sent him one of the template letters a week ago - this one - payontime.co.uk/letters-and-forms/letter-informing-a-debtor-that-statutory-interest-and-compensation-for-debt-recovery-costs-will-be-charged-on-an-existing-debt

He replied and said his accounts department hadn't been able to process the invoice because they'd got no purchase order and that I didn't mention on the invoice that they're a limited company.

Now, I don't see that either reason is valid. Firstly, they never let me have a PO in the first place - and my requests for one and the limited company details have simply been ignored.

He has also stated that he'll pay the invoice - but not the debt recovery fee or interest.

So, what do I do now? He's still not paid and it's getting on for five months late now. How long should I leave it before I hit him with the final reminder letter?

Many thanks,

Andy

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11 years 7 months ago #913 by David J
Replied by David J on topic Re: Late payer really dragging his heels!
Hello Andy
You are right. That is not a valid reason to withhold payment. They have had the goods or services and I assume there is no dispute with that or the amount you have charged.
You can claim interest and compensation from the day after the debt became overdue. If no payment terms were agreed then the legislation's default is 30 days. 5 months is already too long for an unpaid invoice. It looks like they are not interested or cannot pay. Get your claim in!

They cannot just say that they will not pay the late payment interest and compensation. They have to by law. However you would probably have to take them to court to do that and you have to consider if it is worth the hassle and put it down to experience.

The smaller amounts are always the most frustrating because you have to balance the time spend chasing, writing letters/emails etc. against the amount you are trying to collect. If however you are determined to make them pay, with late payment fees (and why not?) then they will also have to consider the hassle factor and whether its worth not paying you.
It's also worth noting that if they don't pay the interest and compensation, then effectively part of the invoice has not been paid (interest and compensation are paid first, the balance pays off the invoice amount). This means interest continues to accrue on a daily rate on the full amount of the invoice.

Examples of this can be found in our detailed users guide for the advanced calculator. The advanced calculator will do all the work for you.

payontime.co.uk/learn-about-the-advanced-interest-calculator

Regards

David

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