Late payment collection - how to go about it?

**northernladuk** · 30 December 2014, 19:57

Searching is your friend...

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourc...ntractoruk.com

**SueEllen** · 30 December 2014, 20:00

Also before you even think about going to court talk to a collections agency as you are more likely to get your money.

One posts regularly on this board and you should be able to find them through the link NLUK posted.

**TykeMerc** · 30 December 2014, 20:06

Indeed the chasing process which is often called "dunning" on here isn't that complicated, there are a set of steps to take.

It's a deal easier now than the last time I had to get nasty with a client for payment, but it's still a pain in the nuts. Many clients will delay payment until you're about to drag them into court as a matter of normal business practice, it's a reality of business.

**JoJoGabor** · 2 January 2015, 23:03

Can recommend safe collections.com. Just hand it straight over to them. 70 days overdue is rediculous

**Safe Collections** · 6 January 2015, 11:04

Originally posted by JoJoGabor View Post

Can recommend safe collections.com. Just hand it straight over to them. 70 days overdue is rediculous

Why thank you

Originally posted by creativecontractor View Post

Hi,

I operate as a limited company offering web design services (it's just myself), and back in September I was hired to do a job in house for a client. After the job, I invoiced the client but have not yet been paid.

My invoice stipulates a 30 day payment term and it has now been 100 days and still no payment despite numerous emails and a reply stating this has been paid (over 3 wks ago) but nothing as yet has been sent.

I would now like to take a harder line with a demand letter and try to enforce the Late Payment fee, but I am not sure what recourse to take or what to specify in my demand letter.

I have also noticed a clause on the .gov advice website for late payment that states: "You can’t claim statutory interest if there’s a different rate of interest in a contract." On my invoice, I have a clause which states a payment of 1% per day for late payments. Does this mean I am no longer protected by this law?

Could someone advise as to the above and also give me a suggestion as to the best way to approach the demand for payment from a legal stand point?

Many thanks in advance!

K

In regard to the question about interest rates. You can print whatever terms you like on your invoice, but you will struggle to enforce them in court. The reason being is that the contractual relationship is already well established by the time you issue an invoice and as such anything printed on the invoice is largely worthless as it is post-contractual.

The basic rule of thumb is if you want to enforce any terms, they have to be agreed at the beginning of the contractual relationship between your co and the client.

So in this case, our view would be that you can claim both statutory late payment costs and interest as your terms to the contrary are not in force.

If you are looking for "dunning"

letters at 70 days we would suggest you go straight for the Final Demand template available on the main cUK site here.

Finally if you are considering small claims, you might want to purchase a credit report (if you haven't already done so) to ensure the errant client doesn't already have a string of unpaid CCJs.

Hope that helps

Late payment collection - how to go about it?