Client does not want to pay me on time

[Gulliver]

This pretty poor carry on from the agent when it was clearly agreed but you seem to have done your home work.

First question.... If they do pay you on 49 days and on 55 days (check the rest as well) is this really going to be a problem for you? Being behind with their payments doesn't mean they are not going to pay you. I am just thinking that if you are ok with this then it may not be worth rocking the boat. If it doesn't appear by 49 days then go ballistic but got to ask yourself, if is it worth a lot of hassle? This isn't a great option but it is one....

Have a look at https://payontime.co.uk/ and work out the interest you are due, advise them how much the interest will be and invoice them for it. Might pull their socks up a bit if they can see it is costing them.

Keep talking to them, point out they are in breach, that you have an agreement and you don't give a monkies about their times, they signed and they should honour them. I don't think a couple of stern emails back and forth will affect your relationship. They could just be pulling a flier with those that don't complain and if you do they will give in.

To answer your first question: I will feel it but probably survive as my wife gets paid from her employer. Our personal credit cards reached the limit and have like a couple of pounds left on our account. Not a nice situation. I was told that I can submit my invoices weekly and their payment term is 45 days. No word about 2 weeks extra because this is what they are used to.

FYI: it's direct contract with the client.

Just registered at payontime.co.uk. Does this (https://payontime.co.uk/late-payment...st-calculators) mean that if I'm owed £1,600 the late fee I can charge is £70?

[Gulliver]

Ahh, I thought he had just confused his relationship what with his client being called a digital agency. Did wonder what he meant by the digital bit. Doh!

Advertising agency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Gulliver]

Wouldn't be the first time a guy writing the contract doesn't have a clue how the payroll works I would guess this is more likely to happen at a big client but I am sure someone will tell me its pretty universal.

They are one of the top NMA agencies.

[Gulliver]

You need to watch your terminology on here. In the contracting world "Agency" is usually used to mean a Recruitment Agency.
If you don't mean a Recruitment Agency then specify (like you did in your first post, although it still confused some members)

I know but what to do if these companies are called digital or design agencies? Should I call them just "client" then?

[Spacecadet]

Should I send such an email to my client or will they then not hire me again? They are once of the top NMA digital Agencies and a good reference for me.

Good

Sorry for the confusion the contract is directly with the agency and no recruiter is involved.

Not good

I know but what to do if these companies are called digital or design agencies? Should I call them just "client" then?

See above!

[Wanderer]

Just registered at payontime.co.uk. Does this (https://payontime.co.uk/late-payment...st-calculators) mean that if I'm owed £1,600 the late fee I can charge is £70?

Yes. I'm not sure if that is per invoice, ie, if you have 3 invoices over £1,000 outstanding then you charge £210 in penalties.

I would escalate this immediately. Don't accept this nonsense about pay cycles being fortnightly so you will be paid late. If they want to run fortnightly payment runs then they have to pay you EARLY not late.

The payment terms you have offered them are very generous indeed. Be polite but firm in your dealings with them and they will respect this.

And for your next contract work, tell them that due to their late payments in the past, you are reducing their credit to 30 days.

[Gonzo]

Jeez, some people will complain about anything.

Most on here would happy as a pig in tulip if they could get a direct freelance contract, but those don't materialise for contractors. They either have to go through a Limited Company and always be on the look-out for a tax investigation, or they go through an Umbrella company and pay an eye-watering amount of tax.

You might find the Freelance UK forum (if it still there, I haven't checked) more in line with your situation but I am sure that they would tell you the same as us that if you are working on freelance jobs then you must have money set aside to cover the times that you are out of work or your customer goes bankrupt without paying you.

If being paid a few days later than you expected is causing you grief then your buffer is not nearly big enough. The buffer does not have to be a pile of cash - an additional credit line will suffice (although not the best option), there must be a buffer though.

How will you cope if there is a gap between this job and the next one?

[Chugnut]

Jeez, some people will complain about anything.

Most on here would happy as a pig in tulip if they could get a direct freelance contract, but those don't materialise for contractors. They either have to go through a Limited Company and always be on the look-out for a tax investigation, or they go through an Umbrella company and pay an eye-watering amount of tax.

You might find the Freelance UK forum (if it still there, I haven't checked) more in line with your situation but I am sure that they would tell you the same as us that if you are working on freelance jobs then you must have money set aside to cover the times that you are out of work or your customer goes bankrupt without paying you.

If being paid a few days later than you expected is causing you grief then your buffer is not nearly big enough. The buffer does not have to be a pile of cash - an additional credit line will suffice (although not the best option), there must be a buffer though.

How will you cope if there is a gap between this job and the next one?

WGS.

Yes, they should pay on time, but the pay drought is just at the beginning of the contract. Once you've got a few of the fortnightly's in, it'll be regular enough that you'll not think twice about it.

In the current climate I wouldn't kick off about it. If they bin you and they're a good client, you'll have plenty of time to kick yourself over it if you have trouble securing your next gig for a while, and we're all wiser after the event, eh?

[SarahL2012]

Just registered at payontime.co.uk. Does this (https://payontime.co.uk/late-payment...st-calculators) mean that if I'm owed £1,600 the late fee I can charge is £70?

I've got a client who will hopefully be paying me at the end of this week - nearly a month after the invoice due date. On their next invoice they will find statutory late payment charges (the £70) and 8.5% interest for each day they are late. A lot of small companies won't make the charge because they are afraid of losing the business, but in this particular case I'm not hugely fussed and I'm hoping it will make them pay attention to my (& all their other suppliers!) chasing emails / calls in future.

My best advice would be to speak to whoever runs the payments team and say that you don't want to add £70 onto each late invoice, but this is causing you a lot of inconvenience which you feel you should be compensated for. If they can arrange immediate payment for the outstanding invoices & pay future ones on time then you will waive the charges.

[psychocandy]

I can the OPs point of view. His client agreed the contract and now hes started they're changing the rules because they cant be arsed.

Yeh, it might only be a short delay but, as OP points out, it is a PITA for him. After all, he was expecting one thing and client is doing another.

HOWEVER, if it were me I would moan a little bit but, ultimately, depends on how good the gig is. If you've got another one to go to and dont care if you upset them and it all goes belly up then go for it and play hardball.

Cant help thinking though that if you take them down the claims route it might not look good at renewal time. (Even though you're perfectly correct).