| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know 07:13 - Oct 31 with 5013 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
I did some work for a client a few months ago, and invoiced them 2.5 months ago. They haven't refused to pay, just have gone radio silent. Not sure what my next course of action is as I haven't had this happen before. Small claims court? The freelance world is pretty fecked at the moment as it is, without people you've done work for not paying... and I'm genuinely worried about how I'm going to pay my mortgage a few months down the line. Any advice much appreciated (would appreciate if the jokers can stay away from this thread, thanks). |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:16 - Oct 31 with 3455 views | itfcjoe |
I’d probably send a letter by registered post saying that if they don’t pay by x date you’ll be going to small claims court etc - normally does the trick
If they then don’t the small claims court process is pretty easy and most people pay up at that point before needing to go through the whole process of it; and you have option of adding interest etc to it to cover the court fees |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:36 - Oct 31 with 3349 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:16 - Oct 31 by itfcjoe |
I’d probably send a letter by registered post saying that if they don’t pay by x date you’ll be going to small claims court etc - normally does the trick
If they then don’t the small claims court process is pretty easy and most people pay up at that point before needing to go through the whole process of it; and you have option of adding interest etc to it to cover the court fees |
That's great advice, thanks Joe. | |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:44 - Oct 31 with 3316 views | hoppy |
When you say they’ve gone ‘radio silent’, how have you tried contacting them, all channels of communication? Email, postal and calling them or through their social channels, LinkedIn?
What size business are they? The longest wait I had for an unpaid invoice was when I did some design work for ‘The View from The Shard’ - for them it would’ve been loose change down the side of the sofa, but was quite a decent size bit of work to me as a small business, and it took ages to recover it from them, but didn’t give up and it took quite a number of ways of chasing to get there.
I wish you good luck and hope you get a solution. [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 7:45]
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:52 - Oct 31 with 3276 views | Zx1988 |
Might be worth including a solicitor's letter as a stage between your own letter and the Small Claims Court.
You can often get them sent quite cheaply, and just the fact that there's now a legal professional involved can be enough to scare people into paying up. |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:56 - Oct 31 with 3267 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:44 - Oct 31 by hoppy |
When you say they’ve gone ‘radio silent’, how have you tried contacting them, all channels of communication? Email, postal and calling them or through their social channels, LinkedIn?
What size business are they? The longest wait I had for an unpaid invoice was when I did some design work for ‘The View from The Shard’ - for them it would’ve been loose change down the side of the sofa, but was quite a decent size bit of work to me as a small business, and it took ages to recover it from them, but didn’t give up and it took quite a number of ways of chasing to get there.
I wish you good luck and hope you get a solution. [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 7:45]
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Well, didn't want to get into the nitty gritty as it's long and boring, but the finance woman has replied (by email) saying she's only part time, doesn't have access to the funds (which is a bit weird for a finance woman IMO) and the owners are away in America - she said she'll ask them when they get back. Which is also weird, surely people are contactable in America?! Anyway, the owners have failed to reply to any emails, only this finance woman has replied, so really my question was looking ahead for if they don't pay when they're back.
They are a pretty small agency so maybe just a bit disorganised, but still doesn't ease the worry for me! | |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:57 - Oct 31 with 3255 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:52 - Oct 31 by Zx1988 |
Might be worth including a solicitor's letter as a stage between your own letter and the Small Claims Court.
You can often get them sent quite cheaply, and just the fact that there's now a legal professional involved can be enough to scare people into paying up. |
Also good advice, thanks. | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:23 - Oct 31 with 3165 views | homer_123 |
Somewhat depends on the value bud.
All the advice that others have offered is sensible.
We've noticed a big uptick in late payments over the last few months (I'm B2B), which is never a good sign.
EDIT: hope you get it sorted. [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 8:23]
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:30 - Oct 31 with 3125 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:23 - Oct 31 by homer_123 |
Somewhat depends on the value bud.
All the advice that others have offered is sensible.
We've noticed a big uptick in late payments over the last few months (I'm B2B), which is never a good sign.
EDIT: hope you get it sorted. [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 8:23]
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On the board index, this thread comes up as "I did some work for a client a few months ago, and invoiced them 2.5 m".
I was thinking no wonder he can afford fancy sausages! |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:33 - Oct 31 with 3114 views | WeWereZombies |
As ITFCJoe says, letter by proof of delivery from the Post Office and then Small Claims if no response (providing you are owed less than Ten grand, otherwise you will need to involve a debt collection agency or solicitor), if time is of the essence for your finances do not add in the extra step of getting a legal letter, just go straight to Small Claims procedure after a week. I have filled in the forms a couple of times myself and a bit of a pain but better than losing money. No idea what the backlog is in the court process at the moment, that could be your biggest hang up, but just lodging a claim can be noted by other businesses as it is on public records and the threat of that may be enough to loosen their purse strings.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/makin |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:42 - Oct 31 with 3076 views | redrickstuhaart |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:33 - Oct 31 by WeWereZombies |
As ITFCJoe says, letter by proof of delivery from the Post Office and then Small Claims if no response (providing you are owed less than Ten grand, otherwise you will need to involve a debt collection agency or solicitor), if time is of the essence for your finances do not add in the extra step of getting a legal letter, just go straight to Small Claims procedure after a week. I have filled in the forms a couple of times myself and a bit of a pain but better than losing money. No idea what the backlog is in the court process at the moment, that could be your biggest hang up, but just lodging a claim can be noted by other businesses as it is on public records and the threat of that may be enough to loosen their purse strings.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/makin |
Always do a letter before action (doesnt have to be a solicitor).
You can also pursue over 10k yourself if you choose, but it does go through a different process with more risk in terms of the other side's costs if they involve lawyers. | | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:53 - Oct 31 with 3037 views | textbackup |
If the work you’ve provided is of good quality and what they asked for I’ll never understand people not paying.
If I ever have work done at my house I pay the trademen, normally, by the time they get home!
Just pure selfish arsehole behaviour to withhold money you’ve agreed to pay
However, if it was me, I’d go and sit outside their offices and force the payment [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 8:55]
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:15 - Oct 31 with 2931 views | itfcjoe |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:53 - Oct 31 by textbackup |
If the work you’ve provided is of good quality and what they asked for I’ll never understand people not paying.
If I ever have work done at my house I pay the trademen, normally, by the time they get home!
Just pure selfish arsehole behaviour to withhold money you’ve agreed to pay
However, if it was me, I’d go and sit outside their offices and force the payment [Post edited 31 Oct 2023 8:55]
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We'd normally go their first before initial letter sent to chase if they've gone quiet - but guess a bit different as a builder compared to free lance advertising or similar work as we tend to know the client | |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:15 - Oct 31 with 2926 views | WeWereZombies |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 08:42 - Oct 31 by redrickstuhaart |
Always do a letter before action (doesnt have to be a solicitor).
You can also pursue over 10k yourself if you choose, but it does go through a different process with more risk in terms of the other side's costs if they involve lawyers. |
It sounds like the other side don't have much in the bank to me, the sooner Dolly gets a claim in the better but I think there is also some damage limitation required on his part to ensure that good money is not thrown after bad (debts.) On the letter beforehand, Joe's advice of recorded delivery is important, bad payers can bat away action with the excuse that they never received the invoice / statement / final demand. | |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:18 - Oct 31 with 2906 views | Mookamoo |
I'm a freelancer and feel your pain.
I would ask if its a new client and if you've had trouble before. If its out of character and they have normally paid on time, it suggests something might have gone wrong their end, maybe a new accounts bod who doesn't recognise the project, or just your invoice is lost in the system somehow. I have found calling them and giving them the benefit of the doubt normally works. Call them repeatedly if needed and if they don't answer, try and find someone further up the food chain and hassle them - twice daily if needed. Emails just get ignored, if you need to chase, then it has to be done on the phone. Just start with some kind of indication that the invoice is in their system and go from there. If they can't answer that, then as other have suggested, the only real option is a recorded letter demanding payment by a certain date or you'll have no option than to talk to your solicitor.
I've found any 30 day term invoice is getting paid about 45-60 days on average. The main issue I have found is most account departments like to deal with recurring costs from known suppliers. When my one-off invoice lands in their email, they don't action it in the same way. It often needs approval etc, so have started asking from the outset if they have any kind of purchase order system that might slow the payment up.
I don't do this, but I have friends who have a clause on the invoice/terms of business that states they will charge 5% interest per month on late payments.
Good luck |  | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:22 - Oct 31 with 2880 views | Pinewoodblue |
The excuse given for non payment is implausible, don’t wait too long before setting a deadline for payment and make it clear you will proceed without further follow up. |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:23 - Oct 31 with 2882 views | Weekender |
I'm in consultancy and occasionally get this.
As a starter we have in our terms that late payments incur interest and a £250 late payment processing fee. When we eventually need to threaten to impose these charges that often gets results. If it doesn't we use a debt collection agency who take over the matter for a cut (c15%). Rather than spend our own billable time chasing it makes more sense and it usually works. |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:30 - Oct 31 with 2831 views | bluestandard |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 07:16 - Oct 31 by itfcjoe |
I’d probably send a letter by registered post saying that if they don’t pay by x date you’ll be going to small claims court etc - normally does the trick
If they then don’t the small claims court process is pretty easy and most people pay up at that point before needing to go through the whole process of it; and you have option of adding interest etc to it to cover the court fees |
Yep I'd agree with this approach. I think though that the court fee can also be claimed back independently of charging interest. What you might find though is that the defaulter wil try and cut a deal to pay in full minus your costs, which is annoying, but a lot of people accept for pragmatic reasons. | | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:32 - Oct 31 with 2816 views | Coastalblue |
It's a horrible situation and I empathise, we all have better things to do that chase people for money and if you're not careful you can even end up feeling guilty over it which is absurd.
I was very lucky over a decade of working as a self employed tradesman, I had a few clients that were habitually late but the vast majority of people seemed to accept and acknowledge that as a one man band you rely on their payments. I even had one or two who would chase me for invoices so they could pay.
Luckily I only ever had one total non payer, and it was a tiny amount tbh, forget now but probably less that £150. I tried calling and going round there countless times but eventually just went round and uninstalled the stuff I had fitted. (outside lighting so easy enough to do) |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:38 - Oct 31 with 2778 views | Keno |
Sorry to hear this dolly, so frustrating.
I cant really add anything other than wants been said already.
If there is someone you know who works there maybe try to call them, or leave a message on the firms social media simply asking 'hope all is ok as I've been trying to contact you on a urgent matter but no one is replying'
Any letter should be very tightly worded, given a deadline and that that should be follow up on.
Good luck mate, and keep us updated |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:39 - Oct 31 with 2774 views | TVRBlue |
Already some good advice on here for you.
When I agree to carry out work for Clients I clearly state my terms and conditions, and these include payment terms, i.e. 28 days from date of invoice. I assume you have a similar arrangement. If you do, and your Client has exceeded the terms and conditions to which they agreed (as they appointed you to carry out the work), send a final letter to them (including another copy of the invoice) by registered and signed for delivery requesting payment of the outstanding invoice in full within 7 days of the date of your letter.
If you do not receive payment within that period go straight to small claims court.
Good luck with getting your payment. |  | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:49 - Oct 31 with 2737 views | Daninthecampo |
All invoices should be paid within 30 days unless another date was agreed. As it's been over 2 months and you've had no response i would issue a LBA(letter before action) that usually works | | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 09:51 - Oct 31 with 2715 views | Lord_Lucan |
Check this out - creditfocus.co.uk
From this you can automatically get final demands and solicitors letters sent out within the monthly fee - just do it all online. It works and it is cheaper than instructing a solicitor. You can just fill the details and press the button to send final demand or solicitors letter.
We have a terrible history with bad debts and I am useless at chasing money, our worst one was £136k
If they go silent then they are skint, I always say to customers, if you can't pay then tell me, don't ignore it. Same as if we are having cash flow issues, I will phone them and ask for a break until some money comes in. If you keep in contact then it works out.
We are only a very small company but look at the proportion of late payers over the total we are owed.
I just see Mookamoo posted which has made me feel bad as I am often late paying him  |  |
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| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 10:23 - Oct 31 with 2544 views | befxblue |
I had a client go radio silent on me late 2021 for an invoice in excess of £25k, and it nearly put me under.
After the initial 30 days, I spent around another month trying phone calls, emails, WhatsApp, 1 week polite notice to pay letter (Recorded all of this as a solicitor will ask if you have sensibly exhausted all avenues). At the end of the month I gave all this info to a solicitor who sent their own notice to pay letter (14 days) which was also ignored.
At this stage the solicitor suggested starting court proceedings, a writ was served and the client contacted me that evening to settle as long as I didn't include the near £1000 fee it had cost to initiate the process with the court, which I could have easily followed through and claimed back, but accepted in the face of elongation of the whole process.
Barring the £1000 lost, the solicitors fees were surprisingly only around £250 in total, as they try to keep costs to a minimum at the early stages as the letters usually work. | | | |
| Clients who aren't paying up - Lucan or another business owner might know on 10:42 - Oct 31 with 2478 views | leitrimblue |
I've had similar issues in the last year or so. Few clients taking months to pay. When I speak to them they are all polite and just give awful excuses to why they haven't paid yet ( sorry thought it had been paid, didn't get invoice, can you resend it etc). Had a accountant from 1 of these companies call me last Thursday to ask for my address as apparently that was the reason my payment hadn't gone through, but still no payment. 2 of these companies have then tried to re hire me the second they have paid me even though they were 10-12 weeks late in payment from previous invoice. Been some great advice on the subject here |  | | |
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