Invoices unpaid after 3 months.. How to proceed???

wIcKiD

Hi

I am registered as a sole trader providing IT services. Here is the story in short..

I have been providing IT services on a pay-as-you-go basis to this company since 2004. There is no formal contract or agreement in place and I have never really had any problems with them until recently. I raised few invoices beginning of July totaling to £400 and had sent a reminder end of July. There is only one person working in their UK office and I normally liaise with him. Since this person was going through some personal problems and not in the country, I did not bother them until end of October when I sent a second reminder. I was then asked to produce more details of work done - giving full details of work done and which task took how long, etc and to justify my invoice as they have become more 'strict' with payments. I was quite annoyed that they are asking me for more details after 3 months and replied that a summary of work and total time taken has already been provided in the invoice and I am unable to provide more details after 3 months. This has been my invoicing format since I started supporting this company. I also said I should have been informed of any changes beforehand and can keep a note of these changes for future invoices. I also mentioned that we would normally charge a late payment fee as our payment terms are explicit in being 30 days (also mentioned in the invoices). I then received a very 'rude' email about me being very 'unprofessional' and that I was using 'cheap tactics' to get payments. I was told that the work done will need to be double checked by a third party and only after that a payment can be made. I then gave them a deadline of 8th November after which I will be charging late payment fees. I received an email yesterday stating that they got the invoices checked by third party and I have over charged them. They are only willing to pay me £200!

I am deeply annoyed by this and would like to take this further. I am upset that my work ethics have been questioned here. Should I be raising the issue with the Small Claims court? I have proof of all the email communications. Now that things have gone this far, I would also like to charge them late payment charges. How is this calculated and how much would this be for £400? Also, would I be able to claim any other compensation?

Sorry for the long post. I would really appreciate any advice on how I should be taking this further. Many Thanks!

grey_lady

I would send them a letter before action giving them 7 days to pay and then take them to court, you may actually be able to get a solicitor to do this for you quite cheaply. Could they be having money problems? As it sounds like an excuse to get out of paying you the full amount.

Hermanmunster_2

Personally I would take the £200 and just not deal with them again.

timnicebutdim_2

Sounds like it's a new manager throwing their weight around. Rather than burning your bridges would it be possible to arrange a face to face meeting to see if these problems can be ironed out?

covlass

Personally i would go through small claims court, you can do this very easily yourself.
Where on the claim they ask for the particulars of the claim keep it very simple. Invoice date, Invoice number, Total amount and what the invoice was for. Date 1st reminder was sent and that no response was received and at this point the invoice remained undisputed. Date 2nd reminder was sent and the date you received a response, which you find unacceptable. Do not for get to add that you wish to claim the statutory rate of interest, which is 8%

goldndelicious

check out www.desktoplawyer.co.uk they have some template letters you can use.

I had the same issue, sent several reminder letters (all recorded delivery) and got no response. The moment i sent them the letter threatening court action i got an immediate response.

Should you need to take them to "court" this can all be done online through this site (we never got that far)

but costs about £50, but should you win, they are liable for all court fees, plus the original payment, plus interest. So providing you have a good case, you should be fine. We had a purchase order, several communications confirming the order, and proof of delivery of our product and signed for reminder letters. Our original invoice also clearly stated that payment should be made within 28 days.

wIcKiD

Thanks for all your responses.

I do not want to just take the £200 they throw at me since I have given them enough and more time.

I will send them a letter demanding payment within 7 days before proceeding with court action. I would also like to state the late payment charges on this letter. Would it be 8% of £400 per 30 days after the initial 30 days?

Any ideas how much the solicitors would charge me? Is this desktoplawyer.co.uk a free service?

Since the trust has been lost, I would never deal with them anyway!

Premier_2

wIcKiD wrote: »

...I have been providing IT services on a pay-as-you-go basis to this company since 2004. There is no formal contract or agreement in place ...

What do you mean there is no formal agreement in place??? :huh:

If the company you have invoiced didn't agree to the purchase from you at an agreed price, then you have no claim.

In our business, we operate a very simple purchase control system:
No approved purchase order from us, no payment from us.
Simples. :cool:

If there is a contract in place, it should not only include the agreed price but also the method and timing of payment.
You mention terms and late payment fees. How can these exist if you don't have any formal contract or agreement in place? :huh:

Running a business is a professional job, so act professionally.

Premier_2

wIcKiD wrote: »

...I will send them a letter demanding payment within 7 days before proceeding with court action. I would also like to state the late payment charges on this letter. Would it be 8% of £400 per 30 days after the initial 30 days?...

You can send them a letter, it'll only cost the price of a stamp.

But think carefully before commencing legal action. It will cost you money to even just file a claim in court, and unless you can prove the defendant owes you the money, your claim will probably be struck out.
Without any formal agreement or contract, what evidence do you have that you could provide to the court that they owe you the money.?

If you have any evidence, I suggest you provide it to the company you are claiming from now. (You'll be asked to later during the claim process anyway) If you don't have any evidence, take the £200 as it'll be more than a court would award.

Hermanmunster_2

I do not mention taking the £200 without consideration of the facts you gave.

I presume it is mainly your labour being supplied and you have not had to purchase materials to any great value to put on the job so you will have been on a poor hourly rate for the work you did not out of pocket on materials you purchased. I would take the settlement.

wIcKiD

Premier wrote: »

What do you mean there is no formal agreement in place??? :huh:

If the company you have invoiced didn't agree to the purchase from you at an agreed price, then you have no claim.

In our business, we operate a very simple purchase control system:
No approved purchase order from us, no payment from us.
Simples. :cool:

If there is a contract in place, it should not only include the agreed price but also the method and timing of payment.
You mention terms and late payment fees. How can these exist if you don't have any formal contract or agreement in place? :huh:

Running a business is a professional job, so act professionally.

There is a bit of story to this.. My mate used to be the manager when I started supporting this company and then it carried on that way.

There is no purchase form because there were no materials purchased. The charges are for the services provided.

The invoices state clearly that the payment terms are 30 days. I suppose even if this is not mentioned, it defaults to 30 days?