Freelancer - Owed money from foreign company

analog

I'm not sure where to put this as there doesn't seem to be a suitable forum.

I'm a freelancer and did some work for a company in Dubai in July. Invoice was due to be paid in August but never was and it is now 88 days overdue plus the 45 days of original payment terms. So yes, I invoiced 133 days ago! The invoice is for £1.5K

I have done work with them before and didn't get paid on time either but it didn't take this long. The company certainly isn't going bust and does work for big clients like Coke and Gap.

I am wondering what I can do legally? Companies in the UK I can legally threaten with small claims court and adding interest for late payment.

Last I heard, I was to be paid on the 10th of this month, that never happened. I have now contacted the owner of the company and demanded my payment.

My next steps are to send a letter and call them until I get paid.

Any advice?

Guest101

Well presumably Dubai has a court system for handling civil matters - I suspect that is where you would go next

steampowered

It is perfectly possible to bring a small claim against a Dubai company in the UK county court system under UK law.

My understanding is that you cannot use the 'moneyclaimonline' system unless the defendant has an address in the UK. But even if they don't have a UK address you can still issue a claim by completing the form N1. It is not difficult and you don't need a solicitor.

You can read the court's procedural rules on this at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06/pd_part06b. Look at paragraph 6. Basically, this allows you to serve proceedings on defendants outside the UK if the contract was made or performed in the UK.

The more important question is whether this company has any assets in the UK (such as an office or a bank account)?

If they have assets in the UK and you get a county court judgment, they would be forced to pay you because you could enforce a county court judgment against those assets (e.g. if they have premises, you could send bailiffs round).

If they do not have assets in the UK, your only option would be to enforce a UK court judgment in Dubai. That is almost impossible and not worth doing over £1.5k.

For now, you can keep chasing them. If they still don't pay, you can send them a 'letter before action' stating that you will issue court proceedings if the debt is not paid within 14 days.

paddyrg

Ahhh, getting paid on time in the UAE. Yes indeed. Be aware some commercial vendors can take upto 3 years to be paid by some ...high level... customers. There's no automatic right to be paid within 30 days, but if they're outside their contractual period you can try raising it with the Emirati courts, not something I'd bother with for £1500, especially if your client is Emirati and you're trying to do so from overseas. Can you visit them and make a personal appeal?