Being chased for invoice 18 months late that was paid in cash.

alec321

Hi, been lurking for years but have now joined as have my own personal situation i'd love some feedback on. 
I did a 2 day training course in January 2019 which I paid £480 in cash on the morning of day 1. I did have a cash receipt but it's long gone. I've not heard a thing since until a couple of months ago when I got an email asking for £480 for the training nearly 18 months previously. I've got no proof of payment but have now had a letter from their solicitors asking for payment or they will start court proceedings. 
What do you guys think I should do?
Thanks in advance,
Alec

tehone

Tricky this one, was the receipt from a receipt book or similar, where there might be an audit trail? Did other ppl pay cash on the day too? It might be useful for you if you withdrew say £500 from a cash machine the day before as further evidence.
I would tend to stick to my guns and state it was paid in full 18 months in cash - I assume they have not chased you in any way since for the money?

eddddy

Reply to the solicitors saying that you paid £480 in cash on day 1, and as it was 18 months ago, you have since disposed of the receipt. And you can say that you will be happy to provide a statement to the court confirming that.

You could also mention that the training company's financial record keeping is obviously a bit chaotic, as it took them 16 months for them to request the money - even though it had already been paid.

Then wait to see if they really do start court proceedings.

If they do, just give the court the same info. If you have further evidence, you can give that to the court as well. For example,

• A bank statement showing that you withdrew £480 from an ATM shortly before the course
• Were they generally allowing people who hadn't paid to attend the course? If not, it's unlikely they would have allowed you

Petriix

Don't tell them that you have lost the receipt. Tell them that you paid in cash and were issued a receipt. Unless you're lying and they have evidence, they'd find it fairly difficult to prove their case in court.

apb123

They are trying it on. I would probably ignore it...or wait for a small claims. They are trying to frighten you.If it goes to the small claims court you can defend yourself. Presumably you have your bank records recording the cash withdrawal. 

alec321

tehone said:

Tricky this one, was the receipt from a receipt book or similar, where there might be an audit trail? Did other ppl pay cash on the day too? It might be useful for you if you withdrew say £500 from a cash machine the day before as further evidence.
I would tend to stick to my guns and state it was paid in full 18 months in cash - I assume they have not chased you in any way since for the money?

They’re currently chasing me, threatening small claims proceedings. I’m a builder and generally have some cash so chances are i wouldn’t have pulled the full amount. 

alec321

apb123 said:

They are trying it on. I would probably ignore it...or wait for a small claims. They are trying to frighten you.If it goes to the small claims court you can defend yourself. Presumably you have your bank records recording the cash withdrawal. 

I’m a builder and always have cash so unlikely I’d have pulled the whole amount out. I’ll double check though. What happens if small claims do get in touch? Thanks for the input 

alec321

eddddy said:

Reply to the solicitors saying that you paid £480 in cash on day 1, and as it was 18 months ago, you have since disposed of the receipt. And you can say that you will be happy to provide a statement to the court confirming that.

You could also mention that the training company's financial record keeping is obviously a bit chaotic, as it took them 16 months for them to request the money - even though it had already been paid.

Then wait to see if they really do start court proceedings.

If they do, just give the court the same info. If you have further evidence, you can give that to the court as well. For example,

• A bank statement showing that you withdrew £480 from an ATM shortly before the course
• Were they generally allowing people who hadn't paid to attend the course? If not, it's unlikely they would have allowed you

Thanks a lot, in a nutshell that’s how I replied to their solicitor to which I received an email from the company to which they replied.

We have no record of cash being paid on the morning of training hence why the invoice is still outstanding. We would not usually accept cash as payment for services and would always provide a receipted invoice if cash had been received.  Therefore can you please provide a copy of the receipt by return.

They followed by saying unless I reply by Monday latest they’re going to court. 

Do you think I should engage with the company via email?

Thanks a lot 

alec321

Really appreciate all the help guys 👍🏻

unholyangel

alec321 said:

apb123 said:

They are trying it on. I would probably ignore it...or wait for a small claims. They are trying to frighten you.If it goes to the small claims court you can defend yourself. Presumably you have your bank records recording the cash withdrawal. 

I’m a builder and always have cash so unlikely I’d have pulled the whole amount out. I’ll double check though. What happens if small claims do get in touch? Thanks for the input 

Don't ignore it. 

If you're a builder and always have cash, is that because your customers pay you in cash? In other words, if you keep to the same sort of behaviour patterns with invoices/spending/banking, it should be possible to show invoices you issued to customers, how much from those invoices was normally paid into the bank and then also possibly show that from the invoices at the time you say you paid, you deposited around £500 less than your previous behaviour pattern would have. 

I mean, speak to them first & tell them you've paid - see what they say. But there is normally something that can be done - of course some of those things hold more credibility than others. 

Did you claim it as an expense (if it's an allowable expense of course)? Did you send the receipt somewhere (HMRC or an accountant?). 

Which brings me to my last point.....scan your receipts. Not the ones for £2.99, but definitely the ones for £100+. It's good business sense and can make sending your records to your accountant (if you use one) a lot more simple for both you & them.