Author: Nona Bowkis
Published: November 21, 2014
Reading time: 2 minutes
This article is 10 years old.
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Many of our clients approach us to help them call in debts owed to them be it by customers or other businesses to whom they have supplied goods and services.
Sometimes, debtors will ignore chasing calls from our clients and/or will persist with the old ‘the cheques in the post’ type lines. Ultimately these matters can end up in court but often a well written letter from us, politely setting out the consequences of not paying can suddenly prompt the debtor to reach for their credit card.
Late payments of business to business debts are covered by various pieces of Late Payment Legislation. These allow for interest to be charged on late payments at a rate of 8% above the Bank of England base rate. In addition to interest, businesses can also claim a fixed amount from £40 to £100 as compensation.
Given how critical cash flow is to every business, it is important to act promptly when people owe you money. We have recovered thousands of pounds for our clients in the last few weeks without having to resort to court action. Of course, for the most stubborn of debtors, court action is a necessity and our article on County Court Claims will give you an idea of what is involved if you need to resort to court proceedings.