Agencies are scum.. end of

[chef]

ooo im so mad

accepted an invoice weekly, 30 day payment terms contract..

31 days later i receive an email saying they will pay 12 days late due to lack of signatories... feckin feckty feck @rseholes..

just makes me so mad how unprofessional people can be..

[chasingtheaurora]

ooo im so mad

accepted an invoice weekly, 30 day payment terms contract..

31 days later i receive an email saying they will pay 12 days late due to lack of signatories... feckin feckty feck @rseholes..

just makes me so mad how unprofessional people can be..

Tell them to make a CHAPS payment to you, or issue a cheque with only one signature. Their bank will accept it if they tell their bank that they're doing it.

[TheFaQQer]

ooo im so mad

accepted an invoice weekly, 30 day payment terms contract..

31 days later i receive an email saying they will pay 12 days late due to lack of signatories... feckin feckty feck @rseholes..

just makes me so mad how unprofessional people can be..

Kerching! Start adding interest and penalties! The more letters you send them, the more you can charge, I think.

Have a look here for more info.

Out of interest - what signatures do they claim they are missing?

[Hevra]

They're paying you by cheque? Howcome they're not paying by BACS?

Hevra

[NotAllThere]

Kerching! Start adding interest and penalties! The more letters you send them, the more you can charge, I think.

No. Only one admin charge per invoice. The interest keeps racking up though.

[Rantor]

ooo im so mad

accepted an invoice weekly, 30 day payment terms contract..

31 days later i receive an email saying they will pay 12 days late due to lack of signatories... feckin feckty feck @rseholes..

just makes me so mad how unprofessional people can be..

You sure they are not spinning you a line to cover up cash-flow probs their side?

[TheFaQQer]

No. Only one admin charge per invoice. The interest keeps racking up though.

You're right - the interest keeps racking up, but you can only charge them once for the compensation element.

£40 for up to and including £999.99
£70 for £1000.00 to £9999.99
£100 for debts over £10000.00

Current rate for late payment is 13.5% APR.

[chef]

ok,

first of all, yes they are paying me by BACS, it was chasingtheaurora who suggested they should pay me by cheque.

they are claiming that as its my first pay it takes a while to set up the account on their side (b#ll#cks, not 30 days it doesnt) and that they also need signatories from Finance to approve payment who aren't available at the moment (again rubbish as I have a friend contractor who is sat in their office as we speak and says they're in a meeting but all there).

no, they arent in financial trouble, from speaking with other contractors it seems standard company policy to delay payment for 3-12 days from latest contracted payment date. The FD is a bit of a tough nut and likes to hold onto money for as long as possible. general thoughts from others here is "they always pay, they just always pay late by between 3-12 days, never once have they paid early, never once have they missed a payment though either"

so no great hassle it just makes me mad, i do my bit by turning up looking respectable, doing the work required etc. and they then drag their heels over and above the deadline of payment.

Yes your right i can (and will) charge interest daily (up until money received) and also a £70 one off late payment on this weeks invoice. Also, i'm on a "invoice weekly, payment 30 days later" contract so unless the 2nd invoice monies are received by this friday then that another £70 on next weeks invoice.

Speaking with others here because they know that at some point they'll get their money then none of them have bothered charging interest or late payment charge, a few have chased up payment when it got to 10 days overdue, ALL received the "ooo sorry it wont happen again" speach, it still does and they've been here 14months+.. i say if they purposely delay payment that's exactly what the Late Payments (Interest) Act 1998 is written for.. act like a business.

When my contract is up for renewal in december i'll put forward the following proposal, "my rate is going up by £15 a day because i'm consistently being paid late, however, if i am paid ontime (within the 30 day period) i will give a £70 discount on each invoice". That way my rate goes up but if they pay on time then i discount back to what I bill for now.. for me those new terms will be double or quits effectively. If they still pay me late then i whack another £70 + interest on the new improved rate.

Chef wins

[NotAllThere]

Good plan.

I'd certainly keep charging interest, and keep the dunning letters going. As each payment comes in, set it against the admin fees and interest first. This way each invoice becomes less and less fully paid. At the end of the contract, you can then sue, for what is a legal debt, that might be worth quite a lot.

[miffy]

I'd certainly keep charging interest, and keep the dunning letters going. As each payment comes in, set it against the admin fees and interest first. This way each invoice becomes less and less fully paid. At the end of the contract, you can then sue, for what is a legal debt, that might be worth quite a lot.

I like it!

Miffy makes a note in his scrap book...