The story continues

[Mustang]

A while ago I posted about my previous client not paying. I had a direct contract with them (no agency) and they owed me over £15K since finishing the contract.

This company is the biggest bunch of low life i have come across in a long time and are gifted in the dirty tricks department!!

Of the 3 unpaid invoices they paid the first after 40 days, the remaining 2 are still outstanding and 80+ days late. I have notified them I will be charging interest and that amounts to nearly £500

After they failed to do anything I informed them I would leave it in the hands of my solicitor at which point they came back and started asking what discount I would offer based on "poor performance" (Not true, unsubstantiated and with no evidence!! On the contary, they even extended my contract!!).

I have now contacted a solicitor and he has issued a 'letter of demand' for the full amount (invoices + interest). The 7 days expired and they rang to say a cheque was being sent - however it was only for the invoiced amount and no interest. As yet the cheque has still not arrived - nearly a week after posting.

Assuming there really is a cheque (and I have yet to be convinced) should I a) accept the money, put this all behind me and move on or b) ignore the cheque and proceed with court action and go for all my money?!! If the cheque doesnt arrive then I dont have any option of course. If the case is uncontested I get my invoiced amount, my interest, the court fees and some "fixed costs". These are fixed by the court for all cases and probably wont cover all my solicitors fees. If the case is contested, and I win, I will get all my costs paid. If I go with option a) - I will probably end up feeling like they "got away with it!!"

My initial reaction is to go for b) in order to make a point with them (the whole topic makes my blood boil!) however I am concerned about the cost. I guess I have a third option - accept the money and pursue the interest in the small claims court but this could be time consuming.

Help!! All advice gratefully received!!

[Harrysp]

If you get a cheuqe and it cashes forget about the interest, is £500 worth the stress and hassle, just move on son.

Howeverif the cheque is not forthcoming, give it too them with both barrels, flamin divs.

[Lucifer Box]

Not worth racking up legal costs over £500. If the cheque arrives, cash it and move on.

[insight14]

I've seen people take legal action over a lot less than £500 to prove a point.

If you've lost sleep over it and think it will bring you a sense of justice, you are more than entitled to use your third option - bank their cheque and then go after the interest/fees in court.

I'd be inclined to let it go if you receive the cheque, but thats just me.

[Mailman]

This should be fairly straight forward since they have already paid up the outstanding amount (less interest). If they try and contest the interest on the grounds of poor performance you can have a go at them and ask if poor performance was such an issues why they paid up in the first place!

If it was me, Id screw them for every penny I could get out of them just to make a point!

Mailman

[sb5spa]

unpaid invoice

The £500 in interest will probably just about cover your legal costs. You will not get all your legal costs paid in the event of the invoice being disputed. Solicitors charge on the basis of an hourly rate together with a "mark up" for care and attention. This often means that a solicitor charging £100 per hour (if you can find one that cheap!) will actually be charging you £150 per hour. On the assumption that proceedings are issued which your client uhnsucessfully defends, you should be granted a costs order against them. Expect to only recover 60% to 70% of the costs you have to pay to your solicitor - the longer the action goes on the more you will have to pay. You do not have to use a solicitor - you can issue proceedings on line at www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk

[ratewhore]

cash the cheque - off to small claims court for interest...

[The Late, Great JC]

Name and shame the agency...

[Mailman]

The beauty about the small claims court is that lawyers arent generally allowed abywhere near the hearing!

Do it out of spite! They buggered you around so now its your turn

Mailman

[BlasterBates]

If you get a letter from the client saying you did a marvellous job you can sue em for all they're worth. If you can't, then its your word against theirs, and not worth chasing into the courts. Companies are entitled to cut what they pay if disastisfied, but how do you prove this ?

If you don't have clear proof, get what you can out of it and let it drop as the most likely outcome in such a case would be for the judge to come somewhere down the middle. If you're an employee then a judge will generally decide in your favour, if you're a business then you're going to have to convince.

Once you go the legal route, the agency will respond in kind and then their case just might strengthen (whatever may or may not have happened). At the moment you're probably battling a tired overworked agent.