Self Employed Builder - Invoice Not Being Paid - what next?

[markie76]

Hi Guys,

 

I wonder if I can ask for your expert advice.

 

My cousin is a self employed builder.

 

He completed a job for a customer (business/shop/restaurant) and invoiced them for £7k.

This was a couple of months ago and he has not been paid.

 

What should he do next?

 

He hasn't experienced this before and is currently quite out of pocket as he has spent money on materials and transportation.

 

Thx

 

Mark.

[reallymadwoman]

Has he chased for payment? If so, what response has he received, if any? Are the business still trading so far as he can tell?

[markie76]

Has he chased for payment? If so, what response has he received, if any? Are the business still trading so far as he can tell?

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I have asked if/how they have chased (his wife does his admin) and have been told they have 'contacted' but not much response and nothing beyond that.

 

Yes the business is still trading, it is quite large and it is associated with/owned by a big 'name' that has been on tv.

 

I don't think his admin is very thorough as English is not their first language and doubt they have been on any formal SE management courses/training.

 

Thx.

[SabreSheep]

Was there a contract signed for the job?

 

 

If so, letter before action giving them 14 days to pay then small claims court

[ericsbrother]

A verbal agreement is a contract so dont let that put you off, it will just make the client more likely to argue about the exact amount but as long as you have invoices/receipts for materials it will be fairly easy to show that the work was done.

Many famous companies are notorious for not paying bills on time and need a serious poke with a stick to get them to pay. Once you have isued a claim they normally cough up, it seems that paying £35-50 court fees is acceptable but paying up on time isnt for accounting reasons.

[markie76]

Apologies for delay in responding.

 

What I have been told;

 

1. Initial dealings were with the owners PA.

2. Quote given to the PA.

3. PA gave verbal acceptance/go ahead.

4. Due to the size of the job my cousin asked for a deposit for materials.

5. He was given a cheque for £5k which he cashed - it was some company name.

6. He then started the job.

7. Job completed, invoice sent to owner/company.

 

My cousin has chased the PA - but PA says he no longer works for that person/company and cannot now be chased/responsible as any negotiation/verbal acceptance was only given on behalf of his employer/the company.

 

My cousin has requested a copy of the deposit cheque from his bank.

 

Thanks,

[ericsbrother]

Then he writes to head office with copy of invoice, copy of deposit cheque and asks for balance to be paid within 14 days otherwise leagl action will commence to recover the balance plus any costs.

[markie76]

Thank you for your reply.

 

More info.

1. There doesn't seem to be a head office - contact was either with the PA or invoices were sent to the accountant.

2. There is a second unpaid job which was an 'emergency' call out during the night to deal with some graffiti on a premises wall.

 

Is there a 'formal text' I can get from somewhere to use for this payment request before action letter?

 

Thanks,

[topcat1802]

Just to let you know there are various pieces of legislation which are on your side, you may want to look at the following

 

1. Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
   
2. Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002.
   
3. Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013.
   

Basically this legislation can be summed as follows:

• Businesses must pay their invoice within 60 days, unless expressly agreed otherwise and provided it is not unfair to the creditor.
  
• A statutory interest rate applies (at least 8 percentage points above the Bank of England’s reference rate) to the debt unless an agreement has been reached which amounts to a substantial remedy for the late payment of the debt.
  
• A fixed sum for the cost of recovering a late commercial payment may be made on top of claiming interest from it, the amounts chargeable are specified in the legislation.
  

• Reasonable costs in recovering debt may also be charged.
  

I work as a self employed IT Consultant and last year the agency that was paying my invoice did not pay until after 63 days. I wrote to them with the above information, giving them 14 das to make a payment otherwise I would take them to the Small Claims Court. They paid up within 24 hours, but omitted to pay the extra charges, so I invoiced them for the additional charges under the above legislation, which they grumbled about but eventually paid. So its always a good idea to chase debts.

If the invoices were sent to the accountant then chase the accountant, they do not like to be taken to court for non-payment of their bills.

[ericsbrother]

Look up the registered address held at companies house, send demoand there. It may well be a mailbox but when your cuz wins the HCEO's can call on any branch and the one he did the work at would be first on the list for having goods seized. He is gouing to have to take control of this and make sure that the LBA is sent and followed through. otherwise it wil be a waste of time all round. We can advise on how to fill out forms but we cant do it for him.