Having major troubles getting paid by the NHS!! HELP please?
Discussion
speedyguy said:
The sh!t and layers of bureaucracy we have to go through to show "best value" and "transparency" for the public probably costs more than the contract to be awarded.
speedyguy said:
The sh!t and layers of bureaucracy we have to go through to show "best value" and "transparency" for the public probably costs more than the contract to be awarded.Can you get you're MP involved if they are not on their 8 week summer holiday ? Note to press ?? about how it is putting your business at risk? I would say they don't like bad publicity but it's probably like water off a ducks back to them.
"Let me look into it for you"
the next day
"Hi, I rang yesterday about the invoice?"
"There's no purchase order number on the invoice, can you resend it with the PO# on it"
"We weren't given a PO number"
"You must have a purchase order number"
"Well we haven't got one"
"You should have been given one"
"We weren't"
"Let me look into that for you"
a week passes
"Do you have our purchase order number?"
"let me chase it up"
another week later
"Here's the PO number"
later
"Okay, we've sent you the new invoice with the PO number on it"
"So and so is off 'sick', she won't be back until <insert very specific date>"
"Blimey, that's a good illness, knowing exactly when she will be better"
some point in the future
"Hi, the invoice we sent you..."
"I don't appear to have a copy, can you send it to me again"
later
"the invoice..."
"I'll look into it and get that authorised for you"
later still
"invoice?"
"I've looked into it and it's going out on the payment run at the end of the month"
end of the month
"The payment still hasn't been made, despite telling us it would be today"
"oh, hasn't it?"
"No"
"let me look into that for you"
(thinking to self)
"yeah, you f
king like looking into things don't you? I'd like your face to look into my desk". Hours, days, weeks later, who knows at this point
"THE. INVOICE?"
"Oh yes, after looking into it we see there was a delay because we actually paid another company with a similar name to yours but we've corrected the mistake and you should receive payment on the next payment run"
At this point you either finally receive payment or contemplate hanging yourself from a light fixture.
I don't know if NHS optician contracts work on a similar basis to NHS pharmacy contracts, but I used to phone and would have visited if necessary the relevant branch of NHS England, having found out who was meant to be in charge, as its a change in contractor it should be straightforward. I'm surprised your LOC won't help, our LPC chief exec knew just who to contact and would chase stuff up if needed.
Edited by Paul Dishman on Wednesday 27th July 19:52
They can pay you the same day via faster payment, they don't want you to know this but they will buckle at the first threat of legal action over unpaid invoices.
The problem is their payment approval system(P2P) invoices have to get allocated to the correct manager, they sit on somebody's task bar for 5 days and if not approved they get moved to somebody else higher up etc.
Get the name of the manager who approves your invoices and write that name on your invoices - it will stop them getting lost in the system.
The problem is their payment approval system(P2P) invoices have to get allocated to the correct manager, they sit on somebody's task bar for 5 days and if not approved they get moved to somebody else higher up etc.
Get the name of the manager who approves your invoices and write that name on your invoices - it will stop them getting lost in the system.
Trophy Husband said:
We've just approached our bank to provide invoice financing to allow us to take on bigger projects. It's obviously not something you can do in retrospect but, similar to factoring, a good solution. My thinking is that having the bank chase our creditors for money may be far more powerful than a factoring outfit.
If your bank really will be chasing the creditor then it must mean the debt has been assigned. That is not invoice discounting, it's factoring.Indeed sale of that asset is one of the key differences between the two form of finance - http://www.factoringhelpline.co.uk/invoice_discoun...
The amount you pay for the privilege of not having to maintain a sales ledger and do the collection work is higher.
Factoring can be with or without recourse. The former means the factor assumes the bad debt risk, the latter means you do.
With invoice discounting you're always on that hook.
Good luck OP.
My Practice Manager is always chasing payment of one sort or the other from NHS England (or the various subsections/departments). Underpayment or non payment is commonplace.
My Practice Manager is always chasing payment of one sort or the other from NHS England (or the various subsections/departments). Underpayment or non payment is commonplace.
BlueHave said:
My current dentist stopped taking NHS and went completely private some months ago because he was tired of waiting for the NHS to pay him.
Private dentistry is more lucrative and prices are four or five times as much as the NHS pricing bands so no surprise really.
I knew I should have done dentistry. Private dentistry is more lucrative and prices are four or five times as much as the NHS pricing bands so no surprise really.
Red Devil said:
Trophy Husband said:
We've just approached our bank to provide invoice financing to allow us to take on bigger projects. It's obviously not something you can do in retrospect but, similar to factoring, a good solution. My thinking is that having the bank chase our creditors for money may be far more powerful than a factoring outfit.
If your bank really will be chasing the creditor then it must mean the debt has been assigned. That is not invoice discounting, it's factoring.Indeed sale of that asset is one of the key differences between the two form of finance - http://www.factoringhelpline.co.uk/invoice_discoun...
The amount you pay for the privilege of not having to maintain a sales ledger and do the collection work is higher.
Factoring can be with or without recourse. The former means the factor assumes the bad debt risk, the latter means you do.
With invoice discounting you're always on that hook.
Danattheopticians said:
Well this is a difficult one. I own an opticians practice in Southampton and have had an NHS contract to provide NHS funded services since April this year. We have followed everything they have told us to do to the letter, have a long paper and email trail but still not set up to receive payment and are now desperately in need of their payment which is now a 5 figure sum and growing. It's literally at the stage that we will not be able to pay staff and suppliers if this doesn't get rectified soon. Have tried multiple times to get help and now need to resort to legal action. We believe they are in breech of contract which states, "you will be paid promptly" and have not been paid a penny from them as of yet. Do we have a legal case, avenue we can take. I do not want to sue the NHS just make them pay us what we are desperately owed. Thanks.
Have you got anyone in the public sector that you owe money to - HMRC, etc?Some years ago I was being pursued by the VAT people for non/late payment. I was owed money by another government department. I contacted my MP, explained the circumstances and the MP sorted it out.
I got my payment and was able to pay the VAT man.
Try it. What have you got to lose?
Supply part of the NHS for maintenance goods , despite doing it by the book I still get missed payments .
However discount offered is invoiced as a settlement discount , so any overdue amounts come in eventually at full price.
Also been paid twice for the same invoice on more than one occasion , now try ringing them up and informing them about that , they go into defence mode because whoever paid it is in fear of getting disciplined for making the mistake.
Even put the account on stop , the maintenance guys couldn't care less , they can't do any work until it's sorted.
Incompetence at all levels.
However discount offered is invoiced as a settlement discount , so any overdue amounts come in eventually at full price.
Also been paid twice for the same invoice on more than one occasion , now try ringing them up and informing them about that , they go into defence mode because whoever paid it is in fear of getting disciplined for making the mistake.
Even put the account on stop , the maintenance guys couldn't care less , they can't do any work until it's sorted.
Incompetence at all levels.
groomi said:
They probably use a third party payment company, if so are you talking to them rather than the actual trust you have a contract with?
This is your answer, our local optical payments for both Derbyshire and South Yorkshire have been moved to Darlington. (Again that capitalist success story Capita)Every optician I know has been paid wrong since it's been moved.
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