Being chased for a late payment
Discussion
Good Evening folks,
Picked up the wee man from nursery today and was presented with a letter from the nursery saying we had missed a months payment and the owner was looking for us to supply her with what we had paid etc. Everything looks hunky-dory our end, shes only just banked Julys cheque on 4/11/10! Then... we are 'owe' 10% late payment surcharge for 5 months of £91 as we are running a month late every month!
She trades as a sole trader i think (im going to write to ask clarification) & we dont get invoiced monthly. Would this 'charge' still stand?
Suggestions as to what can i write in response to the debt, im not 100% clued up on the legalities, but as its not of a commercial nature i dont know if she can charge.
Cheers
Picked up the wee man from nursery today and was presented with a letter from the nursery saying we had missed a months payment and the owner was looking for us to supply her with what we had paid etc. Everything looks hunky-dory our end, shes only just banked Julys cheque on 4/11/10! Then... we are 'owe' 10% late payment surcharge for 5 months of £91 as we are running a month late every month!
She trades as a sole trader i think (im going to write to ask clarification) & we dont get invoiced monthly. Would this 'charge' still stand?
Suggestions as to what can i write in response to the debt, im not 100% clued up on the legalities, but as its not of a commercial nature i dont know if she can charge.
Cheers
Any money is of a 'commercial nature'.
IMHO it all depends on what contract, if any, you signed. If you agreed to pay late payment surcharges, then you probably have to pay them. If you didn't, then you can construct a polite way (bearing in mind you may still wish to use their services) to tell them to go swing
My wild hunch is that her husband has just been made reduandant and is wading through her books telling her to get tough...
IMHO it all depends on what contract, if any, you signed. If you agreed to pay late payment surcharges, then you probably have to pay them. If you didn't, then you can construct a polite way (bearing in mind you may still wish to use their services) to tell them to go swing
My wild hunch is that her husband has just been made reduandant and is wading through her books telling her to get tough...
k offPablo,
Yes this appears to be the case..
Im just looking for a 'smart a**e'/ carefully worded response to her and the scrap of paper we were presented with! Her administrative operations have been questioned before. We're going to take the wee man out soon anyway as we're moving (which the nursery doesnt know yet)
Yes this appears to be the case..
Im just looking for a 'smart a**e'/ carefully worded response to her and the scrap of paper we were presented with! Her administrative operations have been questioned before. We're going to take the wee man out soon anyway as we're moving (which the nursery doesnt know yet)
Edited by Galileo1 on Tuesday 16th November 21:33
Galileo1 said:
Pablo,
Yes this appears to be the case..
Im just looking for a 'smart a**e'/ carefully worded response to her and the scrap of paper we were presented with! Her administrative operations have been questioned before. We're going to take the wee man out soon anyway as we're moving (which the nursery doesnt know yet)
It doesnt need to be carefully worded as you don't owe her sh** apart from a stern word.Yes this appears to be the case..
Im just looking for a 'smart a**e'/ carefully worded response to her and the scrap of paper we were presented with! Her administrative operations have been questioned before. We're going to take the wee man out soon anyway as we're moving (which the nursery doesnt know yet)
Edited by Galileo1 on Tuesday 16th November 21:33
That'll waste less of your time than writing a letter.
The late payment of commercial debts act is a statutory instrument and as such does not need to be included in any terms of business for it to be applicable. If there are no terms stating the agreed credit period then 30 days applies as a default under the Act.
However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
Fundamentally her failure to administer her accounts and cheque paying into the bank is not your problem - she made the mistake by not paying the cheque in at the correct time.
Suggest she improves her administration and ask if she would like to pay you a consultancy fee for finding her error.
Suggest she improves her administration and ask if she would like to pay you a consultancy fee for finding her error.
Yeah, im going to drop it an email stating the fact that after me checking this isnt the first time a cheque hasnt been banked timeously (3 times now)i even said to my better half to say to the nursery about this and yes, may well include the 'consultancy fee' line.. have some of that fatso with your dodgy eye!
donz29 said:
The late payment of commercial debts act is a statutory instrument and as such does not need to be included in any terms of business for it to be applicable. If there are no terms stating the agreed credit period then 30 days applies as a default under the Act.
However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
Doesn't that just apply to businesses and not individuals though? The nursery may be a business but the customer is an individual.However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
The Crack Fox said:
Galileo1 said:
have some of that fatso with your dodgy eye!
Gordon Brown runs your nursery !? 
I went up and spoke to it... as opposed to emailing.. Took all payment details, chq numbers etc. got an apology, so looks like 1-0 and the wee man will no doubt be left to sit in a sh**y nappy all day from now on.
Thanks for help and comments
Road2Ruin said:
donz29 said:
The late payment of commercial debts act is a statutory instrument and as such does not need to be included in any terms of business for it to be applicable. If there are no terms stating the agreed credit period then 30 days applies as a default under the Act.
However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
Doesn't that just apply to businesses and not individuals though? The nursery may be a business but the customer is an individual.However is she's essentially sat on your cheque for 5 months before cashing it, then I suggest that the error lies entirely with her and not you! It does sound as if her accounting procedure is nowhere near robust enough.
A guide to the Act published by the DTI is available to download here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...
HTH
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