[darren533]

i invoiced [company name removed] and then after 75 days i had to phone them , they said in the past it was the post , then they said 30 days after the end of the month then they said 60 days , i asked them obout  all the diffent excuses they made , and when i phoned them and spoke kindly with respect they just put the phone down on me once they find out its about payment has anyone any advice abot dealing with bad payers , has anyone had this exsperinec with bussinesses.?

[Philip Hanson]

Darren,

I'm very sorry to hear you have been messed about regarding your payment.

Unfortunately, I have had to remove the name of the company you refer to as allegations like this can lead to libel action against this forum.

I understand that it is very frustrating, I hope you manage to get it sorted out.

-Philip

[AuRavelling79]

Depends how much they are into you for - if its tens of pounds don't let it raise your blood pressure but do no more cleans until settled and then maybe no more anyway unless they pay up front.

If it's into the hundreds tell them you are coming down to discuss the matter and stand there until you get paid or booted out. (You'll get "the boss isn't in, no one to sign a cheque etc" if so, treat it as "booted out")

If booted out contact Citizens advice about going through the small claims court - its not difficult to do. Do it thoroughly and methodically, getting their name and address exactly right etc. I even started proceedings against a solicitors for an outstanding account of about £600 when I was in a different line of business and they paid as sweet as a nut! But they've got to!

I've never had window cleaning bills unpaid by businesses (its such a relatively small sum to most businesses)  - either they're going through the hoop or they're simply the type never to do business with again.

Whatever, don't clean their premesis again until you are paid in full!

Whatever happens resist the temptation to "egg" their showroom windows on a Friday night! That would be most unprofessional, as would supergluing their front door locks at the same time! Please don't do that!

[wrighty]

I never had this situatio but I know something - if they owed me money and lied to me I would be angry and believe me one way or another I would be paid - Go sort em mate

Craig

[rosskesava]

Hi

I've had the problem a few times but, touch wood, not whilst window cleaning.

As per the post above, go via the Small Claims Court.

The process is very simple, very informal and based, surprisingly enough, not on complex 'he said this and done this and all that TV type thing', it is based on common sense.

One claim I successfully made was against a local Southern water supplier. The relative size of the company concerned as opposed to small you is of no concern to a small claims court regardless of how well they put their case. Believe me.

Just go to any local Court building and ask how to make a claim using the Small Claims Court. They are always helpfull even if you are in the wrong type of court building.

One other point  that is often missed by a lot of people, the CAB will not help you with a claim, they will only tell you how to go about making a claim with the Small Claims Court. The CAB do not take sides but instead provide valuable 'how to' advise.

[rosskesava]

Hi wrighty

I was owed money by a night club.

Yeah.

Storm in there and get angry.

Yeah right.

[Roy Harding]

Like every one says it depends how much they owe, however I have gone through small claims against a national company with top result. You can do this online at https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp.

It costs £80 they also charge interest on the amount and add the £80 to the bill. But go see them first and try and do it the nice way first.

[easycleanwindows]

I have a customer one of the largest food manufacturers in europe.They know my terms are within 7 days.The first time i cleaned they payed afer 30 days and i added 14% interest.If you dont pay your credit cards,overdrafts etc on time you get charged interest on their terms.You can charge whatever interset you like as long as they dont question it as extortionate.I charged 14% they ended up paying an extra £200.00.This time they paid within the week as they know that next time their cleaning will be cancelled and they would pay £1000 more for another company as ive saved that  them by using us.

[Reflective Property Services]

I have a customer one of the largest food manufacturers in europe.They know my terms are within 7 days.The first time i cleaned they payed afer 30 days and i added 14% interest.If you dont pay your credit cards,overdrafts etc on time you get charged interest on their terms.You can charge whatever interset you like as long as they dont question it as extortionate.I charged 14% they ended up paying an extra £200.00.This time they paid within the week as they know that next time their cleaning will be cancelled and they would pay £1000 more for another company as ive saved that them by using us.

How do you do this? You cant whack an extra 14% on top without telling them beforehand that you're going to do that if they dont pay on time? Do you word it somehow on the invoice?

[DP]

With the greatest respect to all on this particular forum, but can anyone explain how you can remove a companies name from  a post by someone who has complained about bad payment from fear of liable action against the forum (which I both understand and agree with as irritating as it may be to the poster).
     
And on another CIU forum (20th post down)
 
http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4660.0

No fears here it seems. Am I missing something, its even a sticky (a topic which is held at the top).

Bit of a confusing observation,   

[dustycorner]

hi , there is a very simple way for you to get your money, you are chasing a business for payment so presumably they have been invoiced and made aware of your payment terms . If they are taking the pee pass them over to a collection agency which means they automaticly incur a penalty the agency will pursue the debt on your behalf until sucessful.

To try and prevent a debt reaching this stage try making customers aware of the penalties involved in late payment e.g.

A £25 OR 10% of the invoice whichever is greater late payment admin charge.

Cheers Mark.

[dustycorner]

hi , there is a very simple way for you to get your money, you are chasing a business for payment so presumably they have been invoiced and made aware of your payment terms . If they are taking the pee pass them over to a collection agency which means they automaticly incur a penalty the agency will pursue the debt on your behalf until sucessful.

To try and prevent a debt reaching this stage try making customers aware of the penalties involved in late payment e.g.

A £25 OR 10% of the invoice whichever is greater late payment admin charge.

Cheers Mark.
[The only thing we can't clean is your conscience]

[windows_chepstow]

A large hotel owed us several hundreds of pounds since October 2004.  We received the money last week.

The problem happened because the hotel chain have a central paying agency in Scotland and the hotel I clean is in South Wales.

You just have to be persistant.  In the end, I told an extremely apologetic manager that I wasn't going to clean their windows till I was paid.

Eventually, after day on, day off phone calls for a week he agreed to pay me the money from their petty cash; even though, according to their rules, bills over £80.00 should not be paid from it, and this central paying agency should do it.

I think you've just got to be persistant, and if the phone was put down on me, I would have to see the 'person', toe to toe.

[Londoner]

I don't know how much money we are talking about here but my view is slightly different.
If I get a bad payer I just walk away at the first hint of trouble and never go back.

Leopards never change their spots and bad payers don't suddenly repent and become good payers.

Also I never let the money get too high so it hurts to get knocked.
I believe life's too short to get all worked up about these things.
I have been caught a few times, and sometimes for quite large amounts but thats life.

[dustycorner]

Hi,

Don't readily agree with the last post ive had 2 clients who initially thought they could dictate different payment terms to what was agreed. Once i put penalties in place they fell into line. One thing i always try to do is develop a excellent relationship with the clients account dept. On several occasions ive had cheques fast tracked because of this. Honey traps more flies than vinegar.

Cheers Mark.