You most certainly DON’T have a right not to pay if the driver can’t provide a POD. The only time you may have a right not to pay is if the driver couldn’t provide a POD AND the consignee claimed that the goods hadn’t been delivered. Even then, if the driver could show ‘in the balance of probability’ that the goods had been delivered then you’d have no right to withhold payment.
Posted under Courier Basics, Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 12:02 pm, May 14, 2008
A letter before action and a late payment charge at the same time. Here – and don’t forget you can still claim the late payment charges for the other two invoices they paid late.
Posted under Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 3:56 pm, April 29, 2008
lynyrd wrote:
what would be the fastest ever period going from starting a ltd company to shutting the doors?last year 6 weeks, now another it seems?…..isnt it time the law got involved in this scam?
what actually constitutes “obtaining goods or services by deception”?
and if my booking form doesnt state “ltd” just who was I dealing with?…
This is exactly why recently formed limited companies, or in fact most limited companies now, are a bad credit risk. That’s why the banks demand directors’ guarantees before lending them money.
The Companies Act contains all sorts of get out clauses so that limited companies can act in a shonky way and get away with it – but if they get the basics wrong then the shield of limited liability is taken away from them.
If the booking form doesn’t contain their limited company details then they’re in breach of the Companies Act – which means that the directors should be held personably liable for any losses you suffer because of their breach.
Posted under Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment, Legal Issues
Posted by Alec at 11:01 am, April 22, 2008
If the charges relate only to the goods that he has in his possession then he doesn’t need anything in his terms and conditions to allow him to retain them, he’s not allowed to sell them though.
Proper T&Cs should establish a general lien (rather than the special lien described above) and the right to dispose of or sell the goods. The customer doesn’t necessarily need to have signed (or even read) the T&Cs for them to apply – it’s enough to be able to show that the customer should have been aware that the T&Cs existed and that they were available to examine.
Personally I’d keep hold of the stuff, continue charging her for storage at the agreed rate and tell her you’ll sue for the full amount plus a late payment charge and the court costs. She’ll soon decide that she’s got the money.
Posted under Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 5:48 pm, April 21, 2008
You can do a chargeback if he doesn’t perform according to contract.
What’s more common though – jobs being done to such a low standard that you could legitimately withhold payment or people paying late?
I reckon that half the people posting jobs on here today will be out of business by this time next year, so Dave’s probably got the right idea.
Posted under Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 9:48 pm, March 18, 2008
Late Payment charge of £40, £70 or £100 FOR EACH INVOICE http://www.payontime.co.uk/legislation/legislation_main.html and interest at (currently) 13.5% pa http://www.payontime.co.uk/calculator/statutory.html
Posted under Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 5:24 pm, December 4, 2007
Unless it’s particularly allowed for in your terms and conditions you can only exercise a lien over goods that are actually connected with the outstanding debt. So if you were owed money for storage you could hold the goods that you were storing against payment of the storage fees. You can’t exercise a lien over goods that you collect today as security for a debt that’s outstanding from last month.
Having said that, it would be a civil matter anyway and the only recourse the customer would have would be to sue you for any losses incurred by your wrongful detention of their goods.
Posted under Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment, Legal Issues
Posted by Alec at 12:29 pm, November 20, 2007
If no terms are agreed beforehand then the invoice is payable on demand – whatever terms the supplier wants. Interest and late payment charges can be applied after 30 days even if no terms agreed. 30 days net means 30 days from invoice date. You can claim the late payment charge up to six years after the invoice was due even if they pay just a few days after the 30 days.
Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment
Posted by Alec at 6:12 pm, October 25, 2007