What to do when payment overdue
Thread poster: OlafK
OlafK
OlafK
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:44
English to German
+ ...
Oct 1, 2002

I live in the UK and payment by two of my new UK clients is slightly overdue. I am a bit nervous because I don\'t know what to do in such a case. It never happened to me before! My question is not so much about these cases because I\'m still hopeful. But in general: When do I react? How do I react? Do I charge interest and if so, how much? Is there a legal tool, something like the German \"Mahnbescheid\"? I\'d be grateful for some advice by UK residents or people who have some experience dealing... See more
I live in the UK and payment by two of my new UK clients is slightly overdue. I am a bit nervous because I don\'t know what to do in such a case. It never happened to me before! My question is not so much about these cases because I\'m still hopeful. But in general: When do I react? How do I react? Do I charge interest and if so, how much? Is there a legal tool, something like the German \"Mahnbescheid\"? I\'d be grateful for some advice by UK residents or people who have some experience dealing with bad payers from the UK.Collapse


 
Spencer Allman
Spencer Allman
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:44
Finnish to English
Be polite and firm Oct 1, 2002

Hi



It depends what you mean by overdue. UK clients/agencies generally pay at the end of the month following the month in the date the invoice is received. Thus, if they received your invoice today 1.10. they should have forwarded payment by 30 November. If you haven\'t had your money one week after that date send a reminder email. If you get no reply send another in 24 hours. It is essential to be polite but firm; if translators do not chase their invoices they may be percei
... See more
Hi



It depends what you mean by overdue. UK clients/agencies generally pay at the end of the month following the month in the date the invoice is received. Thus, if they received your invoice today 1.10. they should have forwarded payment by 30 November. If you haven\'t had your money one week after that date send a reminder email. If you get no reply send another in 24 hours. It is essential to be polite but firm; if translators do not chase their invoices they may be perceived as unprofessional by industry and the translation industry too. If they still ignore you I would refer the matter to any relevant association or organisation you are a member of, and tell the client that is what you intend to do.



This should get things moving. In the case of a client who is a private person, then let us hope the job you did was not too big.



Best



Spencer
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Claudia Andreani
Claudia Andreani  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
Send an invoice Oct 1, 2002

Send and invoice through Dunn & Bradstreet (http://www.dnb.com/ ). You pay a fee and they will look for the company and request payment.



This is one possibility


Xiuli Zhang
 
Kim Metzger
Kim Metzger  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 07:44
German to English
Payment practices mailing lists Oct 2, 2002

Hi Olaf,

After I hadn\'t been paid for over 4 months and after many friendly reminders, I once told a chap who runs an agency in Vienna that I intended to post a message on a payment practices mailing list (Zahlungsmoral).

I don\'t have any experience with the one listed here, but whether you belong or not, the threat might wor
... See more
Hi Olaf,

After I hadn\'t been paid for over 4 months and after many friendly reminders, I once told a chap who runs an agency in Vienna that I intended to post a message on a payment practices mailing list (Zahlungsmoral).

I don\'t have any experience with the one listed here, but whether you belong or not, the threat might work. It did for me.



http://www.trwenterprises.com/pp_policies.htm



Cheers, Kim
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Mary Worby
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:44
German to English
+ ...
Slightly overdue is par for the course! Oct 2, 2002

I wouldn\'t panic just yet. Most British agencies don\'t pay bang on time, unfortunately!



If the payments are a week or two overdue, I would ring up and ask politely what was going on. Rather than storming in and demanding immediately payment, I generally just ask when I can expect payment and check that there were no problems with the invoice. I\'ve always found a telephone call more effective than an e-mail, as people have a habit of ignoring e-mails they don\'t want to de
... See more
I wouldn\'t panic just yet. Most British agencies don\'t pay bang on time, unfortunately!



If the payments are a week or two overdue, I would ring up and ask politely what was going on. Rather than storming in and demanding immediately payment, I generally just ask when I can expect payment and check that there were no problems with the invoice. I\'ve always found a telephone call more effective than an e-mail, as people have a habit of ignoring e-mails they don\'t want to deal with!



I\'ve never had any serious problems with UK agencies, but I\'ve also rarely had one pay on time! If these companies are genuinely very overdue, there are other avenues you can explore, but I would be wary of using them before you are sure it is the only way to go.



Are the agencies on the Blue Board? If they\'re not, it might be worth posting their names to see if other translators have had similar problems.



HTH, and good luck!



Mary
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Marijke Singer
Marijke Singer  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:44
Member
Dutch to English
+ ...
Payment Oct 2, 2002

I agree with Mary:

I\'ve never had any serious problems with UK agencies, but I\'ve also rarely had one pay on time!



I also live in the UK.



Twice agencies have been very late in paying (one in the UK and one abroad). After calling and sending e-mail messages several times, I wrote them a letter threatening to expose them on various lists (Payment Practices specifically). This worked beautifully because they paid within two weeks. I don\'t work
... See more
I agree with Mary:

I\'ve never had any serious problems with UK agencies, but I\'ve also rarely had one pay on time!



I also live in the UK.



Twice agencies have been very late in paying (one in the UK and one abroad). After calling and sending e-mail messages several times, I wrote them a letter threatening to expose them on various lists (Payment Practices specifically). This worked beautifully because they paid within two weeks. I don\'t work for these agencies any more.
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Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Use the Blue Board
Xiuli Zhang
Xiuli Zhang  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:44
Member (2020)
English to Chinese
+ ...
overdue payment and ignore the payment reminder. Jun 22, 2020

Claudia Andreani wrote:

Send and invoice through Dunn & Bradstreet (http://www.dnb.com/ ). You pay a fee and they will look for the company and request payment.



This is one possibility


Could you advise me how to contact them to help me get my payment from the scam companies.


 
Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 14:44
Italian to English
+ ...
Stay cool Jun 23, 2020

I've been working in the field for over 30 years and never not been paid. Only on a couple of occasions have I had to use "strong-arm" tactics, but in general it's really important to keep things pleasant, unless you want to damage the underlying relationship.

Send a reminder and note who answers you. Keep contacting them politely at regular intervals and only make your tone more urgent when they fail to fulfil their promises. I always stress the need for a due date and for informat
... See more
I've been working in the field for over 30 years and never not been paid. Only on a couple of occasions have I had to use "strong-arm" tactics, but in general it's really important to keep things pleasant, unless you want to damage the underlying relationship.

Send a reminder and note who answers you. Keep contacting them politely at regular intervals and only make your tone more urgent when they fail to fulfil their promises. I always stress the need for a due date and for information. In other words, customers can pay me late, but they need to tell me why, and when they intend to pay me.

Right now, with the Covid crisis, many businesses have cash-flow problems. I'd show some understanding and ask them whether they need an extension on their payment deadline, stressing the need for good communciation.
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Josephine Cassar
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Tom in London
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 14:44
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
Sound advice Jun 23, 2020

Anthony Keily wrote:

I've been working in the field for over 30 years and never not been paid. Only on a couple of occasions have I had to use "strong-arm" tactics, but in general it's really important to keep things pleasant, unless you want to damage the underlying relationship.

Send a reminder and note who answers you. Keep contacting them politely at regular intervals and only make your tone more urgent when they fail to fulfil their promises. I always stress the need for a due date and for information. In other words, customers can pay me late, but they need to tell me why, and when they intend to pay me.

Right now, with the Covid crisis, many businesses have cash-flow problems. I'd show some understanding and ask them whether they need an extension on their payment deadline, stressing the need for good communciation.

Very sound advice (at least to me) though we all hate late payers and we start to panic especially when the bills follow. Better than strong arm tactics and more likely to get a response while safeguarding the relationship though I would hesitate working for such people unless there are valid reasons.


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
So ... Jun 23, 2020

... did you get paid in the end (I mean OlafK, of course)? Because I'd advise you to sit down if you intend to wait any longer. Why tire yourself unnecessarily after 18 years?

[Edited at 2020-06-23 17:44 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-06-23 17:48 GMT]

As for Xiuli, Anthony has given you some very good advice.

[Edited at 2020-06-23 18:12 GMT]


IrinaN
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:44
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I agree with Anthony Jun 24, 2020

I agree with most of what Anthony says and in my case too, nobody has ever succeeded in not paying me (although some have tried).

"Stay cool" is good advice. So don't get upset/resentful/angry about someone who seems determined not to pay you. Think of this as just another task you need to do.

I also strongly agree that being very polite is a key factor in getting paid. Formal, polite letters and polite emails frighten non-payers because the politeness suggests that you
... See more
I agree with most of what Anthony says and in my case too, nobody has ever succeeded in not paying me (although some have tried).

"Stay cool" is good advice. So don't get upset/resentful/angry about someone who seems determined not to pay you. Think of this as just another task you need to do.

I also strongly agree that being very polite is a key factor in getting paid. Formal, polite letters and polite emails frighten non-payers because the politeness suggests that you mean business, especially if your formal, professional language includes phraseology that suggests you might already be consulting your legal advisor.

HOWEVER as a precondition you must first have decided, in your own mind, that if necessary you will, in fact, take legal advice.

I would not be too quick to go to one of those debt collection agencies. Much better to identify a small law firm in the same town as the non-paying agency, or even better, in the same local area. Then if need be, contact that law firm and instruct them to write a first letter to the non-payer.

Personally I've never had to go that far. Non-payers know perfectly well what can eventually happen if they insist on not paying (and since you're in the UK, see the TV series "Can't pay? We'll take it away"). When they realise that you intend to go all the way if necessary, they will work out for themselves that it's better to pay. This requires careful sequencing of your emails to them. Always very polite.

But I disagree with Anthony when he writes "....with the Covid crisis, many businesses have cash-flow problems." There is no reason why you should take on the burden of someone else's cashflow problems. The reason why you need to be paid is that you have cashflow problems of your own!

To summarise: be cold, ruthless, and relentless. Not nasty nor rude; just unstoppable.




[Edited at 2020-06-24 10:44 GMT]
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
Covid Jun 24, 2020

Tom's just said what I was thinking as the only blemish on Anthony's advice, but due to laziness I didn't bother saying so. Covid is not a valid reason. Can you cite Covid to the leccy company because you can't pay your bills? No. Well, you can, but they'll cut you off just the same.

Joe France
 
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What to do when payment overdue







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