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Have you suffered from late payments by customers? If so, you’re not alone — research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) suggests this is an alarmingly common problem faced by SMEs, especially when they do business with large organisations. Needless to say, this can be extremely annoying and inconvenient, but sometimes it’s a lot worse. If late payments are large and persistent enough, they can prevent your

If you’ve owed a debt for a long time (or if you’re a creditor) it’s important to understand there’s a time limit, beyond which a creditor can no longer take certain actions. However, there’s a lot of uncertainty about when a debt is or isn’t “statute-barred” — and what exactly that means. What Is “Statute-Barred”? A debt is statute-barred when no action has been taken to recover it for a specified time (usually six

Debts come in many shapes and sizes. Most of the debts I recover are owed to private businesses or landlords, but money can also be owed to public bodies, including council tax due to local authorities. But are these debts a special case? The Dilemma of Council Tax Debts Councillors in Wolverhampton recently launched a drive to recover thousands of pounds owed in unpaid council taxes, and are looking at possible stra

One of the worst things about being in debt is that it can seem there’s no way out. You might certainly think negotiating with your creditors is a non-starter. After all, they hold all the cards, don’t they? It’s not as bleak as you might think, though. In some cases, a negotiated settlement could be your way out of debt. How Does a Negotiated Settlement Work? What you have going for you in negotiations is that your

It’s simple enough — if your business doesn’t have enough money coming in, it isn’t viable. And that’s cash in your bank account, not invoices you’re trusting will be paid promptly, or work you haven’t done yet. It’s staggering, though, how many business owners have no idea of their cashflow. Whether you manage your own finances or employ someone to do it for you, if it’s your business, you need to know all about you

The country has been so busy lately arguing over the future of the UK economy that some disturbing signs at ground level have been largely ignored. Personal insolvencies are at their highest level since the worst of the economic crisis, while figures suggest that a staggering proportion of households are operating on a financial knife-edge. So what’s gone wrong? The Income Crisis According to figures from R3, the ins

If someone owes you money that’s well overdue, you’ll want to take action to try and recover it. That’s quite right — but it’s important to go about it in the right way. In particular, it’s crucial to understand why the debtor isn’t paying. Two Types of Debtor Broadly speaking, people (whether individuals or business owners) fail to pay their bills for one of two reasons. Either they choose not to pay, or they simply

If a company or individual owes you money and the usual channels for requesting payment aren’t working, what should your next step be? To some extent, that will depend on the debtor. The aim, of course, is always to recover your money, but the best approach is going to vary. Because not all debtors are alike. Two Kinds of Debtors There are broadly two kinds of debtors — those who can’t pay and those who won’t pay. Re

Bailiffs have traditionally struck fear into people. In the popular imagination, they’re irresistible forces that have the power to strip you of all your possessions. In reality, though, your attitude to bailiffs will depend largely on whether you’re a debtor or a creditor. Using a Bailiff If you’re owed money by a customer or tenant, there are many possible actions for recovering the debt. Most of these involve comm

Let’s face it, none of us read the terms and conditions for the goods and services we buy. In fact, the Telegraph suggests that it would take most of us fifty years to read them all. So, does that mean you don’t have to read the Ts & Cs in the contracts you issue, either? Absolutely not. And, more to the point, it’s essential to apply them. What Are Your Terms & Conditions For? Your Ts & Cs don’t have to