Late Payment Letter

LATE PAYMENT LETTER

The first stage of the debt recovery process involves sending a late payment letter to the organisation that owes you money.  You should send this type of letter if you are looking to recover a debt from a partnership or a limited company.

WHAT IS LATE PAYMENT?

Late payment is a term used to describe a payment that has not been made on time.

WHAT IS A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

A late payment letter is a written demand for payment of a debt and statutory late payment compensation within a certain period of time.  We demand payment within 7 days.

Some people refer to a late payment letter as an overdue payment reminder letter, a strong letter for outstanding payment or a warning letter for outstanding payment.

DO I NEED TO SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

Yes, the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 state that you must send a late payment letter before embarking on a debt claim.

HOW IS A LATE PAYMENT LETTER DIFFERENT TO A LETTER BEFORE ACTION?

A late payment letter is different from a letter before action in that we will demand payment of the debt that is owing to you, plus any statutory late payment compensation that you may be entitled to by law.

Pursuant to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002, as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013, you can claim statutory late payment compensation on top of the debt that you are owed, as follows:

For debts up to £999.99: £40.00

For debts between £1,000.00 and £9,999.99: £70.00

For debts of £10,000.00 or more: £100.00

If you instruct us to send a late payment letter, we will add the appropriate sums on to the debt you are owed.

Click on the following link to find out more about late payment law.

WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

A late payment letter does not have to be in a prescribed form.  However, an effective late payment letter will state:

1. The correct name and address of the organisation that owes you money.
2. Whether they carry on business as a partnership, limited liability partnership or a limited company.
3. The value of the debt outstanding.
4. The amount of statutory late payment compensation that you wish to claim pursuant to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002, as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013.
5. The total amount outstanding.
6. That the total amount outstanding is overdue.
7. That court action will follow if payment is not made within 7 days.

How do I write a late payment letter is a question we are often asked.  The late payment letters we send are concise and serve as a polite reminder to pay an unpaid invoice.

HOW DO YOU SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

Our late payment letter will be sent to the organisation that owes you money by Royal Mail first class post.

CAN A LATE PAYMENT LETTER BE SENT BY EMAIL?

There is no requirement in law for a late payment letter to be sent by recorded delivery or via email.

DO I NEED A SOLICITOR TO SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

Strictly speaking, you do not need a solicitor to send a late payment letter.  However, using a solicitor may increase the likelihood of you getting paid.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

For a fixed fee of £30.00 plus VAT, we will send a late payment letter to the organisation that owes you money.  The cost of sending a late payment letter is not usually recoverable from the organisation that owes you money.

If you want us to send a late payment letter by post and by email, our fee will be £50.00 plus VAT.

HOW DO I INSTRUCT YOU TO SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

You can instruct us to send a late payment letter by completing our Late Payment Letter Form – Partnerships & Limited Companies and returning it to: mail@bennettwilliamssolicitors.com.  Before doing this, you must complete the Open an Account form on our website and wait for confirmation that your account has been opened.

HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU PROCESS MY REQUEST?

Provided that your instructions are received by 4.00pm, we will process your request same day.  If your instructions are received after 4.00pm, at a weekend or on a bank holiday, we will process your request the next working day.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER I INSTRUCT YOU TO SEND A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

We will send you a copy of our late payment letter and our invoice for £30.00 plus VAT.  Thereafter, if the organisation that owes you money contacts us following receipt of our late payment letter, we will contact you immediately to let you know if:

1. They admit the debt and have sent us payment.
2. They admit the debt but have not sent us payment.
3. They admit part of the debt and have sent us payment.
4. They admit part of the debt but have not sent us payment.
5. They admit the statutory late payment compensation and have sent us payment.
6. They admit the statutory late payment compensation and have not sent us payment.
7. They have requested copy documents.
8. They dispute the debt.
9. They dispute the statutory late payment compensation.

In your debt is disputed, a charge of £15.00 plus VAT per unit will be payable in respect of the time we spend sending you copy correspondence and/or details of any telephone call(s) we receive from your opponent.  Ad-hoc requests for further advice and/or guidance will be charged at the rate of £15.00 plus VAT per email and/or telephone call.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T RESPOND TO A LATE PAYMENT LETTER?

If the organisation that owes you money fails to respond to our late payment letter, you will be entitled to proceed to Stage 2 of the debt recovery process by instructing us to issue court action.

Please note: to access our services, you will need to open an account.  You can do this by completing the form on the open an account page of our website.  On receipt of your application, we will set you up as a debt recovery client and then contact you to explain what will happen next.  Alternatively, for general enquiries, please contact us.  If you would like to speak to one of our advisors, please call: 0151 650 6908.  We very much look forward to working with you.

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