Any tips on chasing invoices?

[hostedweb]

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well! I have quite a few outstanding invoices and send out 3 reminders but hardly receive any kind of response. Does anyone have any specific tips that may help me on my quest to clear the backlog?

thanks i advance.

[maxine]

Phone, Phone, Phone, Phone, Phone, letter before action, Phone, Phone, Visit if possible, Phone then Debt Claim or Statutory Demand :)

[Edward Moss]

There £2 letter before action works, only ever had to take a company to court once, and of course, won.
Great service and takes all the stress away from yourself.

http://www.thomashiggins.com/

[GRDCredit]

Someone posted on here a few days ago (Lucy?) along the lines of getting fed up with people sending red, green, blue, yellow and pink letters!

I would agree with Maxine - phone phone phone phone phone phone.

What you need of course is a good credit controller. Now, if only I could think of one for you.........!

[KM-Tiger]

Someone in your debtor companies makes the decision as to whether it's you or someone else that gets paid.

The trick is to find out who that is and strike up a relationship.

Easier said than done, but if you can find the decision maker and charm them, you'll get paid straight away.

[GRDCredit]

The trick is to find out who that is and strike up a relationship.



Too true. I wrote in the blog below that Credit Control done well is a relationship builder whereas debt collection is a relationship killer.

I am not sure what sort of values you are talking about but make a friend of whoever pays the bills - that is not necessarily the cheque signatory but could be the purchase ledger clerk. You just want to make sure that your invoice is always on the top of the pile for payment

[MyAccountantOnline]

Agree entirely with Maxine.

Do also make sure your terms of business are in writing and agreed before any sales.

[Minuteman Press]

I'm with Edward Moss on this one. £2 letters are superb.
Very high success rate.

[Peter Bowen]

Don't. At least not yourself. Let me explain:

It's bad for your karma. We business owners tend to take our work very personally. When someone won’t pay it hurts us. Not just in the wallet. It feels like we’re being rejected. Like we’re not good enough.

It’s bad for your business. You should be doing something better with your time. You’re supposed to be the conductor in the orchestra, not the cymbal player. The driver of the bus and not the engine. You’re the only one who’s going to give direction and you’re probably responsible for most of the sales too. I don’t like confrontation and I tend to believe people too easily. It’s part of my genetic wiring. This makes it hard for me to be firm enough to do the right thing for my business. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve harmed my business in the past by not being tough enough with debtors.

Can I humbly invite you to consider our automatic invoice reminder system. It's proven staggeringly effective at helping small business owners get paid faster without offending their clients (http://www.getting-paid.com/debt-collecting/how-to-ask-for-money-and-keep-the-client.php).

[GRDCredit]

Peter - with all due respect what you seem to be suggesting in answer to the OPs original question is that where three letters have already been sent without success he should arrange for more letters to be sent!
Whilst I am of course biased in this matter I cannot overstate the importance of talking with the customer, by telephone or in person. If you are not comfortable with this, employ someone to do it for you.


Geoff

[mubin]

If they are hosting clients than why not just turn of the services?

[Peter Bowen]

Hi Geoff,

6 months ago I would not have said this. I wouldn't have believed that the getting-paid method of persistent gently escalating reminders would work where a client's other letters had failed. Our users have proved me wrong. I get regular feedback about them getting paid on very old debt that they had given up on.

I think you'll agree with me that the advantage of written communication is that you're establishing a paper trail in case you need it later on. It's much harder to prove what was said on the phone without recording it.

Please don't think that I'm discounting the effect of a telephone call if you've got the time to do it yourself or the inclination to hire and train someone to do it properly.

I think that the most important thing is to have a credit control system in place and actually use it. This is something that we small business owners don't generally do well.

[Poupee11]

I worked in Credit Control for about 2 years.

Best thing is to send statements before the End of the Month e.g. 20th of the month.
Check how overdue is the account, if it's more than 20 days give them a call and ask whether they have received your Invoice and has been booked on books for a payment processing, they may have some issues for not entering the Invoice e.g. missing your VAT number and there may be something wrong with goods supplied and many other reasons... So, Try to be help Full as much you can....
Sometimes it's helpful to get in touch with Buyer directly, they may push their accounts payable to pay quicker...

[hostedweb]

Thanks to everyone for your responses! :)

[amy@digitalmeeting]

Hi Andrew

It's also worth having a look at some of your local solicitor websites, as some offer a free 7 day letter, which ok they will look possibly for you to use them if you need to take it further but having used one myself, the money came in very quickly after.

[hostedweb]

If they are hosting clients than why not just turn of the services?

I do suspend accounts, but then they just don't log in at all. My suspension page now asks them to log in and provides a quick option to pay the invoice.

[GRDCredit]

Hi Andrew

It's also worth having a look at some of your local solicitor websites, as some offer a free 7 day letter, which ok they will look possibly for you to use them if you need to take it further but having used one myself, the money came in very quickly after.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh !

This is not the first step of credit control. It is the last step of credit control and the first step of debt collection!

[maxine]

Agree with GRD and here's why...

If you send a solicitors letter as a letter before action then you need to decide how you are going to follow this up. Are you prepared to jump straight to the legal process and the costs to chase a debt through small claims cost, the cost of issuing a debt claim etc without trying other avenues first.

At least if you can show you have chased via a combination of routes ie; email, phone, letter in the post it can reduce the chances of your debtor saying they didnt receive any communication from you as a defence and you have chosen the court route as your first resort instead of your last resort.

Having said that, most small businesses know their debtors fairly well and can judge even by gut feel if they are being given the complete run around and if it is time to go straight to legal action.

[Geoff T]

Maybe it's a name thing, but I agree with Geoff on this one! Effective credit control needs the professional, but personal touch, as well as letters. I've always used letters after a phone call - which gets me a 80%+ success rate anyway. The letters are just there to mop up the regular offenders!

If you want to do it yourself, then 3 letters all the same aren't - with respect - going to achieve anything. If you want to impress the urgency of the matter on the customer, then send a final demand. But ONLY if you're prepared to back it up! Geoff and Maxine were both right on this, legal action is not credit control - it's also costly and takes an age to boot!

If you're unhappy or unwilling to take this route, then - as Geoff also said - get someone else to do it for you. That way you can keep on good terms with your customer, and let the people who do it for a profession play the bad guy!

Depending on the size and scope of your customer ledger/debtor ledger (whatever you want to call it) there are options out there...

Regards, Geoff (different one honestly!)

[Steve Thornbury]

Yeah, if only there was someone who could help out there!

[GRDCredit]

Steve

Too true.

I don't suppose you know of anyone do you?


Geoff

[Steve Thornbury]

Hmmm, let me think!

[Geoff T]

:-) how are things in the southern part of the country Steve?

[Steve Thornbury]

Very hot!!

[who_me]

You could try not giving credit? On the rarest of occasions we give credit, and on almost every occasion the debtor pushes the boundaries of the terms.

It may sound harsh but you have business to run, if they don't have the decency to pay then send them a letter saying that if you don't get an offer of payment in the next 14 days that you'll have to collect the dept through the court then after 14 days build a case file and take them to court.

[GRDCredit]

Obviously depends on the industry but is not giving credit (payment up front) really realistic for most in this day and age?

[AboveParr]

Obviously depends on the industry but is not giving credit (payment up front) really realistic for most in this day and age?

In my opinion, no. You have to get the right systems in place so that when your invoices reach the customer they are accurate and arrive at the right time. Make it easy for the customer to pay your invoice and difficult to ignore it.

A good credit controller can save a company thousands of pounds - far more than their "cost"

(and yes I am a credit controller - just in case you haven't found one yet!) ;)

[Geoff T]

1. Steve - know the feeling - anyone would thin it was summer!

2. Sara - couldn't agree more re the invoicing - and good name!

3. Mistore/Geoff#1 - I'm with namesake (I'm sensing a pattern here!), but if we're going to increase sales, how else do we do that WITHOUT credit. It's got to the point with business credit that everything really would grind to a halt without it. The "credit crunch" (LORD how I loathe that term!) does not justify doing away with credit, it does justify not giving STUPID credit! The sub-prime fiasco and financiers' horrendous mistakes - due to their short-term greed - just proves that credit should be left to the experts [climbs off his soap-box!]

regards, Geoff

[Steve Thornbury]

Feel better Geoff T????
Chill its sunny!

[Geoff T]

D'you know - I do! Thanks for asking Steve! Been building that head of steam for 2 years now! Don't want the term - or the job - to get a bad rep for no reason!

Off to catch some rays dude! Have a REALLY GROOVY evening!

[SoozG]

If you’re interested in additional information around managing late payments, then it might be worth taking a look at some posts on the Intuit blog about credit management - smallbizmatters.co.uk/smallbizmatters/credit-management/ - which deals specifically with this topic.
Thanks,
Susan
(on behalf on Intuit)

[who_me]

3. Mistore/Geoff#1 - I'm with namesake (I'm sensing a pattern here!), but if we're going to increase sales, how else do we do that WITHOUT credit. It's got to the point with business credit that everything really would grind to a halt without it. The "credit crunch" (LORD how I loathe that term!) does not justify doing away with credit, it does justify not giving STUPID credit! The sub-prime fiasco and financiers' horrendous mistakes - due to their short-term greed - just proves that credit should be left to the experts [climbs off his soap-box!]

regards, Geoff

Actually I gave it some thought and realised that I lied, but my sentiment is the same, we do give credit but only to government funded bodies and similar organisations. But we don’t give credit as a rule unless we’re more likely to win the lottery 52 weeks of the year than we are not to get paid.

Most of our sales are low value (less than £250) it’s not even worth the hassle to recover it through the courts. I know for a fact the cost (and I mean the real cost) of recovering debt and bad debt write offs would exceed the value of sales lost due to not offering credit,

Businesses are two a penny these days, with less than a tenner anyone could set up a limited company get credit… get goods… services, sell those goods and services take a wage maybe, not have enough assets to pay their trusting creditors, liquidate the firm, sign the mess off to someone else (liquidator) and then…. set up a new firm, rip off some more businesses by getting yet more credit that they have no intention of paying back use the cash for holiday for the family and maybe liquidate again. Limited liability is by design a double edged sword.

I guess it’s all about calculating risk, consequently I see little point in offering credit.

[GRDCredit]

Not going to argue against your policy - it is your business after all - but do you lose business as a result of not giving credit?

Ref government bodies etc - what payment terms do you give/do they take? None of my business - just interested - so feel free not to answer!

Geoff

[Geoff T]

I'm guessing we're talking about business start-ups that have received funding to get set up, so you're probably talking standard government terms - "we sign up for the Prompt Payment Scheme", but pay on 90days!

If average bill is >£250 then I agree MiStore, it's not worth it. what about the bigger value customers though?

regards,
Geoff#2

[maxine]

Most of our sales are low value (less than £250) it’s not even worth the hassle to recover it through the courts. I know for a fact the cost (and I mean the real cost) of recovering debt and bad debt write offs would exceed the value of sales lost due to not offering credit,

Businesses are two a penny these days, with less than a tenner anyone could set up a limited company get credit… get goods… services, sell those goods and services take a wage maybe, not have enough assets to pay their trusting creditors, liquidate the firm, sign the mess off to someone else (liquidator) and then…. set up a new firm, rip off some more businesses by getting yet more credit that they have no intention of paying back use the cash for holiday for the family and maybe liquidate again. Limited liability is by design a double edged sword.

I guess it’s all about calculating risk, consequently I see little point in offering credit.

Geoff,

Just borrowing your soap box a min ...

I just want to chip in and say who_me that the calculating risk bit is exactly why some of us have studied credit management to degree level!

It is those skills, knowledge and experience that save organisations millions of pounds in bad debts and cost of credit. Also, if managed properly, can give significant extra sales and profit contribution and market share specifically through granting credit.

Sure you could stick with not giving credit if the cost of managing it correctly outweighs the extra profit that you would get in your business but it is quite rare that this is the case in my opinion.

And those that say it isn't worth recovering money through the courts are usually those who unfortunately don't have the skills and knowledge to manage their credit process properly right from the outset and cover their risk, starting with the credit policy, through their contracts and terms, through the order, billing, dispute and cash process and do not provide for bad debts as typical variable business cost.

There are loads of resources available from debt collection agencies (reactive) to credit consultants (proactive) but please don't think that some of the resources on the web will give you an advanced level of understanding and skill as to get the benefit it needs to be put into context with other things in the organisation and market. Reading a few tips from bizhelp24 or wherever is not going to help manage credit in line with a lot of peoples expectations.

:)

Here to help though :)

.... soapbox handed back :)

[maxine]

If you’re interested in additional information around managing late payments, then it might be worth taking a look at some posts on the Intuit blog about credit management - smallbizmatters.co.uk/smallbizmatters/credit-management/ - which deals specifically with this topic.
Thanks,
Susan
(on behalf on Intuit)

I have just been on this blog and the only bit that I can find out of this entire article in terms of actual advice for dealing with late payment and managing credit risk is "running regular credit checks on new and existing customers or suppliers, setting out payment terms and penalties clearly".

That's not going to help much if you don't know how to interpret a credit check, or when to ask for a deposit or directors guarantee, or when deciding what a credit policy should consist of etc.

[who_me]

Not going to argue against your policy - it is your business after all - but do you lose business as a result of not giving credit... Ref government bodies etc - what payment terms do you give/do they take? None of my business - just interested - so feel free not to answer!

(Just for clarity it’s not my business in the ‘ownership’ sense of the word’ it’s just easier than typing ‘the company I work for’)

The tiny amount of potential business we have lost is as a result of the customer not having the funds available at the time of purchase but everybody else including larger organisations do not seem to have a problem using a credit card. For those that do qualify we offer 7, 14 and 30 day credit terms which are pretty much honored, occasionally slipping to 60 column but not often.

If average bill is >£250 then I agree MiStore, it's not worth it. what about the bigger value customers though? …

Our business model is that of tens of thousands of low value customers, with our largest customer not exceeding 1% of our turnover. It’s hard to go into it without ranting, but most of our high value customers are referred clients, it seems in our case that customers are happy to forgo credit. I guess I understand this, as I know personally I will use a company that is over all the best for my needs or the company's needs regardless of whether there is credit.


And those that say it isn't worth recovering money through the courts are usually those who unfortunately don't have the skills and knowledge to manage their credit process properly right from the outset and cover their risk, starting with the credit policy, through their contracts and terms, through the order, billing, dispute and cash process and do not provide for bad debts as typical variable business cost.

…


I do not disagree that debt management can be difficult if you don’t understand it however I think you are wrong to suggest that those of us that don’t offer credit ‘usually’ don’t because we don’t know how to manage it. Not only is it a tiny bit condescending but it certainly isn't true in our case.

You could argue that the opposite is true... after all it ='s that, that keeps you in business.

[Geoff T]

OK - as the soap box has been officially passed back!...

1. WOW Max, you really should visit Hyde Park corner more - you're a natural! Puts my small offering to shame! DOESN'T MAKE YOU WRONG THOUGH! :-)

2. "who_me" - don't be taking this personally now, please - Maxine's comments were a generalisation, and an accurate one - not a personal observation or criticism! Anyone in the industry for any decent length of time comes to the same conclusion, and it's not about bolstering our ego's or business - just a cold, hard fact.

3. Re above - organisations I am part of have for NINE YEARS (that I know of) been asking for more input to Govt etc, and offering advice about the warning signs that were out there for us all to see. They were ignored in the good times, it's only when the proverbial hit the fan that they started listening!

4. Back to the case in point - if all you're getting is the occasional "60" column, I'd say you've got it all well in hand, 'nuff said, job done, good work! (PS - from a credit control point of view (mine!) this is acceptable as it maximses return with a commercial, customer-retentive focus)

[soap box vacated if anyone feels they want a go!]

regards
Geoff

[GRDCredit]

Hang on a second - I thought it was my soap box.

I do hope Maxine hasn't got a favourite Geoff (unless it is me!) :)



Geoff

[Geoff T]

namesake...how could you think that?!?

On the other hand...given the option of "Max" or "Geoff"...how confusing would 2 Geoffs get for the mail!!! ps - hetro male - Max's avatar vs Your Avatar - no contest!!

1/2 hour till beer-time folks, gotta finish off, but be happy to continue till then - or from 5am if any of you slug-a-beds are up then!

Soap box all yours namesake! Go for it!

:-) Regards
Geoff

[maxine]

I do not disagree that debt management can be difficult if you don’t understand it however I think you are wrong to suggest that those of us that don’t offer credit ‘usually’ don’t because we don’t know how to manage it. Not only is it a tiny bit condescending but it certainly isn't true in our case.

You could argue that the opposite is true... after all it ='s that, that keeps you in business.

Sorry who_me. I didn't mean it to be condescending but still stick to my general point that the reason why most people struggle at the back end (collections) is because they don't unfortunately have the skills, knowledge or resource at the front end (credit management).

And actually my business these days is sales with the odd bit of credit management consultancy thrown in usually where there is an opportunity to increase sales whilst reducing and controlling the costs of credit :)

oh and Geoff II = get yourself an avatar. Don't pay any attention to mine as I am bald with a beard ;)

[GRDCredit]

I am bald with a beard ;)


My kind of women!

[who_me]

The nature of writing might make me sound defensive, I wasn't being so, I just don't agree that offering credit is so vital. I’m not fresh out of business school and I am entitled to my opinion and to express my experience (which is significant) and in MY opinion, offering credit as the rule, rather than the exception to the rule is not always the best thing to do, and the original post is a prime example of a time when the customer did not need to be extended credit.

[davek17]

Hi All

I'm going thropugh the whole factoring/cashflow/credit/debt thing right now and this is what I do to minimise the whole thing.

1. Credit check and be wary!!
I know its difficult not to take that big order but often things are really too good to be true. Its not the be all and end all but there's no excuse now to do some credit checking before you invoice. Barclays Creditfocus or CreditSafe are both pretty inexpensive and weadle out the bad customers!

2. Use your intuition. If you don't trust them, credit pass or not, then ask for the money up front. I trully used to think this was ridiculous to ask but its amazing how many companies are fine with it for their first order or for small orders. The ones that get insulted are the ones that cause the trouble.

3. Try and shorten your credfit terms. I spoke to someone at a Barclays seminar yesterday who said that they shortened their credit terms from 30 to 14 days and it was fine but made a huge difference to their cashflow and their ability to chase funds quicker.

4. Communicate
Make sure you let your customers know when they have been invoiced, how loing they have to go and ring them 3 or 4 times during the credit term. Ring them ASAP if they fail to pay and ask firmly for the reason and to be paid. The key here is to ring and only use email as well as ringing. You get so much more feel for the siutuation if you can ring. I have even visited companies if they're on my route home and have an amazing %age of cheques handed to me that way!!! If you are seen to be proactive then you will get your invoices at the top of the pile.

5. If all else fails
Then get the 7 day letter sent out, Creditfocus even has this built into its system. If that doesn't work then depending on your customer, you and your business get the legal letter sent out. There are quite a few debt agencies mentioned on here that charge good rates for recovery and again, creditfocus integrates this in its system if you decide to use them.

I don't know if this is right for you but I always keep polite but I remain firm as time goes by and I try and play good cop, bad cop a bit so that I can keep talking whilst "The Process" goes legal. This way you keep all your doors open. For example if a company is genuinly struggling to pay then the sympathy you can show might mean you get your invoice when others do not. The ones who are just trying it on get the legal letter and respond to that.

I wasn't sure if it was you or someone else who had lots of small customers. In that case I either take credit card payments for small items up to say £300 orders or if you have to invoice then its a fact of business life that you will lose something to bad debt. However with lots of customers this should not affect your cashflow too much.

Hope this helps

[GRDCredit]

Are you after my job?

[davek17]

Haha no just someone who tends to go into everything with an OCD approach and feels passionate about sharing their knowledge!!

I'm a real fast typer so the text usually ends up bigger than I think!!

[Geoff T]

Sorry All, I swapped my "day off" to avoid the rain! So spent the day sorting out my "low tech" issues on my new ****** laptop - still at it on the side!!

Just to catch up (a game I'm SO used to! :redface:):

I still don't think credit is a bad thing, but if you're doing OK without it, then good for you!

Maxine - working on the avatar - bear with me, one of those "low tech" issues again!

Geoff#1 - good taste in women too I see! ;)

Davek17 - spot on!

Hope you all enjoy you're weekend!

Regards,
Geoff

[hostedweb]

Well this has been a busy thread!! Thanks again to everyone for contributing.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Have a look at www . ccmsystems . com

bloody spammer

[Peter Bowen]

The link is somewhat relevant to this thread. It actually reminds me a bit of that chappie who was on here a few months ago going on about free debt collection. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same outfit.

[cytino]

Don't know about the other chap but must point out we are NOT a debt collection agency.
We simply supply the best in-house credit control/debt collection system available.
Most important - it's Fast or Free.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Don't know about the other chap but must point out we are NOT a debt collection agency.
We simply supply the best in-house credit control/debt collection system available.
Most important - it's Fast or Free.

all your other spam posts got deleted then I see.

[cytino]

Elaine - Seem to have hit a raw nerve here?

If I have I apologise.

However, have you looked at the site.

As an accountant do you not see the benefits?

We have some of the Worlds Largest Accountacy firms operating the system.

Last thing I want is to be cheeky but could it be that they have taken the time to look before they decide?

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

My view on spammers is know to those on here and I am not afraid to say that I cannot be doing we people who come on here, break the rules, spam and add no value whatsoever and then tell me to look at their web site!

This forum is the great place it is because people add value by responding to queries and helping others.

It would be good if you could do that rather than spam all over the place.

A good place for you to start would be to read the rules, then go and introduce yourself and then add value to a few posts.

Spammers like you come and go every day.

I would be more than happy for you to provide me wrong though - so go for it.

[cytino]

Ok Elaine - Here goes.

I did look at the rules and found the following:

Do not spam and Use URL links carefully:

My Site and business relate directly to the original post.

For example the original poster said that 3 reminders have been sent but the debt has still not been paid.

It is at this time that a business would normaly consider debt collectors/litigation.

Our system sits inbetween the 3 letters and debt collection/litigation.

It's Fast or Free - No cost of membership and the creditor is in total control.

I beleive that this qualifies to be posted within the rules of both Spam and Url Links as the original poster could only benefit from using the system, and remember! if it doesn't work it doesn't cost.

I don't think you can be fairer than that.

So please Elaine, with respect take a look before jumping to conclusions.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

with respect you came on here made 7 posts (all now deleted by the mods using their valuable time) which had your url in and only url.

So with respect I have not jumped to any conclusions.

[Peter Bowen]

I guess Elaine found your post somewhat similar to the hundreds of spam posts we get here:


an old thread,
a new member,
a quick one liner saying go and look at my website,
dodging the link posting rules by spacing the domain name,
posting exactly the same message in several threads.

It screamed 'cheap handbags from china'.

I guess a forum is like a cocktail party - the polite people listen to what is being discussed for a few minutes and add polite tidbits to the conversation. The boorish drunk barges in loudly and changes the subject.

Nobody here has any way to judge you, and by extension your business, except by your behaviour here. Behave badly and your opinions and promotion of your business are going to get as much respect as the boorish drunk.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

the boorish drunk.

I love that :p:D

[Geoff T]

Don't know about the other chap but must point out we are NOT a debt collection agency.
We simply supply the best in-house credit control/debt collection system available.
Most important - it's Fast or Free.

Quite some claims! And the proof for those claims is...?

"the Best" - [edit] who says - where's the proof?

"FAST AND FREE" - so how does it work? who pays you?

as Elaine said - 1 out of 7 posts remaining after the mods have been on your case does NOT inspire much confidence from those who've been here a while - and I mean the old school not me!...

My nose was itching at your post above...not a good sign...;)

The boorish drunk barges in loudly and changes the subject.

I love that :p:D

give me a break folks - have you seen what time it is on a Friday?!?


I swear - you promise yourself an afternoon off, and...:eek:

[maxine]

The link is somewhat relevant to this thread. It actually reminds me a bit of that chappie who was on here a few months ago going on about free debt collection. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same outfit.

I thought the same thing! Difficult to understand who the company is though as the name Credit Control Management Systems Ltd is displayed on the website but companies house doesnt have this name listed.

Guess we will have to wait and see :)

[GRDCredit]

Credit Control Management Systems Ltd is displayed on the website but companies house doesnt have this name listed.

:)

Genuine question. Is that legal?

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Genuine question. Is that legal?

No it is not

[GRDCredit]

No it is not

Thanks.

Late for you Elaine! I thought you were packing up for a holiday?

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Thanks.

Late for you Elaine! I thought you were packing up for a holiday?

Yep - I am. Must be mad being on here at this time of night but I logged on to check what the weather was kike where I am going and just couldn't resist a peak.


So you will all have a quiet time next week.

[maxine]

Genuine question. Is that legal?

Hmmm... don't think it is legal but guess there can be a timing issue of when the site is published and when the company is first registered but the current regulations I think require company reg no, place of registration, registered office address. If you only display a trading name rather than the ltd company name then that isn't complying but this is all my take on things rather than proper legal stuff :)

Personally, it is one of the first things that I tend to look at on a website if visiting for the first time though as gives an indication on how long the company has been going, if they are members of any professional organisations etc.

[GRDCredit]

Who was the guy who had a very similar idea on here? I am sure that it was a near identical plan - i.e. name and shame the debtors

[GRDCredit]

Who was the guy who had a very similar idea on here? I am sure that it was a near identical plan - i.e. name and shame the debtors

Answered my own question:

This was his web site http://www.debtsdatabase.com/new/

and this was the thread

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=89824&highlight=free+credit+control

Sounds very similar to me!