Bounced cheques do you pass your costs on?

[richieboy]

Just had cheques from a couple of customers bounce. Barclays charged me a couple of quid for each one. Do you pass this cost on to your customers, or a bit more to cover the hassle, or just ignore it and collect the original amount?

Oh, and also, if I do charge for them, do I add VAT?

Thanks for any opinions
Richie.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I'd certainly make the customer aware - whether I'd add a charge would depend on the circumstances.

My biggest concern is that if cheques start bouncing are you going to actually get paid? Alarm bells would be ringing.

I'd be asking them to pay in other ways rather than cheques eg online banking, standing order, direct debit etc.

 

[richieboy]

One of them is getting towards the end of a self build project, and has been a good payer for a couple of years now. I'm confident I will get paid eventually, it's just that if he has to rob peter to pay paul to finish his project, I don't want to be peter.

It's more about sending a message than recovering a few pounds... Hmm... I suppose that answers my own question. Thanks Nicola!

Payment by online banking sounds like a good option.
Are there any downsides to this I should be aware of?

About the VAT, is it a VATable supply?

 

[StevensOnln1]

Funds received via faster payments (used for virtually all payments sent via internet/telephone banking nowadays) cannot be reversed by the sender so are about as safe as you can get once they arrive in your account.