- Original Poster
- #1
We sell software that is written in house - typical value around GBP3000 for one license.
Generally people who buy the software discuss in depth the features of it, haggle over price and then pay perhaps 50% in advance, the balance due after install.
In the past couple of years we've seen a few (UK based) clients come out of the blue, ask very few questions about functionality and ask to be invoiced for it - usually full amount, no "I'll pay balance after install etc", no haggling to reduce cost. No visit to us before hand to talk it through. This is unusual - most customers have specific requirements and want to know how close the software comes to meeting those.
What happens is we issue the invoice, send it to them and thats the last we hear of them. They never pay it, so they never get the software.
Since we've had this happen a few times in past 2 years or so, I was wondering if there is some kind of scam going on. But I don't see how - its not like a nigerian scam where they ask for money from us, or where they overpay (with stolen cheque) and then ask us to pay the balance to a third party. We don't end up out of pocket other than spending time to issue an invoice they never pay.
It occurred to me maybe they use the invoice to explain that money being paid out of their company, and actually pocket the money (thereby avoiding income tax on it) but surely if you were going to do that you wouldn't do it with a real invoice that the revenue might follow up, and find out was never paid? You'd make up a bogus company, probably a foreign one that the revenue couldn't easily investigate or contact.
Any ideas whats going on? Or is it we've just suddenly attracted some very compulsive unfussy customers prone to sudden fits of buyer remorse?
Generally people who buy the software discuss in depth the features of it, haggle over price and then pay perhaps 50% in advance, the balance due after install.
In the past couple of years we've seen a few (UK based) clients come out of the blue, ask very few questions about functionality and ask to be invoiced for it - usually full amount, no "I'll pay balance after install etc", no haggling to reduce cost. No visit to us before hand to talk it through. This is unusual - most customers have specific requirements and want to know how close the software comes to meeting those.
What happens is we issue the invoice, send it to them and thats the last we hear of them. They never pay it, so they never get the software.
Since we've had this happen a few times in past 2 years or so, I was wondering if there is some kind of scam going on. But I don't see how - its not like a nigerian scam where they ask for money from us, or where they overpay (with stolen cheque) and then ask us to pay the balance to a third party. We don't end up out of pocket other than spending time to issue an invoice they never pay.
It occurred to me maybe they use the invoice to explain that money being paid out of their company, and actually pocket the money (thereby avoiding income tax on it) but surely if you were going to do that you wouldn't do it with a real invoice that the revenue might follow up, and find out was never paid? You'd make up a bogus company, probably a foreign one that the revenue couldn't easily investigate or contact.
Any ideas whats going on? Or is it we've just suddenly attracted some very compulsive unfussy customers prone to sudden fits of buyer remorse?
