overdue customer account

[xpidgeon]

A customer has owed us £2000 for 6 months and there is strong evidence to suggest and i am being told by their staff that in the next 4 weeks they expect the company to be going bust. They have telephoned today to ask if they pay in advance for a new order will i supply them.

The order value is £2400 i am inclined to allow them to pay the money to our account for the order and then say that the £2000 has cleared the outstanding balance and they now have £400 on account so we will require a further £2000 for thier order to be despatched. Alternativley we can return the balance £400...

What do you think?

 

[jazzydan58]

do you need them as a customer?

 

[greenbox]

i think i would do the same although i dont know where you'd stand legally on that

 

[i234i]

agreed - id do that there messing you about! Not sure legality either!

 

[xpidgeon]

i in no way need them as a customer they have been a major thorn in my side since for a long time and this is my best opportunity to draw a line under this whole saga.

 

[Deleted member 27344]

No more credit. Simply get them to pay up or take them to court.
Why do they need more stock if they are going bust anyway?

They're just trying it on, they'll place the order, you'll be waiting for payment, they'll make an excuse and play the innocent "can you not just send the goods, we will pay, honestly" and you'll end up out of pocket again.

It's a hard business lesson but you need to toughen yourself up.

 

[tyrone]

Have to agree there - if they made a large order of 2000 pound - they should be able to pay for it - don't take no as an answer - thorns in a side are easier to get rid of if you be hard with them - they will either shape up or ship out I had one guy a few years ago now who was a thorn in my side until I sent him a big bill and told him to pay up for my time he didn't bother me after that

 

[profitxchange]

Do not trade with this co - if the signs are they are going down the chances are the are trading illegally already, they are just trying to take others with them.

Go in hard and quickly to get your money.

 

[NCA]

Dont put anything in writing to them if you plan to go down the route you describe. Give a verbal confirmation by all means but dont email / fax / mail anything that says you agree to their terms.

 

[xpidgeon]

NCA, what do you mean about me agreeing to their terms? they havent given any terms of order they have just paid the money into my account. I was intending on sending a fax...

 

[lesliedocherty]

Hi,

indeed take the money and then hit them with the extra £2,000 for new order, it seems the only way you will get your money.

if you dont agree, you probs wont ever get your £2,000 back

 

[NCA]

NCA, what do you mean about me agreeing to their terms? they havent given any terms of order they have just paid the money into my account. I was intending on sending a fax...

I mean dont agree in writing that the money they are paying is for a new order and nothing to do with the setteling the existing debt.

 

[xpidgeon]

ahh ok, ill word it properly

 

[tony84]

for legallity wise, take their money.

Then say you do not have the products in stock and should have it in a week. If they ask for the money back say it needs to go through the accounts department...someone is on holiday, off sick etc etc.

Drag it out for a month, thats what theyre doing. By the time it comes to it they will be bust.

 

[wordsinart]

Take the money - then take some time before agreeing anything else

 

[credit control service]

Send them an invoice for the new order and take payment up front but then insist on payment of all outstanding invoices before supplying goods. If they can't afford to pay this an all outstanding then you could propose a payment plan.

If you need any help on that give us a call or look at the 'useful tools' section on our website. We specialise in credit control and debt recovery. We can usually carry out debt recovery without any cost to our customer as we make our fees from charging your debtor interest and late payment fees under the Late Payment Act.

Jeremy
TAK-Outsourcing