Q. My last contract ended 15-Jan however the agency hasn’t paid the invoices since October last year. I had tried to contact them through emails and phone calls but there was no response. Thereafter, I contacted the customer with whom I was working through the agency and was informed that payments have been delayed from their side as the invoices were submitted late by the agency. As agency is not responding at all, I’m not entirely sure if the payment is cleared after customer pays them. Please advise what options do I have to take it further. Thanks.
A. Thank you for your enquiry regarding delayed payment. As a general rule and in the first instance, where an agency or client fails to pay an invoice on time, you should be proactive by contacting the parties directly by email and/or telephone to try to find the root of the problem, and to ensure that the late payment(s) has not resulted from an innocent oversight on their part.
Once you feel you have exhausted this option and have made a significant effort to chase the payment(s), and in the event the late payment becomes persistent, you might then seek to recover the payment(s) using a debt recovery firm.
If you still remain unsuccessful, you could consider pursuing the payment(s) using a solicitor and the courts, albeit this route is likely to be costly and therefore you may not wish to explore this option until all other options have been exhausted in their entirety. You could of course opt to engage a solicitor at the outset of the issue, but the costs issue may be a deterrent.
Leave a Reply