Withheld monies

[Sussex Martin]

Mr x lives in London the flats are in York so he employed a surveyer to over see the work, the serveyer signed the job off ,so MrX cannot claim work was sub standard . He has a contract to say he will be paid 1 week after the job was signed off which was end of September
For some reason Mr X thinks he is being ripped off by £2.5k and he is being reasonable by offering to pay £500 more than the other quote he received
My friend has been told that if he banks the cheque and has to go to court to recover the £2k then he may well end up paying his own court cost
He gets the feeling Mr X has a lot of experience of the courts and ballifs ,but my friend wants his £2k but does not want to spend £1500 to get it ,MrX has the money he just doesn't like parting with it

Your mates claim should contain any reasonable costs in pursuing the debt. I have recently taken a (ex) customer to court and was awarded the sum owed and costs of £1,800.

 

[Morph]

As above spending most of the 2k to get it back is the right thing to do.

 

[Yorkshire lad]

What annoys my mate is Mr X is using his wealth as a way to intimidate him to get a £ 2k discount . It's not just the £2k but the 21k should have been paid in the first week of October 1 week after the surveyer signed the job off .
He is now thinking he should have interest on his money and compensation for the time and hassle chasing this debt

 

[Adam@Rumen]

What annoys my mate is Mr X is using his wealth as a way to intimidate him to get a £ 2k discount . It's not just the £2k but the 21k should have been paid in the first week of October 1 week after the surveyer signed the job off .
He is now thinking he should have interest on his money and compensation for the time and hassle chasing this debt

Can can claim interest when going through small claims court, along with reasonable costs incurred.

 

[kill]

At any point did Mr X state the 19k was to be excepted "As full and final payment" because banking the payment can eliminate the chance to collect the rest.
Nastiest people I ever have dealt with are property delovoping types/ wanta be's as some just cheat and lie to get one over on people so they gain more profit at others expense cause next time they will buy in another location

 

[Boomerang]

At any point did Mr X state the 19k was to be excepted "As full and final payment" because banking the payment can eliminate the chance to collect the rest.
Nastiest people I ever have dealt with are property delovoping types/ wanta be's as some just cheat and lie to get one over on people so they gain more profit at others expense cause next time they will buy in another location

Your dead right about those property developer types and some builders .
One round here quotes to build a property itemising everything to last detail . Gets ,job starts build , runs out of bricks , then tells client need another 2 or 3 thousand bricks and inflates the extra brick prices . He as a builder knows dam well before he starts he's quoted light on number of bricks required and will run out , client is then forced to pay inflated premium to finish job . Guys been to court few times but every time judge looks at itemised quote says builder done per quote pay up . Don't take into account he's deliberately under quoted quantities , does it with plumbing requirements also . An absolute crook .

 

[alex04w]

If the £19k has been sent with no note saying it is in 'full and final settlement' then go ahead and bank it. Sent a statement out showing the remaining £2.5k still owing. Add to this the sum of 8% statutory interest. Statutory interest is not compound, although that should not be an issue at this early stage. Remember to charge him the 8% on the late payment of the £19k as well as on the on-going outstanding £2.5k. Do remember to add that interest continues to accrue at 55p per day on the £2.5k (£2,500 x 8% / 265 days).

After a couple more weeks of non payment of the balance and interest, then write again saying you will pursue it via the Small Claims Court. Two weeks after that lodge your claim with the Small Claims Court.

If the cheque for £19k has a note attached to it saying it is in 'full and final settlement', or thing conditional about lodging the cheque, then things are different.

The law says that each case is dealt with on its own merits. However, the over riding situation seems to be that as long as you tell the other party promptly that you do not agree to their terms, then you are not bound by them. If you are slow telling them you do not accept their terms, be that full and final settlement or anything else, then you are deemed to have accepted their terms.

Basically lodge their cheque and write the same day (by recorded posts) to say you accept the cheque as part payment only and not in full and final settlement.

A legal firms view on the issue - http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/client-...shing-cheques-full-final-settlement-8505.aspx

 

[Highland Mule]

If the payment was due in September, then your mate has an additional legal right to interest - under the late payment of commercial debts legislation, this is around 8% - google it. That would add around £4.60 for each day that the original payment was delayed (so an extra £450 or so, plus a further invoice fee of about £75, from memory.

The legislation is not negotiable, and whilst it is better to remind clients on your initial invoice this is not necessary.

I once had an outstanding bill for £28k, and deliberately took my time reminding the client, a big multinational with a hopeless accounts department, as it was earning me far more than my bank would give me. I only reminded them when my VAT came close, and they paid up straight away without quibbling, including the penalty.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

If the payment was due in September, then your mate has an additional legal right to interest - under the late payment of commercial debts legislation, this is around 8% - google it. That would add around £4.60 for each day that the original payment was delayed (so an extra £450 or so, plus a further invoice fee of about £75, from memory.

The legislation is not negotiable, and whilst it is better to remind clients on your initial invoice this is not necessary.

I once had an outstanding bill for £28k, and deliberately took my time reminding the client, a big multinational with a hopeless accounts department, as it was earning me far more than my bank would give me. I only reminded them when my VAT came close, and they paid up straight away without quibbling, including the penalty.

its the big ones that are the worst or seems to be if i was as late as them i dread to think what they would do...

i would cash check and tell them 7 days for remainder or you will repo items you have bought and fitted.