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superblue24

Director
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
3,607
Location
Ipswich
Hi All,

Anyone know the in's and out's of a correctly issued invoice?

I received a letter and invoice from a buildings maintenance firm with a due date of payment 43 days before I received the invoice. I hadn't noticed the due date when I first saw the invoice (which I obviously held back from telling them on my letter), and now they are trying to ask me to pay an admin charge of 134% of the initial amount requested for late payment.

There were other things I cited in the letter such as the absence of anything stating how steep their Admin Charges were, plus a piece of text in their Admin Charges section that said something along the lines of "you are liable to these charges to the extent they are reasonable".

I guess I'm trying to figure out if I can get this charge overturned on grounds of their invoice being massively late plus the lack of clarity in their rules.

Also, do I have the right to request a full breakdown of their admin charges before I pay it? I'm sure I recall that this term is often seen as rather poor form to the official bodies out there?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
 
Hi All,

Anyone know the in's and out's of a correctly issued invoice?

I received a letter and invoice from a buildings maintenance firm with a due date of payment 43 days before I received the invoice. I hadn't noticed the due date when I first saw the invoice (which I obviously held back from telling them on my letter), and now they are trying to ask me to pay an admin charge of 134% of the initial amount requested for late payment.

There were other things I cited in the letter such as the absence of anything stating how steep their Admin Charges were, plus a piece of text in their Admin Charges section that said something along the lines of "you are liable to these charges to the extent they are reasonable".

I guess I'm trying to figure out if I can get this charge overturned on grounds of their invoice being massively late plus the lack of clarity in their rules.

Also, do I have the right to request a full breakdown of their admin charges before I pay it? I'm sure I recall that this term is often seen as rather poor form to the official bodies out there?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

How much is it for? If its not a lot of money they probably wont bother with going through a legal process to get it. If so just pay what you owe and ignore the interest. Once its off someone's list they will probably leave you alone.
 
How much is it for? If its not a lot of money they probably wont bother with going through a legal process to get it. If so just pay what you owe and ignore the interest. Once its off someone's list they will probably leave you alone.
Agree, sounds like they hadn't sent you the invoice on time so how could you pay it. If you are happy with the work / goods / whatever for the standard invoice then just pay that and ignore any extras.
 
How late are you after you received the invoice? What is the current date on the invoice and the due date on the invoice?
 
How late are you after you received the invoice? What is the current date on the invoice and the due date on the invoice?

Thanks All.

The amount was £92 and they want an additional £120 (£144 inc VAT) for late payment "admin" charges.

The invoice due date was 01/09 and the invoice wasn't sent to me until 14/10. I paid it on the 19/12 in the end (less the admin charge).

I think what you're saying about the "too little for them to bother about" is probably right. Can't see them going through the courts for that amount, but then I guess you never really know!
 
Thanks All.

The amount was £92 and they want an additional £120 (£144 inc VAT) for late payment "admin" charges.

The invoice due date was 01/09 and the invoice wasn't sent to me until 14/10. I paid it on the 19/12 in the end (less the admin charge).

I think what you're saying about the "too little for them to bother about" is probably right. Can't see them going through the courts for that amount, but then I guess you never really know!
They are clearly crooks, you've paid the real cost so you are covered. Any further response from you should just be - the invoice was sent out very late but has been paid, no late payment charge is relevant due to the date the invoice was issued.
Any court would tell them where to stick it - no doubt about that.
 
It's not so much about the invoice as the contract (and in the absence of a written contract any terms and conditions) you accepted.

If they kick up a fuss say it's first of all unreasonable as their invoice was late and secondly that it is a penalty charge and unenforceable in law. You can even quote the case of Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co v New Garage and Motor Co (1915) at them. The actual law is more nuanced than that, but it'll probably cost them more than £120 to counter that point.
 
Can you name and shame so we know to avoid them.
 
Whats the invoice date
Whats the date of the postmark
What were the settlement terms outlined in the contract (ie settlement with 30 days of the work being carried out, 30 days from the renewal of the contract or 30 days from the invoice date)
 
It's not so much about the invoice as the contract (and in the absence of a written contract any terms and conditions) you accepted.

If they kick up a fuss say it's first of all unreasonable as their invoice was late and secondly that it is a penalty charge and unenforceable in law. You can even quote the case of Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co v New Garage and Motor Co (1915) at them. The actual law is more nuanced than that, but it'll probably cost them more than £120 to counter that point.

Indeed sounds like a punitive charge which is unenforceable unless they can demonstrate costs in line with it... if it got to collections stage Irate Ian (RIP) would have been able to advise actual costs which likely would have exceeded £120, but by the sounds of it you've not even had a LBA (letter before action) which should only cost a tenner or so if outsourced.
 
Whats the invoice date
Whats the date of the postmark
What were the settlement terms outlined in the contract (ie settlement with 30 days of the work being carried out, 30 days from the renewal of the contract or 30 days from the invoice date)

I don't have the postmark, but the letter date was dated 13th October. To be honest, I don't think I have a copy of the t's and c's on the payment due period. They are not even my landlords as my property is freehold and they just take care of the grounds around my development so I didn't keep the document with the rest of my important house stuff. Although I appreciate that this in itself is not an excuse.

Can you name and shame so we know to avoid them.

Countrywide

"I didnt receive it" Sounds like a classic debtor, I hear this everyday of my life.

I'm not saying I didn't receive it, I'm saying I received it late. The first paragraph in the letter states "Apologies for the delay in getting this to you", or words to that effect.

Indeed sounds like a punitive charge which is unenforceable unless they can demonstrate costs in line with it... if it got to collections stage Irate Ian (RIP) would have been able to advise actual costs which likely would have exceeded £120, but by the sounds of it you've not even had a LBA (letter before action) which should only cost a tenner or so if outsourced.

I think the letter I have here demanding the Admin charge is part of a letter before action. The reference number is prefixed "LBA".

My main argument to them is how they can impose a late payment charge when the letter was itself embarrassingly late to me and stated a due date in the past. So my main foundation is them sending a confusing invoice with confusing timescales.

I appreciate the help from all of you, I'll try and upload a picture of the "Administration Charges Summary of tenants rights and obligations" to anyone who understands contract jargon. It seems very long winded and contradictory to me.....

Cheers
 
I was just about to upload the images, but noticed I have now had a response:

"Hi Mr C,
Thank you for your recent email regarding the administration fee of £144.00 I have now spoken to the property manager and it appears that there has been an issue with sending the original invoice and letter therefore we will remove the administration fee on this occasion in full and final settlement leaving your account at zero balance."

Hooray!! :happy:
 
I was just about to upload the images, but noticed I have now had a response:

"Hi Mr C,
Thank you for your recent email regarding the administration fee of £144.00 I have now spoken to the property manager and it appears that there has been an issue with sending the original invoice and letter therefore we will remove the administration fee on this occasion in full and final settlement leaving your account at zero balance."

Hooray!!:happy:

An apology from them would've been nice. What's wrong with people these days?
 
Done one myself for free.

Top tip for those doing it themselves - doing it wrong can nullify court action - my credit controller had been caught by that before, hence why we now outsource it for a few quid (which ultimately is added onto the debt anyway!)
 
Top tip for those doing it themselves - doing it wrong can nullify court action - my credit controller had been caught by that before, hence why we now outsource it for a few quid (which ultimately is added onto the debt anyway!)

Yeah I know. Copied template off a decent site. Still ongoing action.
 
If someone doesn't pay up simply take black and white photos through a telephoto lens if them going about their daily business and send them to them anonymously.

If that doesn't work a bullet with their name engraved on it is the next thing to try.

I havent had any late payments for my fantasy football league for years.....
 
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