The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, as amended in 2002, gives businesses the right to claim interest if another business pays its bills late.

A Recent Survey by the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG), has found that around one in four businesses have so far successfully charged interest under the late payment legislation, an increase from one in five businesses in a similar survey last year - a strong indication that the late payment legislation is helping firms to collect overdue debts.

However, it appears that around two thirds of businesses still have never charged interest under the legislation. According to previous research, four out of five businesses believe that the most valuable role of the legislation is as a deterrent on invoices and reminders, rather than as a last resort for collecting bad debts.

For more information about using this legislation, check out www.payontime.co.uk/downloads/commercialdebts.pdf

If you would like to reduce the delay between invoicing your customers and receiving the money, or would like to discuss ways of dealing with overdue payments, please contact us by reply to this E-Mail.

Bill Jones
POSTILLION Business Management Support
Tel: 01494 451239
Independent Advice and Support
Executive Associate, Institute for Independent Business