Contractor not paying me money owed advice please

Benhoughton88 · Mar 22, 2015

Basically we have been working as subcontractors as electricians for this company for about 6 months after they asked us to come back to them , we've worked for them before and rate our work highly. Each month they have been taking 2.5% of our wage as retention as stated in our contract. After been promised good work and potential to earn more money than we was earning all been false promises we decided to leave one morning after turning in for work , as subcontractors this shouldn't have been a issue , we invoiced on the 23rd for what we was owed and should have been paid on the 3rd on the 2nd we got a email saying we wouldn't be getting paid and they was getting a list together of disputes and charges and they had 30days from invoice date as stated in contract. After reading the contract this was correct but it also stated any disputes would after be sent to me in writing 7 days before the final invoice payment date , it's now the 23rd and haven't heard from them and have not recieved any disputes in writing or payment , they won't reply to emails , they was replying to emails at the very beginning on 3 occasions stating different reasons for holding payment back . What would be the next steps I would need to take

Sent from my iPhone

Octopus · Mar 22, 2015

Non payment has been done to death on here. Despite what some people say you can't rush off and take court action

Step 1 - email invoice to customer
Step 2 - forward original email to customer after payment date has passed.
Step 3. - post copy of forwarded email to customer along with unpaid invoice
Step 4 - final demand letter needs to include the following:

"RE: Final demand for Invoice No. xxxxxx

Despite you acknowledging that this invoice would be paid, this invoice remains unpaid. I have emailed a number of reminders requesting payment.

I attach my original invoice to this letter and wish to inform you, that if the invoice is not settled in full by xx --- 2015, I intend to refer this matter to the Small Claims Court without further reference to you.

Please be aware that all costs associated with such action are added to your outstanding bill and will make the final payment higher."

You need to allow a minimum of 7 days between each step, then if it ends up in court, the judge can see that you have given the debtor sufficient time and opportunity to pay.

Good luck

PS : next time you post please use a larger text font size!

TJ Anderson · Mar 22, 2015

Murdoch said:
Non payment has been done to death on here. Despite what some people say you can't rush off and take court action

Step 1 - email invoice to customer
Step 2 - forward original email to customer after payment date has passed.
Step 3. - post copy of forwarded email to customer along with unpaid invoice
Step 4 - final demand letter needs to include the following:

"RE: Final demand for Invoice No. xxxxxx

Despite you acknowledging that this invoice would be paid, this invoice remains unpaid. I have emailed a number of reminders requesting payment.

I attach my original invoice to this letter and wish to inform you, that if the invoice is not settled in full by xx --- 2015, I intend to refer this matter to the Small Claims Court without further reference to you.

Please be aware that all costs associated with such action are added to your outstanding bill and will make the final payment higher."

You need to allow a minimum of 7 days between each step, then if it ends up in court, the judge can see that you have given the debtor sufficient time and opportunity to pay.

Good luck

PS : next time you post please use a larger text font size!

I like that Murdoch. Very clear and to the point. Mods should make that a sticky I reckon.

Octopus · Mar 22, 2015

The point that a lot of "new" contractors get tripped up by, when dealing with commercial clients, is their payment terms. They are often 30 from end of month which means you could be owed money for 59 days.

Your terms can say 7 days, but most will ignore that and pay you when THEY want... which is why every business, whether it be a sole trader or SMB, it needs cash in the bank and my rule of thumb is 1 months net profit at month end - that way you are not living hand to mouth.

uksparks · Mar 22, 2015

an estate agent i do work for locally is the same, 30 days from end of month.

Geordie Spark · Mar 22, 2015

Benhoughton88 said:
Basically we have been working as subcontractors as electricians for this company for about 6 months after they asked us to come back to them , we've worked for them before and rate our work highly. Each month they have been taking 2.5% of our wage as retention as stated in our contract. After been promised good work and potential to earn more money than we was earning all been false promises we decided to leave one morning after turning in for work , as subcontractors this shouldn't have been a issue , we invoiced on the 23rd for what we was owed and should have been paid on the 3rd on the 2nd we got a email saying we wouldn't be getting paid and they was getting a list together of disputes and charges and they had 30days from invoice date as stated in contract. After reading the contract this was correct but it also stated any disputes would after be sent to me in writing 7 days before the final invoice payment date , it's now the 23rd and haven't heard from them and have not recieved any disputes in writing or payment , they won't reply to emails , they was replying to emails at the very beginning on 3 occasions stating different reasons for holding payment back . What would be the next steps I would need to take

Sent from my iPhone

A good start would be to use a bigger font so that we can read your post.

We are not all young sprogs here and some of us are a bit short of lamp oil. :sad_smile: .:wheelchair: