Lay down late payment law, commissioner told

The Small Business Commissioner should resist 'reinventing the wheel' when he or she comes to pursuing late payment on behalf of tiny traders left out-of-pocket.

Issuing this recommendation, law firm Lovetts identified the key to success for the commissioner as being to help traders use “tools and late payment law already available”.

Late payment letters for example (also referred to as Letters Before Action) are successful in recovering the owed but unpaid funds in almost nine in ten cases, the law firm said.

Typically, the letters outline the payment due date; how long ago it passed and implications for the invoice recipient under late payment legislation if they fail to cough up.

"The law is there, businesses just need guidance on how they can use it”, said Lovetts’ chairman Charles Wilson. “The Small Business Commissioner should focus…on helping businesses lay down the law when it comes to late payment, only in this way will the culture of late payment be tackled.”