Resolved Question

How can I get money from a customer for a service I provided?

I provided a service(garden makeover) two month ago for a customer(letting agy), but the customer is delaying payment. What is the next legal step I can get my money?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

If you live in England or Wales get in contact with a reputable solicitor/law firm. Check lawsociety.co.uk or google law society for nearby solicitors. Do you have an invoice for the work done? This will be good evidence for the agreed price for your service and also it may state a deadline when payment is due etc. This is necessary if your customer later denies something (price etc).

I'm sure you have but, have you tried contacting your customer to see why they are not paying? This is to just get an idea of whether they can't pay due to lack of money or they simply won't pay due to a dispute with your work for example. Is your customer a company? Are they still trading or have wound up (become bankrupt)? If they have it'll be difficult to get your money back.

Send your customer a letter of demand stating that if they do not pay within 14 days for example you may/will seek advice from a solicitor and have them involved. Ask your customer for any reasons they are not paying. Who knows, they might pay you at this point! Keep a copy of your letter and any responses you may receive.

Legally, a solicitor will send your customer a letter, provided they are happy to act for you, then may issue county court proceedings and then enter a county court judgement against them. They can then enforce the ccj against them and instruct bailiffs etc to recover your monies. Proceedings could stop at any point if your customer decides to pay etc.

It is costly so you need to work out if the monies owed balances against legal costs and fees. Most legal fees are recoverable against the other side but please get independant legal advice. If you cannot afford a solicitor, speak with your local citizens advice bureau. Most solicitors will give free general advise also.

Please note that none of the information contained in this response is to be construed/taken as legal advise from me to you or anyone who may read this. Speak to an independant legal advisor (solicitor or citizen advice bureau). I hope you manage to recover your money.

All the best

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Other Answers (1)

• One tactic I've found to be quite effective and avoids legal costs is to make contact with your customer, find out firstly if they haven't paid because they are disputing the invoice or some other technical reason and if it turns out it is just a cash problem get them to propose and commit to a payment schedule over as quicker timescale as you can negotiate. It gets cash coming into you regularly and is easier for them to handle rather than a large lump sum in one hit.
  
  It may mean you have to wait a bit longer yet but the legal route will still take time as a solicitor will issue a letter with a timescale that it needs to be paid within, then it will be a court letter if they still don't pay and so on over a few weeks. Better to come to an amicable agreement with them and leave the door open for future business (if you want it).

  44% 4 Votes