Transparency is key to improving payment practices, but more will be needed to extinguish late payment altogether. Government efforts have proved ineffective and responsibility instead lies with individual firms, and more importantly, how their credit control procedures can keep late payers at bay.
Late payment is of course not restricted to construction. The industry was certainly hit hard, but CPA has found retailers and restaurant owners to have suffered comparable bouts of financial distress. At the Credit Protection Association, we are faced with endless cases of ravaged cash flow, bad debt and poor credit decisions. Their one common denominator? Always late payment.
Alongside our debt recovery and credit management services, we have launched a new service that will recover compensation for those victims of late payment.
Taking advantage of the rarely used Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, we recover interest and compensation for past invoices that were paid late. This, in turn, has unlocked hidden cash and potential for our Members and brightened their prospects and confidence, even in the current business landscape.