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Corporation Tax is usually due 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends, so the bill often lands while your customers still owe you money. Invoice finance can bridge that gap by releasing most of the value of your unpaid B2B invoices early, often around...

A B2B credit check tells you whether a new client is likely to pay before you extend credit. A proper check covers Companies House filings, registered charges, County Court Judgments, insolvency notices and how the business pays its other suppliers. It takes minutes,...

HMRC is pushing harder on unpaid tax, and its 2026 proposals include recovering smaller tax debts through direct monthly deductions from bank and building society accounts. That plan is still a consultation proposal, not law. But HMRC already has strong recovery...

UK businesses are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments at any one time, according to government commissioned research. That is cash small firms cannot spend on hiring, equipment, training or marketing. The same research found that 10% of businesses indicated...

When an international client goes quiet, treat it as a collection problem, not just a communication problem. Check the company still exists, try other contacts and channels, pull together your contract and delivery evidence, then send a formal demand with a clear...

To recover unpaid retention money, first confirm it has fallen due under your subcontract. That is usually at practical completion for the first part and after the defects rectification period, or final certificate, for the balance. Then send a formal written demand....

Most of the time, a UK debt collector finds you because the creditor hands over the details it already holds, such as your name, last known address, phone number and email from the original account, contract or invoice. A trace is only needed when those details are...

UK debt collection companies do not operate under one single “debt collection act”. The rules depend on the debt, the debtor and the activity being carried on. Third-party collection of debts due under credit agreements can be a regulated activity under Article 39F of...

Credit card debt collection in the UK usually follows a clear route: missed payments, arrears letters, a default notice, and then either agency collection or sale to a debt purchaser. Before certain enforcement steps, the card provider must give you at least 14 days...

An invoice left unpaid for more than 90 days can cost much more than its face value. The longer a commercial debt remains outstanding, the greater the risk that collection becomes harder, staff time increases and the customer's financial position deteriorates. A...

Your browser does not support the video tag. When a bill goes into collections, a debt collection agency cannot simply take money from your wages or bank account, or seize your property. For ordinary civil debts in England and Wales, those enforcement steps generally...

When a client disputes a recruitment fee, the outcome often depends on the contract between the agency and hirer: what counts as an introduction or engagement, when the fee becomes payable, whether later or indirect hiring is covered, and what any rebate provisions...

Protecting construction cash flow during a downturn means reducing the gap between paying for labour, materials and plant and receiving cash from customers. That requires realistic forecasting, stronger credit checks, well-managed payment applications, close control...

If you search “attorney debt collectors”, the UK question is usually whether an unpaid commercial invoice should go to a debt collection agency or a solicitor. For straightforward, undisputed debts, an agency can be a practical first step. A solicitor becomes more...

A statutory demand can suit a clear, undisputed company debt of at least £750 where insolvency action may genuinely follow. Standard debt recovery — letters, negotiation and, if necessary, a court claim — is usually safer where liability is disputed, the debt is...

There is no fixed UK-wide legal number of times a debt collector can call you in one day. For FCA-regulated consumer credit debts, the Financial Conduct Authority requires firms not to contact customers at unreasonable times and to pay due regard to reasonable...

A pre-legal field visit can put someone at a business debtor’s premises quickly, but not every court claim takes months to produce a result. Many undefended money claims can reach judgment sooner. Where a defended case goes to trial, however, the latest Ministry of...

For qualifying late commercial payments, statutory interest is calculated at eight percentage points above the Bank of England reference rate. For debts becoming late between 1 July and 31 December 2026, the reference rate is 3.75%, so the statutory rate is 11.75% a...

Debt collection agencies can be involved in court action, but passing an account to an agency does not automatically mean proceedings follow. Agencies usually try letters, calls, negotiation and payment arrangements first. If a claim is needed, the creditor normally...

When a business debtor stops responding, start with public company records and your own paperwork before paying for specialist tracing. Check the registered office and company status, review old correspondence for alternative contacts and look for signs of insolvency...

Effective B2B debt collection starts before an invoice becomes overdue. Running a credit check, agreeing clear payment terms, issuing accurate invoices and following a consistent chasing process can reduce avoidable delays. Government-commissioned research puts the...

A verbal agreement can be legally binding in England and Wales even where nothing was formally signed. As with other contracts, the usual requirements include agreement, an intention to create legal relations, consideration and sufficiently certain terms. Commercial...

The five benefits that matter most are straightforward: overdue invoices receive focused attention, recovery costs can be linked to successful collections, your own team spends less time chasing payments, difficult cases can be escalated appropriately, and you get a...

Two rules are often confused. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, payment terms in business-to-business contracts should normally be no longer than 60 days. Businesses can expressly agree a longer period, but it must not be grossly unfair...

Repeated broken payment promises, unexplained silence, a late-emerging dispute, irregular part-payments or concerning changes in a debtor company’s public record can all justify moving an overdue account beyond routine credit control. None proves insolvency on its...

Outsourcing debt collection can make sense when overdue invoices are taking too much internal time, nobody consistently owns the chasing process, or repeated reminders have stopped producing results. For commercial debts, many agencies use commission-based or...

A personal guarantee is one way to reduce credit risk, but it is not the only option. Depending on the transaction, businesses can also use retention of title clauses, deposits and stage payments, trade credit insurance, security over company assets, parent company...

Chasing overdue invoices does not have to damage a valuable customer relationship. A consistent and proportionate approach usually works best: separate the person from the payment problem, ask questions before making assumptions, offer realistic options where...

If you want to improve payment times, three habits matter: invoice accurately, chase consistently and escalate overdue accounts before they become difficult to recover. Late payment remains a significant problem for UK businesses. Evidence cited by Parliament...

A well-managed debt collection process moves from verification and informal contact to a formal demand, professional recovery and, only where proportionate, court action. The correct route depends on the contract, debtor type, dispute status and jurisdiction. Acting...

Good payment terms can reduce disputes and give a business clearer options when an invoice becomes overdue. Four provisions are particularly useful: late-payment interest, recovery costs, suspension rights and an invoice-query procedure. They should be incorporated...

Effective debt collection is not about sending more reminders. Better results usually come from making each contact more deliberate: choosing the right time, removing payment friction, using the legal remedies available, checking the debtor’s position and escalating...

The June 2026 S&P Global UK Construction PMI rose slightly to 38.4 from May’s six-year low of 38.2. Because any reading below 50 indicates falling activity, the survey still points to a severe downturn rather than a recovery. Surveyed construction activity has...

Part-payments and short-payments need careful handling because allocation and record-keeping can affect the balance you can still pursue. Confirm what the payment covers, investigate each deduction, keep statements accurate and act promptly on the remainder. If...