Advice please: paying an overdue invoice in instalments and payment of bank charges ... Thread poster: DianeGM
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DianeGM 
Local time: 14:14
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
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I have made an arrangement to allow a UK agency that I have had a long co-operation with pay an invoice of 3000 Euros (approx) in instalments. I have done so as they are late in paying and have confessed to having insufficient cash flow to pay all at once. I have received 2 of the 3 payments due - as per our arrangement. I sent a mail confirming the receipt of said payments and stating the amount still to be paid. They replied that the amount still to be paid is 60 Euros less than I calculate i... See more I have made an arrangement to allow a UK agency that I have had a long co-operation with pay an invoice of 3000 Euros (approx) in instalments. I have done so as they are late in paying and have confessed to having insufficient cash flow to pay all at once. I have received 2 of the 3 payments due - as per our arrangement. I sent a mail confirming the receipt of said payments and stating the amount still to be paid. They replied that the amount still to be paid is 60 Euros less than I calculate it to be, this is due to the fact that I am contractually obliged to pay the bank charges for bank transfer (which is, in fairness, stated on the T&Cs of our orignal agreement).
I am seriously regretting this now! I consider, however, that it is my obligation to pay the bank charges x1 not x3 - as they should have paid in a single payment. Is it too late for me to make a stand on this, did I have to stipulate who would pay the bank charges when I allowed them to pay in instalments?
Has anyone else encountered a similar situation or does anyone have advice on how to handle such a situation?
Regards,
Diane Ginis-Milligan ▲ Collapse
| | | | sylvie malich (X)
Germany
Local time: 13:14
German to English
| Live and learn. | Oct 24, 2008 |
DianeGM wrote:
d I have to stipulate who would pay the bank charges when I allowed them to pay in installments?
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I'm afraid so.
You have to be very careful in business. Something they've apparently already got down.
| | | | | No, it is not too late, but.... | Oct 24, 2008 |
there is not very much you can do in the end if they pay you everything they owe you except for the last EUR 60 - other than end the ongoing co-operation with them and correctly select your level of willingness to work for them again on the Blue Board.
While it would have no doubt been safer to discuss the subject of the bank charges when making the instalment arrangement - if you had thought of it - it should not be necessary. It would be a matter of common sense that you cannot be... See more there is not very much you can do in the end if they pay you everything they owe you except for the last EUR 60 - other than end the ongoing co-operation with them and correctly select your level of willingness to work for them again on the Blue Board.
While it would have no doubt been safer to discuss the subject of the bank charges when making the instalment arrangement - if you had thought of it - it should not be necessary. It would be a matter of common sense that you cannot be expected to pay the extra bank charges they have incurred due to their financial difficulties. You did not cause their financial difficulties, after all! You have simply been helpful, by allowing them to pay in instalments. Why should you lose money over it? Have you not already lost the interest they should have been paying you on borrowing your money for so long? I think you should state this to them clearly. What did they do with YOUR money on the day that their client paid it to them, anyway?
I would personally not make the co-operation last a lot longer either, but focus on new clients.
The one thing that IS your fault, though, is that you gave them EUR 3000 credit in the first place! Professional moneylenders - otherwise known as "translators" - have to be a bit careful about how much money they lend to whom.
Astrid ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| The poor buggers | Oct 24, 2008 |
DianeGM wrote:
They replied that the amount still to be paid is 60 Euros less than I calculate it to be, this is due to the fact that I am contractually obliged to pay the bank charges for bank transfer (which is, in fairness, stated on the T&Cs of our orignal agreement).
Wow, their cash flow must be incredibly bad if they pull such a trick. I think you are in the right, but their accountant will be hard to convince. I agree with Sylvie. Live and learn. At least you're getting the bulk of your money.
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| Agree with Astrid | Oct 24, 2008 |
Astrid Elke Johnson wrote:
there is not very much you can do in the end ...
You have simply been helpful, by allowing them to pay in instalments. Why should you lose money over it?...
you gave them EUR 3000 credit...
You can always say: Fine, I'll pay the bank charges, you pay me interest since you didn't pay on time.
*8% annually on EUR 3,000 = 240 / 12 (monthly) = EUR 20
For three months in arrears = EUR 60
Well what do you know, ain't that amazing?!
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*calculations simplified by tired translator
| | | | DianeGM
Local time: 14:14
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Learning .... | Oct 24, 2008 |
Well, no choice really about the living with it ... I almost choked on my coffee when I read their email - how could anyone be soooo cheap ... In the end I have sent an email explaining that while there maybe nothing in the letter of our agreement to prevent them from passing these charges onto me, such action is disappointing and is certainly not in keeping with spirit of our agreement.
After four years in business, I'd like to have been cheated by something much smarter, more s... See more Well, no choice really about the living with it ... I almost choked on my coffee when I read their email - how could anyone be soooo cheap ... In the end I have sent an email explaining that while there maybe nothing in the letter of our agreement to prevent them from passing these charges onto me, such action is disappointing and is certainly not in keeping with spirit of our agreement.
After four years in business, I'd like to have been cheated by something much smarter, more sophisticated, still the lesson is, at least, relatively cheap. The whole exercise will cost me a month's waiting and 99 Euros x3 bank charges both ends per transaction which is 66 more than it should have. I also know now exactly how much they value me as a collaborator and that at least is something that can be reciprocated from now on too.
About the learning from it ... next coffee break, I will write template T&Cs of my own which I can adapt to apply to any future instalment payment arrangement so next time I'll be ready.
Thank you all for you input!
Diane Ginis-Milligan ▲ Collapse
| | | | | You're going to work with them again after this??? | Oct 24, 2008 |
DianeGM wrote:
I also know now exactly how much they value me as a collaborator and that at least is something that can be reciprocated from now on too.
Or have I misunderstood you?
| | | | Angela Dickson (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:14
French to English
+ ...
| understanding | Oct 24, 2008 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote: You're going to work with them again after this??? 3:39pm DianeGM wrote:
I also know now exactly how much they value me as a collaborator and that at least is something that can be reciprocated from now on too. Or have I misunderstood you?
I interpreted it to mean that Diane is dropping them like a hot potato...
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| This is how I read it too | Oct 25, 2008 |
Angela Dickson wrote: Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote: You're going to work with them again after this??? 3:39pm DianeGM wrote:
I also know now exactly how much they value me as a collaborator and that at least is something that can be reciprocated from now on too. Or have I misunderstood you? I interpreted it to mean that Diane is dropping them like a hot potato...
They don't value her, she does not value them!
Good on her!
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