Query about Billing - Trading name vs Company Name

Mark Hamill

If you do work for a company and bill it to their trading/business name, can they withhold payment until the invoice is made out to their company name?
What about if they want their full address on the invoice too, can they withhold payment until that is amended to the invoice too?

Peregrinus

Unless there is a term in your contract with the company about the form the invoice is to take, any reasonable and accurate invoice is good enough.

But this rarely comes down to the law. You want your creditors to pay you. If it makes it easier for them to pay you if they have an invoice that conforms to certain requirements, you send them an invoice that conforms to those requirements. Why wouldn't you?

Mark Hamill

Peregrinus wrote: »

Unless there is a term in your contract with the company about the form the invoice is to take, any reasonable and accurate invoice is good enough.

But this rarely comes down to the law. You want your creditors to pay you. If it makes it easier for them to pay you if they have an invoice that conforms to certain requirements, you send them an invoice that conforms to those requirements. Why wouldn't you?

It's obviously not a problem if this information is revealed by the company in advance or immediately upon receiving of the invoice. However, I have seen this excuse suddenly pop-up 6,12 or more months after an invoice had first been given (usually after several statements have been emailed and posted and several irritated phone calls have been made).

And while in that case I still agree to just send in an amended invoice (if nothing else, it would quicker than any legal action), I am just aware that one or two companies I deal with have tried to further withhold payment in such cases because the invoices end up so old as to be in the previous tax year which they then claim means they don't have to pay it (hasn't happened to who I work for, but I've heard of it happening to others in my industry).

Allinall

It's a well known practice to delay payment.

If it goes on too long and the debtor is looking for more changes to the invoice alarm bells should start ringing.

It will become a real difficulty if you end up taking legal action to recover the debt and discover you have not invoiced the correct legal entity.

Fred Swanson

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4ensic15

A bill doesn't become statute barred for at least 6 years. the tax year has nothing to do with it. People should use the Late Payments Directive when payments are overdue.

silent_spark

4ensic15 wrote: »

A bill doesn't become statute barred for at least 6 years. the tax year has nothing to do with it. People should use the Late Payments Directive when payments are overdue.

Is this regularly used? Apart from public bodies I haven't seen any business request or apply the interest so far.

4ensic15

silent_spark wrote: »

Is this regularly used? Apart from public bodies I haven't seen any business request or apply the interest so far.

It is not frequently used from what I can see. I have seen people look for it unsuccessfully in court. I have also seen people being awarded it.

Peregrinus

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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No, but it's the name used by a legal entity, and as long as it sufficiently identifies the legal entity then an invoice which uses the trading name is good enough.

If you get to the stage of issuing proceedings, I agree, name the defendant using its registered corporate name (or personal name, if the defendant is an individual). But if they then try to defend those proceedings by saying "the invoice was addressed to me using my trading name!" I don't think they'll get very far.

Mr. Incognito

An invoice is not a legal demand and can be issued to the Trading Name.

Once proceedings are in being for debt collection the legal name of the company must be used.