Chased for an overdue bill
Discussion
I'm being chased for an overdue bill. I have no problem with the bill but I actually handed them the cheque to pay it 6 months ago and they appear to have lost it. Now, I didn't notice it hadn't gone out so the money had been sat in my account for ages. I've recently been made redundant however so that money is being used to pay bills until I'm back in work. I can't therefore pay in the time scale they are demanding. I feel that I'm in a reasonable position to dictate some terms/payment plan here as it's essentially their mistake.
It was suggested to me that I've 'paid' because I handed over a cheque but I'm not sure that's true as I could have just passed a rubber cheque. What would've happened had the money gone out of my account (someone in their office on the make)? Is there a duty of care here that they have adequate security and procedures?
I guess my fear is that there is a cheque floating around for this amount un-cashed.
It was suggested to me that I've 'paid' because I handed over a cheque but I'm not sure that's true as I could have just passed a rubber cheque. What would've happened had the money gone out of my account (someone in their office on the make)? Is there a duty of care here that they have adequate security and procedures?
I guess my fear is that there is a cheque floating around for this amount un-cashed.
WHo is the bill to?
The legal position is that you haven't got a leg to stand on. You owe them the money and you owe it right now.
The real-world position is that if you refused to pay and they decided to take you to small claims, you could string it out for at least 6-12 months without getting a CCJ.
So anyone who ar eowed money would infinitely prefer to get this in small installments rather than bother with court.
Just bear in mind they all have a choice so just ask nicely. Don't try and call the shots or out-anger them because it just gets peoples backs up and stops them thinking rationally. I take legal action on loads of people who it makes no business sense whatsoever to, purely because they are t
ts. So just apologise, explain and tell them what you can realistically do and Im pretty sure it will be okay for you.
The legal position is that you haven't got a leg to stand on. You owe them the money and you owe it right now.
The real-world position is that if you refused to pay and they decided to take you to small claims, you could string it out for at least 6-12 months without getting a CCJ.
So anyone who ar eowed money would infinitely prefer to get this in small installments rather than bother with court.
Just bear in mind they all have a choice so just ask nicely. Don't try and call the shots or out-anger them because it just gets peoples backs up and stops them thinking rationally. I take legal action on loads of people who it makes no business sense whatsoever to, purely because they are t
ts. So just apologise, explain and tell them what you can realistically do and Im pretty sure it will be okay for you.1. Cancel the old cheque, just in case. If the cheque's never been cashed then it's almost certainly because they simply lost it. Cheques are small, the get caught between other papers and mistakenly filed or chucked in the bin, it happens.
2. Talk to them about a mutually agreeable timescale for paying the bill. They will want it now, if you don't have the cash then try and agree to pay over 6 months or whatever's appropriate.
Not sure what other honest options you have seeing as you admit that you owe the money. You're certainly not in the position to make many demands.
2. Talk to them about a mutually agreeable timescale for paying the bill. They will want it now, if you don't have the cash then try and agree to pay over 6 months or whatever's appropriate.
Not sure what other honest options you have seeing as you admit that you owe the money. You're certainly not in the position to make many demands.
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff