Unpaid invoice: how to manage a customer with late payment?

Are you an entrepreneur? Are you faced with customers who are reluctant to pay you or who take a long time to do so? This is bound to put your cash flow at risk. Several legal solutions exist. Here are some tips for managing your unpaid bills.

Try amicable solutions to invite your client to pay you quickly

To start, give your client the benefit of the doubt. Contact them by phone or email to remind them to honor the invoice that is past due as quickly as possible. Maybe he just forgot about it! If that doesn't work, send your customer a simple reminder letter for an unpaid invoice. Not obligatory, but recommended in order to maintain good professional relations, its objective is to remind him, once again, of the existence of an invoice that he has not paid. The next step consists of repeating the operation, but this time, specifying that a formal notice procedure will be initiated, in the absence of settlement. Registered shipping with acknowledgment of receipt is recommended at this stage. Now is the time to take an interest in legal proceedings! THE PoleSocietes.com legal glossary will be very useful to you.

Send a formal notice for unpaid invoice

The letter of formal notice is sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. This way, you officially notify your customer of their final deadline to pay you what they owe you. You also warn him that legal action will be taken if the invoice is not paid on time. The formal notice serves as a statement of the state of unpaid and late payment. It also opens up the possibility of initiating legal proceedings. Note that late payment compensation is taken into account from the day following the payment due date that you indicated on the invoice.

Initiate legal recovery against a bad paying customer

Judicial recovery allows you to obtain an enforceable title. This establishes a report of the absence of payment. Its aim is to force your creditor to reimburse you the amount due (the price indicated on the invoice and late payment compensation). You must then notify your customer of the judicial recovery, then call a bailiff. The latter will then seize your client's property to collect the amount he must reimburse you.

But beware ! If you are dealing with an insolvent person, you cannot obtain the price of the invoice and late payment compensation or reimbursement of bailiff's fees. To avoid this situation, ask the judge for a precautionary measure. This involves freezing your creditor's bank account and assets so they can pay you. Addressed to the execution judge of the High Court, this request must be correctly studied and constructed (taking into account risks and measures, proof of unpaid debt, etc.). Do not hesitate to call on professionals to help you with this process and to avoid sometimes very costly mistakes.