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The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013...what do they mean to you?

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The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 came into force on 16 March 2013, bringing with them the need for businesses to review their current supply contracts.  Here Helen Porter, head of Warner Goodman Commercial’s Dispute Resolution Team, looks at what this means for you and your clients and advises the best course of action for the future.

“The Regulations amend previous legislation and apply to commercial contracts entered into after 16 March 2013 for the supply of goods and services,” begins Helen.  “There are many changes within the new legislation, but the main amendments include restricting the parties’ freedom to agree excessively long payment periods if statutory interest applies, limiting the length of time parties have to ‘accept’ goods or services where it is necessary to establish a payment date, and permitting recovery of a supplier’s costs of enforcing payment in excess of the fixed sums suppliers are currently entitled to.”

If no time for payment is stated in a contract, statutory interest will run on outstanding payments after 30 days (currently 8% above the Bank of England base rate).

Helen advises, “Although these Regulations do not apply retrospectively, suppliers of goods and services do need to review existing contractual arrangements.  Any supply contracts entered into after 16 March 2013, or orders placed under pre-existing “umbrella” arrangements, should reflect the requirements of the new Regulations.”

For more information or advice on Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013, to have your supply contracts reviewed, or any other debt related issue, contact Helen or the Dispute Resolution Team on 02380 717717 or visit the website www.warnergoodman.co.uk.

ENDS

This is for information purposes only and is no substitute for, and should not be interpreted as, legal advice.  All content was correct at the time of publishing and we cannot be held responsible for any changes that may invalidate this article.