Stamp Duty Advice Bureau invoicing and payment processes.

Here is a detailed outline of our invoice issuance and payment reminder procedures, including actions for handling overdue payments as per internal and statutory guidelines:

Invoice Issuance: Day 1

  • Action: Issue an invoice immediately after goods or services are delivered, specifying the payment due date according to agreed terms or, if not specified, as per statutory default.
  • Statutory Default: For business transactions without agreed payment terms, the default period is 28 days after either the delivery of the goods/service or the receipt of the invoice, as per the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
  • SDAB Comment:
    • The terms and conditions, estimates and invoices should state that payment is due within 7 days of payment by HMRC to the client.
    • If we contact HMRC and they confirm payment has been made, we issue the invoice immediately with 7 days terms.
    • If the client contact us and confirms payment has been made, we issue the invoice immediately with 7 days terms

Payment Reminder. Day 8

  • Action: If payment is not received by the due date, a reminder can be sent the following day.
  • Statutory Guidance: There’s no statutory deadline for when a reminder must be sent, but it’s common practice to send a reminder shortly after the due date has passed, often within 7-14 days.
  • SDAB Comment: If payment is not received within seven days, we send the first reminder demanding payment be paid within seven days

Overdue Payment Notice. Day 16

  • Action: If there’s no response to the initial reminder, a more formal overdue payment notice can be sent.
  • Recommended Timing: Typically, this is sent 7-30 days after the initial reminder, depending on the creditor’s policy.
  • SDAB Comment: If payment is not received within seven days, we send the first reminder demanding payment be paid within seven days

Final Demand . Day 22

Action: A final demand letter is sent if the overdue payment notice is ignored.

  • Recommended Timing: This is usually sent 7-14 days after the overdue payment notice, giving the debtor a final chance to pay before legal action is considered.
  • SDAB Comment: If payment is not received within 7 days, we send the final demand payment to be paid within seven days.
  1. Legal Action Warning Day 31
  • Action: If the final demand is not met, a letter before action (LBA) is sent, warning of impending legal action. ( see below )
  • Statutory Requirement: The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols requires that debtors be given a clear 14 days to respond to the LBA before legal proceedings are initiated.

Interest And Recovery Costs. Day 31+ 

  • For payments more than 30 days overdue, we will:
    • We will instruct our debt reclamation solicitors to Issue a letter before action (LBA)
    • Charge interest at 8% above Bank of England base rate for every day the debt is outstanding from date of invoice.
    • In addition there will be a recovery cost of:
      • For a debt less than £1,000: £40
      • For a debt of £1,000 to £9,999.99: £70
      • For a debt of £10,000 or more: £100

Debt Reclamation Solicitors Engagement – Day 61

  • Action: Transfer the debt to our partnered debt reclamation Solicitors for further action.
  • Delinquent payments solicitor: Lovetts.co.uk | Lovetts-costs.pdf
  • Procedure: When internal efforts to recover the debt have been exhausted, and the account remains delinquent beyond 60 days, we proceed by:
    • Issuing a court claim which is sent to the civil national business centre (CNBC).
    • If we are unable to recover funds, we will apply for a County Court judgement to be set against the debtor.
    • Once the County Court judgement has been made, we will then enforce the County Court judgement.