GRAVE CRISIS
Friday, November 2, 2012 @ 8:21 AM
Unable to access funds from conventional sources many firms are transferring their debts to suppliers by delaying or refusing to pay invoices. The phenomenon has led to a revolution in business practice. Suppliers now demand cash or payment upfront.
Business expert and copywriter Michael Walsh says the tipping point for him was a Costa del Company trading under the name Woodland Burial Park, with an address in Liverpool and Sevenoaks, Kent. The company’s specialises in burial plots; its James Everett failed to respond to requests for payment.
Approached and implored to remedy poor content of marketing material the copywriter / journalist turned the work around. It was then the company turned him over by reneging on his modest invoice. The disgruntled service provider say; “it’s the final straw. Too many businesses are sheltering behind the high cost of debt recovery. They know that this is a greater burden than writing a debt off.”
The supplier says the irony is the worst offenders are those who aren’t in financial difficulty, but making sure they won’t be. These maverick businesses in essence are being funded by unpaid debts.
His advice to small traders and SMEs is to stick to their guns; refuse to work unless a sizable deposit or payment in full is made. The policy can be modified when a trusting relationship has been established.