Received this text from my estate agent today – received the invoice last Tuesday and haven’t paid it yet.

Dear Mr XXXX, just a reminder that your invoice is still outstanding. Please note you have started to accrue interest on monies owing. We will therefore be instructing our solicitors to recover the fee in full plus the interest if we do not receive payment by close of business tomorrow.

There are no terms of payment on the invoice. As far as I know the normal period is 30 days, and that interest can’t be charged on a civil debt. Am I right in thinking I can tell him to jog on? I do intend to pay, but in the most protracted and inconvenient way possible (they damaged my house when installing their board and denied everything).

Pay them in penny coins

Have you read their terms and conditions, before assuming it’s 30 days? As for what is normal some of it depends on who you are dealing with and in what industry.

Not allowed to do that any more, much that I would love to deliver £3500 of 1p coins to his door in a skip.

Benji – he didn’t leave me with a copy of the contract so can’t say.

Think that’s a bit disparate,they must be hard up,however on the other hand if you owe it them why haven’t you paid it?

text them back a pic of your willy

They are desperate for money that’s clear.

In writing ask for a copy of the terms and conditions and state that you “were told” (or something similar) that terms where 30 days. I would also mention the damage and say you will be seeking financial recompense.

It may well be the invoice payment is due on receipt

I took an estate agent to the ombudsmen (for lying in sale process) thankfully the buyer provided written evidence – I got £100 which is token really but I did manage to delay paying them for 18 months – it cost me more in legal fees. The Omburdsmen is as much use as a chocolate tea pot, the typical settlement against the agent is tiny even if they are found to be in the wrong.

With “harry hindsight” you should have terminated the contract as soon as they damaged your house.

No terms and conditions then dont pay him yet ?

Call them, ask in full they provide the T&Cs and a signed copy of your agreement. If it states the fact you have stated then you are bound by them, failing that ask them to provide a Conduct Risk assessment…

I’d print out a huge phallus shaped cheque, & walk in with it on a Sat afternoon.
That is, of course, after supergluing an A1 copy of the aforementioned letter to the shop window overnight.
(Your details removed obviously).

Tell him you dont conduct business by text.

Does it have a picture of mickey mouse over the door ? It should.

Re the thread title, I’m very disappointed – that’s not menaces; sending a text threatening to knee cap you if you don’t cough up would be though…

And fans of wacky ways to protest can take heart from one thing: £1 and £2 coins are legal tender up to any amount you like. Even if they’re frozen in ice or put in a bathtub full of honey.

I too am disappointed.

Likewise disappointed at confusing request for payment of an invoice with “menaces”. However:

As far as I know the normal period is 30 days, and that interest can’t be charged on a civil debt. Am I right in thinking I can tell him to jog on?

All of that is unwise, certainly in England.

There will be a payment period in the T&Cs, which you will barring considerable agility and forethought be bound by. There is no magic in 30 days. Invoices can be submitted for immediate payment.

Statutory interest (i.e. payable even if the T&Cs don’t provide for interest) will run after 30 days from the delivery of the invoice I think, but if there is an interest provision in the T&Cs that will take priority. They will also be able to claim costs of recovery if you’re not careful.

I’d advise you to pay the invoice, less an amount for the cost of damage you claim they did. Send that with a statement about the damage and why you’re making a deduction. Then they actually have to engage with that. As it is, you’re just a poor payer who may turn into a bad debt. Their office has a bored and boring person who will be little inconvenienced personally by trashing your credit rating.

With all the above calls for willies, maybe George will lend you his briefcase when you go and pay:

just a basic threatening letter text, they want their money, justthink f as your wages being paid late, you wouldnt be happy.

or theyre in a cash flow debit situation, eg going bust.

BigDummy – only way they can affect my credit rating is to get a CCJ in their favour and for me then to fail to pay that.

Unpaid debts show up in credit scoring – not as bad as an unpaid CCJ though, agreed.

Also, if you owe more than £750 (IIRC – while since I did this), the standard thing to do is to petition for your bankruptcy. That does tend to get people’s attention.

Threatening you with court and extra interest less than a week after the invoice? What would they do if you were on your hols abroad or working away for a few weeks?

That kind of approach would make me want to be as uncooperative with them as possible, but check your t&cs, obviously.

I vaguely recollect that (statutory) late payment interest normally starts accruing after you’ve had the invoice for 30 days, or there is an agreed payment date, unless you’ve signed something different.

It is incredibly easy for them to apply for a court judgement against you. This CCJ will sit on your record for years even after it’s settled and will make getting credit/mortgages trickier. Unless you are on very solid ground on this one I’d be paying up and moving on with your life. No point in cutting off your nose etc. etc.

Then go wee in their shoes.

It is incredibly easy for them to apply for a court judgement against you. This CCJ will sit on your record for years even after it’s settled and will make getting credit/mortgages trickier.

It’s very easy to bring a small claim again someone, you only get a ccj if you end up loosing in court, and then not paying the court settlement… It’s actually fairly hard to get a ccj against your name….

So you asked them to sell your house
They sold it and had the cheek to ask for prompt payment.

And they didn’t damage your house, they damaged the person you sold it too’s house.

Stop being an arse and pay up,

I dont think the OP is shirking payment. If the bill was given to you in the restaurant and the waiter held out his hand and ‘said come stop stalling/pay and get out’. You’d be pissed off.

Pay within 7days is abit keen. 14days would be reasonable. Ask for a copy of the signed T&C’s.

I would be inclined to show the txt to an estate agents ombudsman or trading standards,you are a customer after all lets not forget that,do they have a website where you can leave a review,maybe mention this txt in the review,AFTER PAYING UP ha ha

Solicitors, lawyers, surveyors, estate agents…… professional leeches the lot of them. The whole house buying and selling mullarkey is so set up. All they do is pay each other to extract as much as they can out of their so-called customers.

Not a single honest person among them.

C

“That kind of approach would make me want to be as uncooperative with them as possible, but check your t&cs, obviously.”

Why bother? Just pay.

I’d shit in a bag and send it by post, not just for estate agents ,most people who piss me off, pretty soon they will find me by DNA but until then, plops away .

If you owe the bloody money just pay the bloody money

If you owe the bloody money just pay the bloody money

This ^^^

Sending by text is pretty bad form, no proof of delivery, no idea if you ever got it, probably the only thing less reliable than email! Im pretty sure you changed your number just before they sent that right?

I think it would be worth taking step back here.

1. You owe them money. You cannot escape this, nor does it appear that you want to. Trying to piss them off by paying late could end up more detrimental to you than to them.

2. They have caused damage to your property. If you have suffered loss then you can try to recover this from them, however this is separate from your debt to them.

Write/email them setting out the damage they caused to your property. Quotes/receipts for the cost of repair will be needed. Explain that you will be pursuing them for these costs and that it would be in the interests of all parties if they will agree to allow you to set off that amount from the amount you owe them.

If you suffered no financial loss as a result of the damage and you’re just delaying payment for the buggeration factor they’ve caused you, you’re left with two options: pay your debt now or pay your debt later. Option 1 carries no consequences for you and option 2 does. I suspect that neither option will make much difference to the estate agent.

Pop in and have a chat with them.

What damage was caused, structural or just a bit of marking?