In article o.uk,
"Dave Liquorice" writes:
On Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:26:42 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

I wonder if they're up to the same tricks as Tesco and conjure up
cashflow by failing to pay anybody on time...

Standard practice with most large businesses. Sadly.

Especially when said large business is a major source of income to a
much smaller business. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act
there are rights and legal process that makes late payment and the
penalties very clear. But the little chap/company just cannot afford
to risk upsetting the wolf that feeds them.

That's starting to change, because when the little man goes bust,
there are now companies which will buy him just for his books,
so they can go back through them and claim the late payment
penalties from his customers, which remain payable for 6 years.
This is turning out to be very lucrative, when you can force his
customers to pay between £40 and £100 plus interest at 8%
above base rate for every invoice issued in the last 6 years
where payment was late (or a higher amount if part of the
original contact).

See: http://www.paylate.co.uk/
but note that the risk identified at the end (as I describe above)
is now up and running well.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]