We are looking forward to exhibiting alongside the Construction Plant-hire Association at Plantworx 11-13th June, Peterborough. Plantworx is the “UK’s dedicated working construction event with a showcase of Plant, Tools, Equipment & Services”. We will be on hand to support CPA members and answer any of our customer’s credit management and debt recovery questions. Further information about the show and how to register can be found here https://www.plantworx.co.uk.

Over the last few days we have learnt that Swansea-based contractor Dawnus has confirmed that it has gone into administration and the parent company for Interserve, the troubled government contractor is also appointing Administrators.

We urge our members and the wider construction industry to protect their businesses by  actively monitoring trading experiences and acting upon early warning signs.  Don’t wait for the information to come to you, use an industry specific service that can spot changes in payment patterns resulting in regular, more in-depth and up to date checks being carried out to pick up information quickly.

Do not ignore your gut feelings, noise on the ground or unusual trading patterns with the business. For example why is the business asking for much more than usual and why are they not answering your call or following up on an email when they normally would? Has there been a sudden change in the way payment is received?  Act on it early and protect your business from the impact of bad debt. 

Look at your options for collection, take advice from your collections service provider on the best course of action for you and your customer. Consider your options, a one-step approach is not always the most effective. Above all, ensure your credit control team have the tools and support to be able to be pro-active.

We have become aware of an anomaly regarding the filing of annual accounts with Companies House which is seeing previously large credit limits temporarily plunge to zero, potentially bringing into question a company’s credit-worthiness.  These credit limits, calculated by credit reference agency computer algorithms, are heavily relied upon throughout the construction industry.

All UK limited companies are required to keep accounting records regardless of whether they are trading or not.  Every year a limited company is required to file a set of accounts with Companies House, with the detail of the information depending on the size of the company.  Even non-trading companies must file ‘dormant accounts’ unless they have a special exemption.  Private limited companies have nine months after their year end to file while public limited companies must file within six months.  Credit reference agencies then use sophisticated computer programs to analyse this financial information and suggest a suitable credit limit but everything hinges on ‘current financial information’.  Once the filing deadline has passed the previous year’s accounts are considered to be too old for analysis.

Our quality control team at Top Service has identified occasions when companies have filed their accounts at the last minute, for example, accounts are filed on the last day of the month which happens to be a Friday.  It’s a bank holiday weekend so Companies House doesn’t actually upload the information until Tuesday, so the accounts didn’t make the filing deadline and the credit reference computers may temporarily reduce the suggested credit limit to zero until the new accounts can be analysed.  Most limited companies engage a firm of qualified accountants to prepare and file their financial statements and they may routinely be filing very close to the deadline without considering  the wider implications.

Top Service director Emma Miller has the following advice:

“Firstly, as a director of a limited company you need to ensure that you are getting your company’s annual accounts signed off well before the filing deadline.  You then need to communicate with your accountant to ensure that the financial statements are being filed at least five working days before the filing date.  Some accountants may be in a routine of ‘just in time’ filing so don’t assume that the accounts will be filed as soon as you’ve signed them off.  Ask your accountant for a specific date that they will be filed and be aware that weekends and bank holidays will have an effect on when Companies House will actually upload the information to the system and pass it onto the credit reference agencies for analysis.  Communication is key here”.

So, what sort of companies are jeopardising their credit ratings?  Is it just small companies?  Not according to Emma Miller:

“This problem seems to apply to very large companies as well as smaller companies. We have seen companies with suggested credit limits of £10m whose accountant is filing on the very last day of their filing deadline and risking their client’s credit limit temporarily being reduced to zero.  The only answer is for company directors to take responsibility for when their information is actually being submitted to Companies House”.

Earlier this month, we exhibited at our first trade show for 2019 at Executive Hire Show, Coventry. We were overwhelmed by the warm welcome we received by our members who  took the time to tell us how valuable their membership with us is to their business. We were especially pleased to meet some of our members who have been with us since we started more than 25 years ago. It was great to meet our 41st member company KB HANDLEY PLANT HIRE LTD and JACKSON & GOCHER LTD who have been with us since 1994. 

We are now looking forward to our next event at Vertikal Days, Donington Park 15th and 16th May 2019 Stand MP14. Vertikal Days is a specialist event centred around access platforms, cranes, tele handlers and associated lifting equipment.  For more information and to register for the event visit www.vertikaldays.net 

We hope to see you there!

A County Court Judgment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is a type  of court order which you can enforce against a debtor should they fail to pay what they owe.

Once you have secured judgment against a debtor this will remain on the debtors credit file for 6 years, having an impact on their ability to obtain credit from elsewhere. 

If the judgment amount is paid (including any claims for interest and court fee’s and / or solicitors fee’s) then the judgment will remain on the credit file marked as satisfied. If the payment is made within 28 days of the judgment being registered then the judgment can be set aside, being removed from the credit file without any trace. 

When the judgment remains unpaid you may want to consider your enforcement options. There are a number of different options to consider and a decision should be made on which one you move forward with based on the value of the debt, the costs incurred so far and the potential costs of enforcement . You should also consider what you know about the debtor and seek expert advice before making any decisions. 

One of the most used enforcement methods is to instruct a Bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer. The purpose of this is that the Bailiff or HCEO will make visits to the debtor and attempt to take control of goods or take payment of the debt. 

You should consider the addresses you have for the debtor. If your debt is with a Ltd company and the only address you have is the registered office, try and establish if this is an office that will have goods owned by Ltd company. Or does the address belong to the Ltd company’s accountant? 

If you chose to instruct the Bailiff / HCEO then the more information you can provide at the time of instruction the better. 

Other options include securing your debt against property or land owned by the debtor. Whilst this doesn’t automatically release funds owed to you, having a secured debt certainly helps you if the debtor / debtor company becomes insolvent. Once you have secured your debt you can always look at another enforcement method to try and elicit payment. 

There of course many options when you decide to take legal action to recover a debt. Information is key, the more information you can provide and consider the better. Consider your local knowledge, previous customer activity, credit information and information gathered through the collection process, the more information you have can only improve your chances of a successful collection through legal action.

If you require enforcement advice or more information on the options available to you, please contact our helpdesk by calling 01527 518800 or email helpdesk@top-service.co.uk.

Executive Hire Show is the national exhibition for the tools, equipment and plant hire industry. To be held on Wednesday 6 – Thursday 7 February 2019, Executive Hire Show is a trade-only event open to hire executives throughout the UK and Ireland, and it has also attracted hire industry visitors from Europe and beyond. 

We will be on hand to answer any of your questions. Pop along and introduce a friend and you will receive a discount to your subscription fee. For more information and to register for the event visit www.exechireshow.com

We make it our mission to ensure our members receive the most up to date credit information and company trading experiences available which, can make a real difference between profit and painful write-offs. City Tool Hire recognises the importance of monitoring company trading experiences and taking action to prevent company loss. 

Recently, they raised their concerns with us about a company which owed them more than £30k and held their machinery on site.  With access to up to the minute credit data we were able to respond immediately and confirmed a Notice of Intent had been filed by the company. This information enabled City Tool Hire to act quickly and retrieve their machines and so limit the financial impact to their business. 

“I am grateful to Top Service for informing us so quickly that the company had closed which enabled us to act swiftly and recall our machinery. Access to trading experience information is vitally important to our business and we value the level of customer support Top Service has shown us, the financial impact could have been far worse if they had not acted so fast on our behalf.” Kalpesh Davdra, Finance Manager for City Tool Hire

For more information on how we can support your business with our debt prevention services visit:

https://top-service.co.uk/our-services/prevention/index.php

Telesales Consultant

We are looking for applicants with the following skills to join our existing Telesales team:

• Excellent telephone skills including negotiation, objection handling and closing.
• Ability to spot and react to buying signals
• A ‘can do’ and motivated approach to work
• Good PC skills including knowledge of using internet and email.

Our Telesales Consultant is a telephone-based role, making outbound calls to prospects and working with a steady stream of incoming leads. We are a service-based company and your role will be to sell our credit information and debt collection service to companies within the construction industry, in the form of a monthly subscription.

In return we offer:

• A competitive salary with un-capped commission.
• A motivated and target driven environment .
• An excellent training programme with ongoing support and recognition
• Healthcare Cash Plan

For further information about this job role and how to apply, please telephone: 

Jo Carby 01527 518800 

Each year, construction businesses write-off thousands of pounds because of bad debt caused by late and non-payment. According to a study carried out by specialist financial services provider Bibby Financial Services (BFS) and industry experts, The Vinden Partnership (TVP) ‘Sub-Contracting Growth’ 2018 reveals that three-fifths of subcontractors working in the construction industry (60%) have suffered from bad debt in the last 12 months, with the average firm writing-off £16,149 each year*.

So, how do you mitigate the risks associated with bad debt and are you claiming everything you are entitled to?

Emma Miller, Company Director for Top Service has the following advice;

“The construction industry continues to be hampered by bad debt, the overall risk to your business is great given the complex nature of build projects and their reliance on a fluid supply -chain.  Ideally for the best chance of collection a debt should be no longer than four weeks overdue before passing to a third party. At Top Service we would suggest no more than three letters are sent in-house before you refer. If your customer has not responded to your requests, then they are most likely ignoring you and it will be prudent to refer swiftly into the next stage of your pre-litigation collection process. 

Where an invoice is not paid or is paid late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 allows you to claim interest and compensation and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 allows you to claim recovery charges above the compensation amount awarded. ” 

Are you claiming everything you are entitled to for bad debts?

“Interest claims for non-payment are split into two categories, contractual and statutory. Contractual interest must be stated in the terms & conditions and / or contract and agreed with the customer before the product / service is provided. 

The majority of construction businesses who are providing trade credit to customers will turn to the statutory interest legislation to ensure they are being compensated for late payment. 

The statutory legislation (Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998) allows for interest to be claimed at 8% above base rate and also a compensation claim of either £40, £70 or £100.00 depending on the value of the debt. 

The statutory legislation can be applied to business debts that are ‘late’ the Government outlines ‘late’ as being 30 days after either the customer receives the invoice or you deliver the goods/provide the service (if this is later than the customer receiving the invoice). Unless you have agreed longer terms to pay with your customer. In these cases, the debt would be ‘late’ after those agreed terms have passed.

In terms of raising invoices for these late payment charges, there is no need. You claim your interest and compensation on the gross amount of the invoice. Your customer should treat the payment of interest to you as they would bank charges. There is no need to raise a separate invoice for these charges. 

To enable your customer to process payments for interest and to ensure you are covering any required pre-action protocol should the need for legal action be necessary it is advisable to confirm you claim for interest within your chasing letters. If you are passing your case to a 3^rd party for recovery, then your nominated 3^rd party should do this for you. 

Can you pass the debt collection cost onto your customer? 

Any claims for your debt collection costs not claimed under the statutory legislation should be agreed within your terms & conditions and / or contract with your customer.  Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 you can claim a compensation figure, depending on the value of the debt you are collecting:

If your collections costs are more than the compensation figure you are claiming, you can claim the surplus under the late Payment of Commercial Debts regulations 2013. 

To help improve your chances of a successful collection for interest and / or charges and to meet any pre-action protocol required for legal action you should ensure any claims for interest, compensation and charges are ‘reasonable”.

For more information on debt prevention and recovery contact our expert team.

*https://www.bibbyfinancialservices.com/about-us/news-and-insights/news/2018/subcontractors-write-off-2,-d-,8bn-in-bad-debt-each-year

Top Service is proud to announce our continued support for the Lighthouse Club Charity. The Lighthouse Club is the only charity that provides financial and emotional support to the construction community and their families who have suffered an injury or long-term illness or simply need a helping hand. They receive no public funding and rely on the generosity of those within the industry to continue their vital work.

Bill Hill CEO of the Lighthouse Club Charity said, “Without support from organisations such as Top Service we would be unable to provide a vital lifeline to our construction workers in need. With two construction workers taking their own life every working day, we desperately need to make a difference and Top Service have contributed to that huge effort by pledging an annual donation and becoming a company supporter. “

Please visit the Lighthouse Club Charity website to find out more about the fantastic work they do http://www.lighthouseclub.org