Ridiculous late payment excuses... and how to deal with them

Ever banged your head against a wall with the stress of a customer paying late, or worse, not at all? You’re not alone. ​​In our last Small Business Monitor survey 71% of business owners said they’ve waited more than a month to get paid, with 40% waiting more than three months. 

Some reasons for late payment may be legit, while other excuses are undeniably the business equivalent of “the dog ate my homework”. We asked FreeAgent users to share some of the most outlandish excuses they’ve heard from customers - then we put our heads together to work out how best to deal with them. 

What do you mean the payment terms are binding?

This isn’t buy now, pay later

Even with all the necessary requirements included on your invoice, some customers will still try to buy extra time. Emily Rodger of Bookgeeking faced a particularly egregious case, when a customer tried to worm out of paying the bill for their ship-building materials. “I had a customer try to fob me off by saying they couldn’t possibly pay for the building material because the ship for which the order had been made hadn’t been built, let alone sold 🤪,” says Emily. 

Luckily, in a situation like this, having an airtight invoice should (hopefully) get your payment back on track as legally you’ve included all of your terms - no exceptions for unsold ships included. But, if they still won’t pay, you do have the option to take legal action.   

‘We’re just a small business… honest’ 

Some customers may try to change payment terms entirely. Kate Spencer, Director of Mindful Communications says she once had a customer ask: “We’re just a small business so can we stage payments over multiple months with you?” The company in question has “staffed offices in London, New York and Singapore”… while she is a one-person band, she adds. 

When working with other (especially larger) businesses, in an ideal world your customer would be a signatories of the Fair Payment Code (FPC), but unfortunately not all businesses are invested in tackling the late payment challenge. “Voluntary prompt payment codes mean nothing to these types of businesses,” Kate says. “Gruel and tap water for one, please!” 

Mike Fleming, Founder of CRM consultancy cloudfortyseven

‘You didn’t say you wanted it paid in full’

Mike Fleming, Founder of CRM consultancy cloudfortyseven also experienced a customer ignoring payment terms. “When I chased a partial payment of a late invoice, the response was, ‘You didn’t say you wanted it paid in full.’ As the invoice was for subcontracted professional services on-site, Mike responded with: “Pay now or I’ll withdraw my services and tell the client why.” The transparency paid off and Mike stopped subcontracting for them as soon as the payments were in order.

Bending the rules of time

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is used across the world, but you may still encounter customers who reinterpret the rules of time. 

Like when a client told Jones & Bartlett Accountants Ltd they were “working away last week”… but the outstanding invoice was three months old - and had been chased up twice previous to said week working away. 

Or when photographer Alan Wright was told, “sorry for the late payment, half term meant our payment person wasn’t at work”. But the invoice was two and a half months late… 

Ian Wood, founder of Ian Wood Audio

Ian Wood, founder of Ian Wood Audio says it’s a major bugbear when the notification of payment arrives… but not the actual money. “When a customer issues a payment remittance on the day an invoice is due, but not the payment itself,” he explains. ”Likewise some customers will make payment the Monday after an invoice is due, if it is due over the weekend. Luckily, now I’ve moved to FreeAgent I can see exactly who pays on what timescale, and prioritise working for the fastest and most predictable payers.” 

While ideally customers would always pay on time, if you’re experiencing these types of delays we do have a few ideas for overdue invoice emails that should make the process for chasing late payments a bit less painful. 

Taking the brazen routes  

Going into liquidation

There are some people who avoid paying altogether. Like one of Andy Reedman’s customers who said “the company has been liquidated”. Only for it to then restart with a new name and director. Unfortunately in this rare occurrence there wasn’t much Andy could do. “That invoice is probably a good 17 years late now 🙄,” he says. 

‘They pretended to be the answering machine’ 

Others are a bit more comical with their attempts to avoid payment. Like Darren Northfield, Director of Aurora Tech Support’s funny - yet frustrating - experience: “I called [the customer] chasing payment and they pretended to be the answering machine!” While you’d be forgiven for being stumped by this level of gall, it’s a good idea to follow up such a surprising call via email. This ensures you have a record of outreach for payment - just in case you need to take legal steps if they continue to refuse to pay.  

Editor and proofreader Debbie Emmitt

Playing the forgetfulness card  

Debbie Emmitt is an editor and proofreader specialising in books set in France, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, memoirs and biographies. One of the most ridiculous excuses she has encountered is, “I thought I had already paid.” 

As she explains, “This is one that I find hard to believe! It took a couple of emails back and forth to convince them they hadn’t paid, but when I suggested I would have to take it further, the money miraculously appeared in my bank account and nothing further was said!” 

It’s important to remember that when you have done the work, you deserve to be paid. Debbie shows the value in standing your ground and knowing your worth. 

Passing the buck 

Another popular excuse is when customers attempt to pass responsibility on. Sugandha Daga Chhalani, Marketing Manager, was once told by a customer: “I accidentally paid someone else by mistake. Can you chase them for the money?” In this case, the chasing obviously shouldn’t be Sugandha’s responsibility, so politely reminding the customer that the invoice recipient is solely responsible for payment (and that the payment terms still apply) should encourage them to chase that missing payment themselves. 

But sometimes, excuses are okay…

While some customers may use a wide array of excuses to delay paying, there are those who have a valid excuse and that’s okay, as Steven Crighton, owner of Crighton Pet Services reminds us. “I work with families who trust me with their dogs. For most, they are trusting me with something more precious than they consider their significant other,” he says.

In return, Steven believes they deserve his trust. “What’s important is that whenever [a customer pays late], I know they’ll come good when they can. Trust is a two-way arrangement. But I also know that even if I lose track of who has paid what… FreeAgent won’t lose track.  And that’s brilliant for my business.  Like having a head of finance when in reality - it’s just me!”

Some of the dogs Steven Crighton looks after

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