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For wholesalers & trade suppliers

Buyer stretching
your terms?

The stock has shipped and the 30-day terms have quietly become 60, then 90. Recover an overdue trade account with a structured escalation — and protect the margins that late payment quietly eats.

Direct answer

If a trade buyer owes you an undisputed B2B sum up to £10,000 in England & Wales, you can recover it yourself: a polite reminder, then a Letter Before Action, then a County Court claim. RobinReturn prepares each step at a published price, takes no commission, and the buyer pays you directly.

TL;DR

  • For undisputed B2B sums up to £10,000.
  • Built for goods supplied on credit terms.
  • Pay per stage; no commission on what you recover.
  • Add statutory interest and compensation on top.
  • Calm tone — chase without ending the trading relationship.
The situation

Thin margins,
stretched terms.

For a supplier on credit terms, a buyer who pays late is borrowing from your working capital — and on wholesale margins, a few slow-payers can hurt more than a lost sale.

A graduated escalation puts a professional floor under your terms: a reminder when an account goes past due, a Letter Before Action if it keeps drifting, and a County Court claim as the backstop. Because the tone stays measured, you can hold a serial slow-payer to terms without torching a buyer you would rather keep.

RobinReturn is for an undisputed debt. If the buyer is withholding payment because they say goods were faulty, short-delivered or not as ordered, that is a dispute over the goods, not a simple late payment — it may need advice and falls outside this workflow. Your delivery notes, signed PODs and order records all help show the debt is undisputed.

Many overdue trade accounts are paid at the reminder or Letter Before Action stage, once a buyer sees a clear process behind the chase — though every case differs and nothing is guaranteed. Statutory interest (base rate plus 8%) and fixed compensation are recoverable from the buyer and are yours to keep.

£
PICK A DUE DATE TO COUNT THE DAYS OVERDUE
%
DEFAULT 3.75% · BANK RATE AS OF 18 JUNE 2026
What you can claim

Debt, interest & compensation

Invoice owed£5,000.00
Statutory interest (11.75% · 0 days)+ £0.00
Fixed compensation (LPCDA s.5A)+ £70.00
Total you can claim£5,070.00

Interest accrues at the Bank of England base rate plus 8% (Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998), about £1.61 a day on this debt. Interest and compensation are recoverable from the debtor where the court agrees — RobinReturn takes no cut of either. Figures are illustrative and not legal advice.

FAQs

Your questions,
answered.

What if the buyer says the goods were faulty or short?

Then it is a dispute over the goods, not a straightforward late payment, and it may need legal advice — disputed debts fall outside this workflow. RobinReturn is built for undisputed invoices and is not a law firm.

Can I add interest to a trade debt?

Yes. On an undisputed commercial debt you can add statutory interest (the Bank of England base rate plus 8%) and a fixed compensation sum, both recoverable from the buyer and kept by you.

I have several overdue invoices from one buyer — can I bundle them?

Each invoice is set up as its own case today; there is no bulk import yet. Several debts mean several runs through the workflow, each at the same published per-action price.

Will chasing cost me the account?

The escalation is calm and professional by default, and you approve each step — so you can hold a buyer to terms without sending anything heavier-handed than you intend.

Start the chase
for £2.00.

Begin with a reminder and escalate only if you need to. RobinReturn is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

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