If a client pays late, should you name and shame them on social media?
When a customer leaves you with an unpaid invoice, it’s understandable that you might choose to ‘encourage’ them to pay up in any way possible.
We were curious to find out just how often naming and shaming actually works, so we asked 24 of our clients to tell us how they handle late payments – and specifically, whether they had ever tried naming and shaming.
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Does Naming and Shaming Work? Survey Results
We asked 24 of our debt recovery clients how they approach recovering late payments, and whether they had tried calling out the late payer on social media.
Of the 24 clients we surveyed:
- 15 had never tried naming and shaming, preferring to use other forms of credit control to make sure their invoices got paid on time.
- 9 said they had tried naming and shaming if an invoice was late
- Of the 9 who tried it, 6 said it didn’t work
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It’s a modestly sized sample, but it reflects what we suspected: naming and shaming is not an effective way of chasing late payments.
Does It Work For Other Businesses?
Naming and shaming for late payment comes up as a tactic on social media. When all else fails, it’s understandable that businesses will try everything they can to get the business’ attention.
You don’t have to look for examples for very long:
This poster rightly identifies the risk of naming and shaming when invoices are unpaid.
But often, these discussions don’t tell you what happened. In our experience, naming and shaming can make things worse.
Why You May Be Tempted to Name and Shame
Naming and shaming can often feel like the right thing to do as a form of retaliation for clients who don’t pay their invoices on time.
However, it’s often wiser to keep the problem private and chase payment behind the scenes.
With formal but polite credit control processes in place, you can make sure that the client received your invoice and is processing it as planned, allowing you to double-check on when the payment is due to be made.
If this is likely to be soon after the deadline, you may want to take no action; however, if the client is delaying payment unreasonably, you can take steps to recover the debt.
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Naming and Shaming Risks
If you name and shame, you could be accused of damaging the client’s reputation.
This can lead to them bringing legal proceedings against you.
At the very least, causing drama over a late payment can delay their payment even further, which is the exact opposite of the effect you were hoping for.
Sid Home MD at Safe Collections has seen this play out:
“We have seen a small number of freelancers name and shame debtors using social media, and it has yet to prove successful. In actual fact, whilst it may feel good to publicly “out” the client in question, it will have a negative impact on recovery and is often used as yet another excuse to withhold payment.”
It’s a topic that’s bound to come up again in the future as social networks continue to develop and redefine ‘word of mouth’ for the 21st century, but for now it definitely seems as though naming and shaming is a bad idea.
What’s the Alternative to Naming and Shaming a Client?
If you’re tempted to name and shame, take a step back and contact us for a free review of your claim.
We have a high success rate in recovering unpaid invoices, backed by hundreds of positive client reviews on sites like Trustpilot.
You can also use our free tools to get your client to pay attention:
Remember: naming and shaming can feel cathartic in the moment. But the content you put on social media can be archived and used against you, even if you delete it. Before doing anything rash, contact us for professional advice.
