In a frankly astounding turn of events, Debt Guard Solicitors have proposed introducing a right for big businesses to opt out of paying on time.
Read that again, because it's an almost unbelievable statement - a commercial debt recovery firm suggesting that big brands should have the opportunity to simply opt out of being punished for late payment.
Where do small businesses turn for help when they suffer due to late payment? Under new government plans, there could soon be a Small Business Conciliation Service tasked with tackling that precise problem.
That's not its official name as yet - and in fact, you could be forgiven for thinking you already know of a 'conciliation service' for small business disputes, in the form of mediation.
Read more: 'Small Business Conciliation Service' - Mediation by Any Other Name
Premier Foods - owners of the Mr Kipling brand, along with several other household names - have encountered their fair share of negative press recently, since it emerged that they were demanding that suppliers should invest in the company in order to continue receiving orders.
Yep, that's right - suppliers to Premier Foods, many of them fairly small foodservice businesses, were apparently told that if they wanted to keep receiving future orders, they had to put their own money into Premier in the form of investment finance.
Read more: Premier Foods Named and Shamed on Exceedingly Bad Payment Practices
Hardly a month goes by without a new government or industry scheme aimed at preventing late payment - since the EU Late Payment Directive was introduced, we've seen the voluntary Prompt Payment Code, proposals to name and shame poor performers on a public database, the Supply Chain Finance Scheme to raise funds against outstanding invoices, and several suggestions of new conciliation schemes.
Read more: Is 'Quick and Cheap' Best for Preventing Late Payment?
