Some of the most desirable fashion brands make less desirable customers, due to poor payment practices and frequent late payment, according to an industry news provider.
Business of Fashion spoke to several budding young designers about their experiences of supplying retailers within the UK and abroad - and found widespread unrest about the likelihood of being paid on time, in full and in line with agreed terms.
Read more: Late Payment 'Must be Stopped' in Fashion Industry
Company impersonation fraud is big business these days as scammers, fraudsters and criminals increasingly realize the advantages this type of fraud has over the more "traditional" types of fraud that target individuals.
We regularly deal with businesses that have fallen victim to this type of fraud and do what we can to help, but it is rare that a customer scammer will attempt to draw us into this kind of activity. But that is exactly what happened to us and our debt collection affiliates in Germany recently.
Read more: Synthite Chemicals Ltd - B2B Fraud Alert - Updated
The government's much-anticipated Business Bank got a kickstart of its own in the 2013 Budget, with the news that at least some of its measures are due to be introduced ahead of schedule.
But while a £300 million investment programme for SMEs was officially launched on April 10th by business secretary Vince Cable, just how far does it go to give small businesses the boost they need to grease the wheels of the UK's jammed economy?
Now we know that Debt Collection and Debt Recovery don’t have the best reputation in business markets, this is one of the reasons we take pride in displaying a small selection of the hundreds of client testimonials we have received over the last 30 years over on our testimonials page.
Nothing usual in that you may be thinking, but have you noticed that unlike some other agencies all of our references are clearly attributable to both a named company and an individual within that company?
Read more: Anonymous 'Testimonials' Aren’t Worth the Paper They Are Written On
Daring to speak out about late payment on Twitter could cost one woman £120,000 in fines and legal costs - all because of an unpaid £146 invoice.
The BBC reports that 55-year-old Lesley Kemp of Milton Keynes carried out £146 of transcription work for a company based in Qatar.
But when Resolution Productions paid her late - and expected her to cover the cost of their own £25 bank charges - Ms Kemp vented her frustrations on Twitter.
Read more: Name-and-shame 'Horror' Could Cost Creditor £120k
As a fully licensed debt collection company that has been incorporated since 1984, we have a long history in providing advice on how to choose an ethical and trustworthy debt collection partner. But unfortunately sometimes this message doesn't get through to those that really need it and many businesses up and down the country can find themselves unwittingly in bed with unlicensed, unregulated and unethical 'debt recovery' companies.
Read more: Another ‘Cowboy’ Debt Collection Company Liquidated
Sometimes, businesses fail. If a failed company is a customer of yours it can be an expensive and potentially disastrous situation.
In most cases their will be little you can do, except wait and see if any money is left for creditors when the affairs of the company are formally finalised.
Read more: When Your Customer Goes Bust - ICM & BIS Managing Cashflow Series Part Ten
A married couple and their son have been banned as company directors after failing to pay more than £186,000 in tax. Heather & Lance Shepherd and their son James Shepherd, who ran a company called Shepherd Security Ltd in Preston have been disqualified from acting as directors for a total of 15 years following an investigation by the insolvency service.
