Company: Anonymous

Region: Northern Ireland

Location: Northern Ireland

A small communications business was contracted to deliver a PR project for a large, international company in the hospitality sector.

Shortly after the project was completed, the small business joined a Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce webinar and discovered the free support offered by the Small Business Commissioner. The business went on to log a complaint with the Office for the non-payment of invoices from early 2020, totalling over £10K.

The small business said: “We have sent many emails to the accounts team but just receive one excuse after another. Most of the money owed is required to cover money paid out by ourselves on their behalf, and now we are out of pocket and have been since 2019.”

A Caseworker from the Office of the Small Business Commissioner assessed the complaint and requested further information to begin the investigation process, however the small business advised that after making the complaint, they once again contacted the large company and highlighted that a formal complaint had been made to the Small Business Commissioner and subsequently, full payment was received the following day.

Associate Director of the small business said: “For any small business the late payment of invoices is a constant worry as it can have a seriously negative impact on cash flow. We had been struggling to get paid for a job we did the previous year for a large business in the hospitality sector and it was a growing concern as the work had involved a large outlay of our own money. When we found out that the Office of the Small Business Commissioner could assist us, we immediately asked for their help and thankfully just the mention of the organisation’s involvement was enough for payment to be made the next day.

“We found communicating with the Office simple, quick and efficient and the staff working on behalf of the Commissioner are friendly and super helpful. I’d recommend engaging with the Small Business Commissioner to any small business who is owed money by a larger organisation and I couldn’t speak more highly of the help they offered our business.”