Ambiguous times of payment in invoices

[NGT6 1315]

Hello,

 

while I am aware that UK law may be different from German law in this context and that I should probably ask the retailer for clarification if in doubt, I would like to hear what you would think to be more logical in the following situation.

 

Looking over some old bills from one retailer I have done business with on several occasions, I noticed there are two contradicting terms of payment indicated on the advance invoices I have received from them for my past purchases. One statement (which is a copy from the corresponding passage in their T&C) says that ordered items are reserved for the customer for the duration of one month and will be shipped after the payment has been received; the other, however, states that the bill is "to be paid within ten days". Now - which of the two statements would you say is valid? I invariably paid my bills from them within only a few days after receiving the invoice, so there had never been any reason for me to wonder why there would be these contradicting times of payment.

 

Thanks for your thoughts in any case .

[eastwestdivide]

I'd say logic isn't any use here - they seem to contradict each other. I'd ask the retailer - they probably don't realise there's a discrepancy.

[Kenton]

ordered items are reserved for the customer for the duration of one month

and will be shipped after the payment has been received

 

the bill is "to be paid within ten days"

Both statements are valid and not mutually exclusive:

You placed an order - they notify you it has arrived (unwritten bit ... but how else would you know) - you pay them within 10 days - they ship item - if one month has passed (before receiving payment) tough they have resold it.

 

Sounds like they are allowing a reasonable period just in case you are away and don't get the notification.

[NGT6 1315]

Both statements are valid and not mutually exclusive:

You placed an order - they notify you it has arrived (unwritten bit ... but how else would you know) - you pay them within 10 days - they ship item - if one month has passed (before receiving payment) tough they have resold it.

 

Sounds like they are allowing a reasonable period just in case you are away and don't get the notification.

 

 

Hmm, I guess so. As I originally said, I'll probably be best off if I contacted them and asked next week, so as to make sure there won't be any misunderstanding for any future orders.

 

I also thought that it might be possible they use the same form for proforma invoices and normal invoices for orders which the buyer agreed with them to be paid after delivery. The ten-day period would make sense for the latter as well, I guess.

[Kenton]

shipped after the payment has been received

 

I think that statement is pretty unambiguous

 

unless you have a specific contract voiding that T&C I don't think you are going to see the goods before you pay.

But then there are plenty of companies out there (and government departments) who do not read their own T&C.

[NGT6 1315]

unless you have a specific contract voiding that T&C I don't think you are going to see the goods before you pay.

 

 

There are actually several retailers I know who offer the option of paying upon receiving a shipment, usually on the condition that any customer must have at least two or three transactions with advance payment or bank collection under his belt.

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

ordered items are reserved for the customer for the duration of one month and will be shipped after the payment has been received; the other, however, states that the bill is "to be paid within ten days".

 

I suspect that these T&C's are designed to cover two styles of trading. The first one is for 'we don't trust you. pay and we ship' and the second is 'here's the goods you ordered, pay us in ten days'.

 

If any company trades without T & C then they will be unable to either collect easily or factor the debt.

 

The passage between the two is known as 'due diligence' which effectively means the supplier must check the payment details before shipping or have previous good experience with the customer or have some form of credit checking in place.

 

All of this is needed to allow the factoring of the debts particularly where longish credit terms are the norm. Very rare in retail but the banks can and do check procedures where a company has a large facility secured partly on book debt.

[NGT6 1315]

Well, I just called them to ask what these different indications are all about, so as to avoid any misunderstanding for future orders, and I was told that both indications are correct. Specifically, the clerk told me that she agrees the ten day period does make more sense for payments upon receiving, and that their rule for advance payments could be said to be that they encourage payments to be made as quickly as possible (within ten days, that is), while at the same time granting a maximum courtesy period of four weeks in case the buyer is held up by whatever circumstances there may be and might need to make arrangements. So, it's more or less what we suspected in this thread . Good to have a definitive answer in any case!