Haulage and logistics unpaid invoices are ordinary B2B debts with a freight trail. The load moved, the POD or CMR was signed, and the invoice still sits unpaid — often after fuel, wages and subcontractors have already been paid.
Debt Collection UK (a trading style of PASECOM GROUP LTD) introduces B2B files to independent partner agencies. We are not solicitors, we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we do not collect consumer debts. We do not issue proceedings. PASECOM GROUP LTD was incorporated on 7 April 2026. Recovery is not guaranteed.
Why haulage and logistics invoices go unpaid
Freight debts stall for familiar reasons: a shortage or damage claim after delivery; a rate confirmation that does not match the invoice; refused waiting time or demurrage; a main contractor withholding payment down a subcontract chain; or silence after reminders.
None of that changes the legal character of the claim if both parties acted in the course of a business. Carriage and related logistics services are supplies for the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Consumer courier jobs and private removals sit outside this site’s B2B remit.
What matters next is evidence. A haulage file without a signed proof of delivery, a clear rate agreement, and a clean invoice trail is easier for the debtor to blur with a late “query”.
When is a haulage invoice legally late?
An unpaid freight invoice is not automatically a late one. GOV.UK explains that you can claim interest and debt recovery costs when another business is late paying for goods or a service. Section 4 of the 1998 Act fixes the calendar: statutory interest runs from the day after the relevant day.
If you agreed payment terms — Net 14, 30 days from invoice, end of month following delivery — the invoice is usually legally late the day after that agreed date, subject to the Act’s outer limits. If you never agreed a date, payment is late 30 days after the later of the customer receiving the invoice and you providing the service. Agreed B2B dates must usually fall within 60 days; longer terms must be fair to both businesses. Public authorities are usually capped at 30 days.
Confirm the date against your terms and delivery record before you escalate. Our guide on when a commercial invoice is legally late sets out the agreed-term, 30-day default, 60-day B2B and public-authority rules in full.
What evidence do you need for freight debt collection?
Partner agencies look at the paper trail, not at how long you have been chasing. For haulage unpaid invoices assemble:
- the rate confirmation, booking email, or written contract showing price, vehicle, collection and delivery points, and any waiting-time or demurrage terms;
- the invoice with numbers, dates, VAT, and outstanding principal;
- proof of performance — a signed proof of delivery (POD), warehouse receipt, or delivery note;
- for international road carriage for reward between different countries where the CMR applies, the consignment note under the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965. Article 9 of the scheduled Convention makes the consignment note prima facie evidence of the contract of carriage, its conditions, and receipt of the goods by the carrier;
- any purchase order, account application, or incorporated conditions;
- a running statement of sums paid and outstanding.
Absence of a CMR note does not of itself kill an international contract under the Convention, but a missing POD or undocumented rate dispute stalls recovery. Keep clear scans. Do not inflate waiting time that was never agreed.
Can you add statutory interest and late payment compensation?
Once statutory interest begins to run on a qualifying commercial debt, section 5A of the 1998 Act entitles the supplier to a fixed compensation sum: £40 under £1,000; £70 from £1,000 to under £10,000; £100 at £10,000 or more. If reasonable recovery costs exceed that fixed sum, you may also claim the difference.
GOV.UK’s late payment guide matches those figures. Adding interest and compensation prices the delay. It does not guarantee payment. Set the figures out clearly if you send a letter before action.
What should you do before instructing a collection agency?
- Recalculate the due date against the Act and your written terms.
- Send a proportionate commercial reminder with the invoice, POD or CMR, and a clear pay-by date.
- If the debtor is a limited company and reminders fail, prepare a compliant letter before action under Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols: basis of claim, facts, sum and how it is calculated, and a reasonable time to reply — 14 days in a straightforward case. Company-to-company freight debts sit outside the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims unless the debtor is a sole trader.
- Pause chasing only where there is a genuine, documented dispute (damage, short delivery, rate error). A late, undocumented complaint is not a new payment term.
You remain the creditor. Debt Collection UK does not issue county court claims. If litigation is later needed, that is a separate instruction to someone entitled to conduct it.
When to pass haulage unpaid invoices to debt collection
Pass the file when the invoice is legally late, credit control has failed, the sum is not in genuine dispute, and you want formal pre-legal pressure. Typical freight triggers: 30–60 days overdue with silence; broken payment promises; or a subcontract chain where the main contractor has already been paid.
Business debt collection for commercial freight works like other B2B recovery: a partner agency takes the file and pursues payment. Partner recovery is usually a fixed percentage / commission of sums recovered — often on a no collection, no fee basis agreed before work starts. That is not free recovery. Recovery is not guaranteed.
If reminders have already failed, instruct us on the unpaid invoice via the secure claim form. We introduce B2B haulage and logistics files to a vetted partner agency. We do not collect debts ourselves and we do not issue proceedings.
Frequently asked questions
Can a haulage company claim statutory interest on unpaid freight invoices?
Yes, on a qualifying B2B contract under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 once the payment is legally late. Confirm the relevant day first.
Is a signed POD enough to chase an unpaid logistics invoice?
It is strong evidence of performance, but you still need the rate agreement or contract and a clear invoice. For international road carriage, a CMR consignment note is prima facie evidence of the contract and receipt of the goods under the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.
What if the customer disputes damage or shortage after delivery?
Treat a documented, timely dispute as a genuine issue to resolve before aggressive collection. An undocumented complaint raised only after chasing starts does not rewrite the due date.
Does Debt Collection UK take court action for freight debts?
No. We introduce B2B files to partner agencies. We are not solicitors and we do not issue proceedings. You decide any later litigation with someone entitled to conduct it.
Is haulage debt collection free?
No. Partner agencies usually work on a fixed percentage of recovered sums, often no collection, no fee. That is commission-based recovery, not free recovery. Recovery is not guaranteed.
When should we stop chasing and instruct an agency?
When the invoice is legally late, reminders have failed, and there is no genuine dispute. Instruct via the unpaid invoices form; a partner takes the recovery work while you remain the creditor.
This guide is free. Instructing a partner to recover an overdue haulage or logistics invoice is not: fees are usually a fixed percentage of what they recover (often no-collection, no-fee), agreed before they start. When chasing has stalled, pass the file via unpaid invoices or business debt collection.