Late payment compensation: £40, 70 or £100 per commercial invoice
On qualifying B2B contracts, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 can give you a fixed sum of compensation for each overdue invoice, on top of statutory interest. The bands are set by the amount of the debt:
- £40 where the debt is under £1,000
- 70 where the debt is £1,000 to £9,999.99
- £100 where the debt is £10,000 or more
Those sums are per overdue invoice where the Act applies, not a random surcharge. They do not replace interest, and they do not guarantee payment.
When the bands apply
You need a qualifying commercial contract and a payment that is legally late. See when a commercial payment is legally late. Consumer debts are out.
Put honest figures in any letter before action. A knowingly false statement in a pre-action letter can be contempt of court.
Instruct a partner if chasing has stalled
Compensation and interest improve the ledger on paper. They do not collect it. Upload the invoice and we introduce a specialist partner. Fees are usually a fixed percentage of what they recover, agreed before they start. We are not solicitors. Recovery is not guaranteed.