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Only 24% of small firms taking legal action to pursue debts

Despite the current economic climate small firms are reluctant to take legal action to pursue money that it owed to them, according to research by invoice finance service provider Cattles.

The survey of over 300 small companies found that only 24% had taken legal action to recover outstanding monies, in spite of 77% being aware of their legal right to charge debtors a percentage on unpaid invoices.

“Managing cashflow is the key issue facing SMEs in the current economic climate, and being paid on time can make the difference between survival and collapse. For that reason, it is surprising that so few SMEs are pushing for settlement of unpaid invoices, charging interest or taking legal action to recover outstanding monies,” said Doug Crawford, group managing director at Cattles.

The main reasons given for not pursuing debts were the potential legal costs and the fear of damaging relationships and alienating customers.

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Post Date: April 24th, 2009