GeorgeYoung

Does anyone else on here have experience of Italian clients not paying invoices? If so, what options are available? If there anything similar to the small claims court?

Thanks in advance

modicasa

Its a game - and there is no small claims court. There are strongly worded lawyers letters and thats about it. Make sure you get paid before and during the work with only a little to pay on completion.

philat98

Someone mentioned on an old thread that Giudice di Pace operates a bit like small claims court.

modicasa

Well sort of , there's a judge and you still need a lawyer who represents you and they all talk between themselves and then they send you away to think of a solution and come back in 2 months. just like a normal court but without the costumes.

GeorgeYoung

Cheers all, not yet been done over by a non-paying client but just wanting to explore my options as am starting to get concerned.

In the past I've always worked on contracts with promises to pay and money demanded up-front if it's a significant sum (I tend to work with relatively small value orders).

ononno

During my working life was faced with this problem, usually for fairly significant amounts. Not sure if it would work nowadays, but I sold the invoices at a 20 percent discount to a debt collection agency, and let them get on with it with their strong arm men.
Cheaper and quicker than lawyers and courts.

philat98

Those debt collectors were pretty confident that your customers would pay up. It might be enough just to tell the customer that you will sell the debt.

uk_grenada

There are several countries where the hells angels are registered legal debt collectors...

Australia has been trying to stop it but in denmark they are apparently a legitimate business.

philat98

I remember getting a parking ticket in Reading. They didnt go as far a saying if the fine was unpaid they would call some Hells Angels but it wasn't far off.

chris120

Not paying or paying late is an Italian problem that my company rarely finds elsewhere in the world and is an illustration of how crooked/corrupt Italy is when this appears to be acceptable or normal. We do business with several very big, well known, industrial companies in Italy and I would say that not one of them has paid a single invoice on time in the last 10 years. Most of our Italian customers routinely have several €millions past due, we have some invoices 2 or 3 years past due. I reckon we spend around 2% of turnover chasing overdue debt in Italy. For some customers we now insist on an irrevocable letter of credit. Another option we have explored is factoring but both are long winded procedures to set up and are costly.

modicasa

Its not a question of corruption or crookedness - its a simple question of priorities. Alot of Italians will have work done without having the means to pay for it. They are paid late by their clients, and so it becomes an endless chain. Renzi did try and stop at least the late payment by public administration, but it was voted down. My commune routinely makes suppliers wait 2 years to be paid, and then they have to go to court. The comune waits because central government waits two years to pay out what they owe. And so on. The idea that your ineptitude can ruin the business and family of your supplier doesnt seem to enter their heads. For a non italian its a very strange set up - that employers dont seem to have a problem not paying their employees, that I can wait years to be paid without a cent of interest or penalty payment. Its so ingrained it will take a generation to sort out and needs stinging penalties for late payment by everyone. If you dont pay your imposte on time, the sanctions are derisory if they exist at all.