AnswersWhen a client won't pay
How do I chase an overdue invoice politely?
The short answer
Two short emails. Send the first on day 7 after the due date, asking for a date, and the second on day 14, with interest at 8% over the base rate2 and a fixed sum of £40 to £1003 worked out; interest starts the day after the due date7, so it was running before your first email. If still unpaid on day 30, send a letter before action. Leave out the apology: the shortest email is the politest.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
A £1,500 invoice, 14 days late
Say you invoiced another business £1,500, due on 31 August 2026. You asked for a payment date on day 7, 7 September, and heard nothing. On 14 September it's still unpaid: 14 days late. Interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 runs at 8% over the base rate4 as it stood on 30 June 2026, 3.75%5. That makes 11.75% a year for any invoice that goes late between 1 July and 31 December 2026.
Then it grows by £0.48 a day until they pay. By day 30, when the letter before action goes, the extra is £84.49: £14.49 interest and the £70. Interest started on 1 September, the day after the due date7, and the fixed sum8 is owed once interest starts. The clock was running before your first email.
The road ahead
Two emails, a call, a letter. All free.
Step 1: Check the invoice before you chase
Check the amount, the bank details, the order number and who it went to: it must reach the person who approves payments. An error on the invoice can hold up payment9.
Count days from the due date: day 1 is the day after it7. With no date agreed, it is late 30 days after they got it or you finished the work, whichever is later1. The days below are a rhythm; the law fixes none of them.
Step 2: Day 7: ask one plain question
Use a clear subject line9 that carries the facts: "Invoice 1087, £1,500.00, due 31 August". Then two lines: "Invoice 1087 for £1,500.00 was due on 31 August and is attached. Could you tell me the date it will be paid?"
Leave out "just checking in", "sorry to bother you" and your cash flow: the first asks nothing, the second apologises for asking, the third is about you.
Step 3: Day 14: ask again, with the sum worked out
Reply to your first email with the letter below, the invoice attached again and a new invoice for the interest and fixed sum2. It names a pay-by date 14 days ahead. Leave out "no rush" and "pay when you can": they take away the date you are asking for.
Step 4: Around day 21: ring, then write down what they said
Ring and ask for three things: a date, the name of whoever signs off payments, and the reason it hasn't gone. Stay calm: an invoice may be stuck between departments10, and the reason tells you where.
Then email what they said, the same day: "Thanks for today's call. You said invoice 1087 will be paid on 25 September; please confirm by reply."
Step 5: Day 30: send a letter before action
Still unpaid? Send a letter before action, the last letter before a court claim. A company usually gets 14 days to reply11; a sole trader gets 3012.
Nothing before it needs to mention court, and shouting and threatening legal action isn't advisable10.
A letter you can copy
Day-14 email with the sum worked out
Send it on day 14, as a reply to your first email, when no payment and no date has come back.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it as a reply to your first email, so the whole thread sits together, and attach both invoices as PDFs. Email leaves a dated record. A text or a call alone leaves nothing to point to, so if you ring, email what was said the same day.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- They've given you a date, and it hasn't come yet. Put the day after it in your diary and write then; an email before it asks for what they have already told you.
- You haven't checked the invoice is right. A wrong amount, a missing order number or the wrong recipient will stall every email on this page, so correct it and send it again first.
- They've said the invoice is wrong. Reminders won't settle a dispute. Ask in writing what the problem is, and chase the part nobody questions.
- You sold to a consumer. The interest and the fixed sum only cover sales between businesses6. Consumer debts have their own rules, which this page does not cover.
- You are in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The emails work the same. The letter before action and the court route here are for England and Wales; the other two nations have their own.
The Wolf's note
Whoever names the date sets the pace. Ask politely, but ask for a date, and when they give none, name one yourself. The interest has been counting since the first day late.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
My client hasn't paid my invoice. What do I do first?
Check the invoice, then ask once, in writing, for a date.
6 min read · Letter included
What should a payment reminder email say at each stage?
Five emails: a week before the due date, on it, then 7, 14 and 30 days late.
6 min read · Letter included
My client keeps promising to pay but never does. What now?
Stop collecting promises.
6 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.