Assigning debt by the debtor?

[boarder]

I did some design for a customer and ordered the related printing. Now my customer cant pay but I owe the printer, who has been remarkably patient as now over a year old. But now printer is saying hes going to take me to court. My customer admits she owes the money but is unable to pay.

Is there a way to assign this debt (not sure its called that offiically this way round) to my customer, assuming both she and the printer agreed? Then printer can start sending nasty letters to her and everyone is (relatively) happy? I'm guessing the printer's T&Cs say no but they are likely to OK it if they think they're more likely to have money.

Any tips/experience appreciated.

Cheers

PS sorry if a duplicate post, I did try yesterday but doesnt seem to be on the site.

[wood1e]

I am not sure of the legal point on whether you can move the debt to your client. As you suppliers debt is with you.

Then thing to do or what you should have done is start legal proceedings against your client. To recover your outlay.

[Indizine]

How much is the debt for? Is it worth selling it on perhaps?

[seanstevens]

Assinging the debt would get very messy and require legal work and would cost you some cash. You would need all parties agreement (just my understanding of the rules).

With regards to the debt you owe, might be worth you trying to negotiate. Give them the full story and see if they will give you a little more time or allow a payment scheme. This will give you a chance to go after the debt owed to you.

You have been given two ideas above: trying to sell the debt or enforce it.

When you say your customer cannot pay, is this just what they are telling you? have you tried enforcing it? Is your customer a company or individual? You need to do something now to avoid all the unnecessary hassle that could come up.

[Ian J]

You can assign the debt from your customer over to your supplier but I'm not sure that it would be worth the cost and red tape in drawing up a legally binding agreement

[Jenni]

Would your supplier be happy to assign the debt from you (who may be able to pay) to your customer (who admits they can't pay)? I would guess not.

I can recommend some good credit controllers who may be able to facilitate payment for you, possibly over time. You do need to negotiate with both supplier and customer asap.

[seanstevens]

To the OP if still around:

Feel free to drop me a note with your customers name and I will be happy to run a FREE credit report so that you can assess your next step with more information to hand.

Sean

[Dun & Bradstreet]

Originally Posted by seanstevens

To the OP if still around:

Feel free to drop me a note with your customers name and I will be happy to run a FREE credit report so that you can assess your next step with more information to hand.

Sean

I agree with Sean, getting the full picture on your customers credit status is a good shout. That way you can make an informed decision before making your next step.