Letter of the day: Going bust

It is not just outright fraud we should be worried about right now. We had a wonderful client, who paid by credit card and did a lot of business with us. On calling the PA one week to make an appointment for a regular client call, I was told that they 'are moving offices' and she would get back to me to set up the appointment as soon as they were 'settled'. Two weeks passed and mysteriously, their business dried up. I could not get hold of anyone at the company and eventually got hold of their accountant on a personal cel number to query an amount of R 4111 outstanding on their account. She informed me that the company is in liquidation! Be careful, a lot of companies are in trouble and seem to think that they can carry on travelling and not pay their accounts! Keep your accounts low, and get as many clients as you can onto credit card. If their service fees etc build up, speedpoint them to the credit card and make sure they pay up! Ed's note: Have you had experience with customers defaulting on their payments leaving you high and dry. Send your letters to nataliat@nowmedia.co.za or click on the Reply to the Editor button below.