Hi, can anyone give me some advice? I sent a letter to a magazine two or three months back. It was published with the promise of £25 payment. Despite twice emailing the magazine concerned, I have still not received payment nor even an answer.

I have sold several letters to this publication in the past so I don't think it's a case of the cheque not being sent. So either it's been lost in the post or it's been stolen. I didn't mention this in my email, but I think it may have been stolen - over Xmas my next door neighbour found several of his personal letters ripped open and dumped.

Obviously, if the cheque has been stolen it wouldn't be worth the thief's while to cash it, even if they could. But it's beginning to look like I'm not going to get a replacement either. Does anybody know if there's anything I can do?

Thanks

Sylvia

Sylvia,what is the name of the magazine in question? It may be that someone in this forum has a phone number or a personal email address rather than just the enquiries@magazine email address that maybe you have. This has happened to me in the past when a large cheque went missing in the post - coincidentally also over the Xmas period but I just got them to cancel it and write me another.

Well, they should reply to your emails, at any rate. Try phoning them?

It's the sender's responsibility to make sure that things get to you, even if they do use the post. So they should send you a new cheque and stop the one that's vanished. If it's already been paid in, it still shouldn't be your problem because it'll be provable that it wasn't you who paid it in.

You could ask them to pay you electronically, by funds transfer, if you've got doubts about it arriving safely by post. Round here we had a rash of chequebooks going missing somewhere between the bank and our letterboxes...

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Crossed with Jem.

Hi, Jem and Emma, thanks for your replies. The magazine is "What's on TV". I don't have a phone number but I will try and find one. I know it's only £25 but every penny is precious to struggling authors!

Somehow I don't think I'll have much luck with getting paid though. It's such a small amount and some banks charge to cancel cheques. Probably not worth while WOTV setting up an electronic transfer either. It all comes down to money in the end.

Anyway, if I can find a number, I'll give them a ring...

Oh, one's heart does sink at going on battling, but

Somehow I don't think I'll have much luck with getting paid though.

You may not, but it shouldn't cost you any more than hassling time. You are entitled to the money, they haven't paid you.

The bill to cancel a cheque is theirs, and it's not your problem if it's complicated to pay electronically.

Send me them another invoice with an increase of 8%. You're legally entitled to do this if they don't pay after 30 days (I think)

I used to put this on the bottom of my invoices :

*Terms of payment – in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the right is reserved to charge interest at 8% above base rate on all amounts outstanding for more than 30 days from the tax date indicated on this invoice. Reminders and/or Statements will be charged at £10.00 each.

And if the buggers didn't pay I used to ring them up and say "Yeah, about that outstanding invoice ... don't worry if you can't find it, I'm sending you a replacement for 8% more. And if you don't pay that you'll get another."

Worked every time.

I used to like it when people didn't pay me.

Yes, Turner's right. Google Late Payment Small Business to get the details from the Govt website.

I have a Socity-of-Autors-approved paragraph like that on my invoices, but it's not so easy when it's not an invoicing setup.

Managed to get a phone number for IPC magazines and got a name from there. The guy is looking into it for me, will let you know how I get on.

Managed to get a phone number for IPC magazines and got a name from there. The guy is looking into it for me, will let you know how I get on.

Just had an email to say the cheque would be in the post next week. Thanks for your advice, guys, chasing payment was worth fighting for like you all said!

Yay! It's not much but it's definitely better than a slap in the face with a wet fish as they say!

Agreed! And I hope it encourages others to fight for payment too, Jem. I remember many years ago (when I was about 18) sending a romance called The Wishing Well to a publication together with two or three others. I sold one and got the others back except for this particular one which I never, ever saw again. My sister had read all the stories and already declared The Wishing Well to be her favourite and she was always convinced it was stolen. Sounds far-fetched, but you do wonder...

Yay! Well done you!