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I cannot stress this enough! Do your due diligence on any company you take on as a client.

Check they are solvent - get more than one reference esp when a lot of money is involved. Do not feel scared to ask. Anyone honest will completely understand why you need to do checks. It is only the dodgy people who would kick up a fuss.

You will save a lot of heartache. I am single with a 3 year old daughter and face losing my home because a client will not pay me the money they owe me for commission and have no intention of ever paying me. They have breached their contract with me on so many levels.

If you have no money to get a lawyer, you can't enforce your agreement.

I continue to fight on but believe me, its a nightmare.

p.s. there are lots of solicitors out there who will help you with legal agreements and pay later. Make sure you get a lawyer's view on whatever agreement you make and sign with someone else.

Another thing to be aware of is never, never rely on one client being 60% or more of your business... that road leads to cost-cutting and de-valuing of your product or service. Sorry to hear about that Jewel.

Thank you - I am going through hell with no recourse available as no money to pay for lawyers.

Have you thought about engaging a specialist debt collection agency? They might be able to work with you and get a %age of the money in lieu of payment.

Thank you so much Auntie - I'm afraid I have been stiched up by client so they aren't even acknowledging they owe me money - they are just lying through their teeth.

So my warning remains - you wouldn't believe a seemingly professional company would behave in such a way but then you find out there are lots of crooks of all shapes and sizes........

Barclays offer a service with their business accounts for a fixed fee each month (around £10 I think), where they will credit check your clients for you and do all the necessary legal work if you have to take them to court to recover debt. Don't know what kind of business you're in but this may be working talking to a business manager at the bank.

Sorry to hear this, and good to see this advice passed on. Some businesses even have non-payment as a business strategy - A large telecoms company in the UK used to deliberately use small businesses who were reliant on their contracts, and not pay for long periods hoping for the businesses to go bust before they had paid so that they could avoid paying for as much of the work as possible.

I think in that case the trick was to hunker down and keep the business afloat. Don't be afraid to issue winding up and/or issue bankrupt procedures in the courts if you have to.

Could you represent yourself and take them to court? Do you have good solid evidence that they have breached the contract and owe you money?