AIBU to feel annoyed by a payment reminder after 36 hours?

[SixtySomething]

We have a weekly service at our house. The company sends us a bill a few hours after finishing the work and we pay by bank transfer. The cost can vary so we don't pay by direct debit.
Recently, we received the regular bill but didn't pay immediately. The bill was followed up with a reminder 36 hours later. We are longstanding customers.This left me feeling really narked. AIBU?
YABU: They did the work, so you should pay them straight away.
YANBU: They should give you a week to pay. This is pushy behaviour.

It's probably automated.
No, one of them sends a text.
I have paid of course.
I'm not in a huff, but was narked at the time. All this posting has got it out of me!

I think it’s pretty obvious you don’t run your own small business OP. Whenever I get work done on my house by a trade or a small business, I pay the exact same day.

I also run a small local business and the best clients are always the ones whose money is in my account before I even get home!

I'm self employed and I send a reminder 24hrs later after I've done a job. Because, do you know what? I can't go to Tesco and say 'ill pay you later' or say to the gas company 'yeah I'll pay you when I'm paid'. Some of us are literally getting paid and then it's going on bills the same day so it's really rude to assume you can delay payment by that long.

so they did you a favour reminding you

how would you feel if your work forgot to pay your wages

Someone has done something for you, that you need to pay them for. Just pay! Why would you delay? Whenever I have an invoice to pay I do it immediately.

My DH runs his own business and would never expect to be paid so quickly.
I recently consulted an architect about something and paid the invoice immediately. He seemed stunned and commented he'd never be paid so quickly. I'm a bit surprised by the replies I've received.

The typical Mumsnet

Aibu.
yeah tbh
But but olden days yadda yadda

You forgot a reminder is to remind people
who forgot. Perfectly reasonable to remind someone even 24hours after the jobs been done.

@SixtySomething

Hmmm, yes I think they were entitled to remind you, but sending a reminder just 36 hours after the intial bill is a bit much. 3 or 4 days after would be fine. Especially if you are a regular customer, and usually pay pretty much on time. So, I do think YANBU, and am surprised at the poll result.

.

For most of my life, payments have been in cash.

Same here.
Cleaners, gardeners, window cleaners, chaps that tune the piano, chap that services the boiler, dog walkers, mobile hairdressers, odd job men, etc. etc.

So you had to remember to get the cash out before the person came to do the job, and you handed over the cash before they left your house.

Now things have moved on, it makes it easier and safer for trades to not have to carry pockets full of cash all the time, and makes it easier for the customer not to have to think, in advance (and guess the amount / get the right change) and go to the cashpoint. The person does the work, tells you how much it is and you send it straight over.
If you are at work, and in a job you can't access your banking, then you do it that evening when you get home. You remember by having a reminder on your phone, if you are going to have to send the money at a different time from them telling you how much it is.

It's not a difficult concept.

It would get much more complicated if people were having to keep records of people who chose to pay at random numbers of days after the money is due.
As others have said, how long would you leave it before contacting payroll if you weren't paid on payday?

YABVVU,

As I said @SixtySomething I am surprised too. A reminder just 36 hours after a bill is sent is a bit much. As I said in my last post, 3 or 4 days maybe... But 36 hours when you're a regular customer, who usually pays quickly? Nah. Don't hold it against them though if they're good.

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Don’t make your problem their problem then

Surely if you just forgot you’d be grateful of a reminder? Seems like you got caught out trying to delay payment for whatever reason.

When I come to think about it, when we occasionally have tradesmen come to the house eg painter, plumbers, they're all relaxed about payment and say 'just do me a transfer'. They don't send reminders before two days are out.

And they are thinking you should have paid on time....

I understand it’s easy to forget, but I always pay my cleaner in advance, to avoid issues like this.

Sometimes, life gets in the way, and shit happens! I have had a lot on my plate this past few weeks, and have forgotten about a couple of things, (things that are fairly regular,) and had to be reminded about them.

So you never really bother to pay people promptly when they've done a job for you?

If you go to Tesco, do you tell them you'll pay in a week's time?

If you were accustomed to being paid by your employer on a certain date, how long would you wait before reminding them you haven't been paid?

A week indeed. People have bills to pay and shouldn't have to chase you.

I just don’t understand those who are not ready to pay as the service has been done.

I don’t need a reminder from my electrician or plumber because I’ve hit send on my bank as they are leaving my home.

Just like my hairdresser has the cash in her hand before we book the next appointment.

I don’t go oh well I’ll pay them Thursday.

I can see why you'd feel this way OP. We once had someone provide a service which culminated at a family party. If I'd realised she wanted payment that day I'd have honestly paid her first thing in the morning before guests came but she took photos and we literally had a house full of people then guests staying over and we were all out the next day on a family walk with little or no reception.

She sent me a few texts asking for payment and I was a bit taken aback as I honestly hadn't realised she wanted payment that day. I had to text her and say I'm really sorry I can't accept my pay details but I will 100% pay you this evening. I will pay you! Realising she did want that I can see why she was that way and she explained she'd had people not pay her before.

I was probably wrong for not paying but I didn't think she expected same day payment.

Yes, I do bother to pay promptly. My definition of prompt payment has always been within a week. I've never felt anyone thought I was being slow. Like I've said, my husband is self-employed and sends out invoices, so it's not like we don't know what we're talking about.
I'm very surprised to hear Mumsnetters always pay bills upon receipt, but then Mumsnetter usually are a cut above ordinary humanity!
I know the poll is against me, but I'm not worried. I don't think this represents Real Life.
Prepared to consider I could be wrong!

How often do you go to tesco and then pay them later?
But is this really something to be so dramatic about? Just apologise and pay it and remember to always pay as soon as?

I've never known a business to be this lax with cash.

So how long would it have taken for you to pay them if they hadn't sent a reminder? A week, a month? Never?

They've sent a reminder because you didn't pay within the normal time period.

Perfectly normal, and you're VERY unreasonable to be annoyed. Your fault, own it!

Sorry but I have to agree with others here. It wasn’t a demand or a snarky text, it was a reminder because you admit you had forgotten. I don’t really see a reason to be “narked” over it. And I think you would be annoyed if you weren’t paid by your employer for a week after pay day or they said “oh I forgot, I’ll just pay you next time.”