A brand has not paid your invoice: reminders, late-payment interest and small claims

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and depend on your country and situation; check the linked official sources or ask a qualified professional.

Most of the work is done before a court is involved: finding out who owes you, putting a number on the delay, and setting one deadline in writing. This page gives the order of steps, two messages you can copy, the interest worked out on a 2,000 invoice, and the court routes in the EU, UK and US. Every legal figure links to the law, regulator or court that states it, read on 1 November 2026.

What the contract should have said about payment is in the brand deal contract checklist, and what the invoice must show is in how to invoice a brand deal.

What should you check before chasing a brand?

Three checks, because each one gives the brand a reason to delay.

1. The due date. Read which event starts the clock: signing, posting, the invoice or its approval. If the contract names no date, the contract checklist's payment table gives the default in the EU, the UK and New York.
2. The invoice. It has to carry what the contract asks for, such as a purchase-order number, the right legal entity and the cut-off date. Fix any error now and resend.
3. Who owes you. Normally the party that contracted with you. If an agency signed in its own name, your claim is normally against the agency, whatever the brand has or has not paid it. If it signed on behalf of a named brand, the brand may be the debtor, so read the signature block. This is a general rule of thumb, and the contract's law decides.

Collect the contract, the invoice, proof of delivery (live links and screenshots with dates), and each message about payment. You will need them for the final demand.

What are the steps from a late invoice to a court claim?

No law below sets these days. They are our suggested schedule, counted from the due date. Shorten it if the brand has gone silent or looks to be in trouble.

Get any reason for non-payment in writing. "Finance is slow" and "we dispute the deliverables" lead to different routes: a debt the brand does not contest can suit the payment-order routes below where they exist, but the brand can stop those by opposing in time. A claim you expect to be disputed needs a route that can decide it, such as the European Small Claims Procedure or a county court claim.

What should a reminder and a final demand say?

First reminder (replace the brackets):

Hi [name], invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date] under our agreement of [date]. I attach a copy. Please confirm you have it and tell me the date it will be paid.

Final demand:

Invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date] for [deliverables], delivered on [date]. It remains unpaid after my reminders of [dates].

The amount due today is [total]: [amount] plus interest of [interest] at [rate]% under [law], and [fixed sum] in recovery costs. Interest continues at [daily rate] a day.

Please pay by [date, 14 days from now] to [payment details], or tell me in writing which parts you dispute and why. If I receive neither, I intend to start a court claim without further notice. I attach the contract, the invoice and proof of delivery.

In England and Wales, this letter does a formal job. The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects a short outline of the legal basis, the facts, the remedy and how the sum was worked out. A reply is expected in about 14 days in a straightforward case. If the brand is an individual or sole trader, the separate Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies instead, with its own letter, forms and a 30-day reply period, so a 14-day deadline is too short there. A court may penalize a party that skips these steps or ignores an invitation to settle by other means, so stay open to a settlement or mediation.

How much late-payment interest and costs can you add?

Check the contract first: a contract rate can replace these defaults, within limits covered in the contract checklist. Without one, the defaults are below. The formula is simple interest: amount × annual rate × days late ÷ 365.

Checked 2026-11-01

The rate depends on the date. The EU reference rate is the one in force on 1 January for the first half of a year and on 1 July for the second (Art. 3), which is why the ECB's later rise to 2.65% on 16 September 2026 does not change the second-half figure. Germany's basic rate also changes on 1 January and 1 July (BGB s.247), so a delay that crosses either date can need two rates in those two columns. In Germany, interest runs during default, which starts without a reminder if a calendar date was fixed, and otherwise at the latest 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice (BGB s.286). In the UK, the Bank Rate on the 30 June or 31 December immediately before interest starts sets the rate (order for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, art. 4; Scottish order, art. 4). The figures above cover days in the second half of 2026 in the EU and Germany, and interest starting in that half in the UK, so check them again for later invoices.

Worked example. This is an example invoice of 2,000, paid 60 days late, with interest starting and all 60 days falling in the second half of 2026.

The extra is small. In our view that is useful: it is too little for a brand to fight and it shows you know the rules. Under the directive the amount due includes taxes specified on the invoice (Art. 2), so work from the invoice total there. GOV.UK advises sending a new invoice if you add interest (GOV.UK).

Where can you file a claim, and when does the right expire?

First read the contract's governing-law, jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. They can decide which court or process applies.

Checked 2026-11-01

A brand abroad is the hard case. The two European procedures run between EU member states. Each regulation, in the text as adopted, treats Denmark as outside that term (861/2007, Art. 2(3); 1896/2006, Art. 2(3)), and the UK is not a member state. For a brand outside your own system, compare the amount with the cost of local advice before you file.

Does an unpaid invoice change your tax?

Possibly. This matters most if you already paid VAT on the invoice.

• UK VAT. Bad debt relief needs the debt to be unpaid for 6 months after the later of the due date and the supply, and written off in a separate bad debt account. You claim within 4 years and 6 months, in box 4 of the return (VAT Notice 700/18).
• EU VAT. The taxable amount is reduced where a supply goes unpaid, on conditions each member state sets, and member states may depart from this for non-payment (VAT Directive Art. 90). Ask your national tax authority or adviser.
• US income tax. A business bad debt deduction needs the amount to have been included in income. Cash-method taxpayers generally can't deduct unpaid fees (IRS Topic 453). On the cash method, money you never received and never reported is simply not on your return.

Keep the invoice, reminders and final demand with your records. How long to keep creator tax records gives the retention periods.

Frequently asked questions

Can I charge interest if the contract says nothing about it?

Generally yes on a business-to-business contract under EU member-state or UK law. The statutory rates above are the default when the contract is silent. Under the directive, you must have done your side of the contract and the delay must not be outside the brand's responsibility (Art. 3). In New York, §1414 of the Freelance Isn't Free Act sets no interest rate. It offers double damages on a successful §1411 claim. Other New York law on interest is not covered here, so check your own state's rule elsewhere in the US.

The brand says it is waiting for its agency to pay, or the reverse. Who do I chase?

Normally whichever of them contracted with you, which may not be the one that signed if an agency signed on a brand's behalf. A dispute or delay between the two of them is normally theirs to sort out, unless your contract makes your payment depend on it, so read for "pay when paid" wording. You can still ask the other company for a date, but your claim normally stays with the party you contracted with.

Can I take the post down or withdraw the ad code until they pay?

Read the contract first, because the answer depends on its terms and the law that governs it. A minimum posting period can make deletion your own breach, which may give the brand an argument against paying or a claim of its own. If the contract makes the usage licence depend on payment, say so in the final demand. Usage rights and ad codes lists how each permission is revoked. Written notice before you act is the safer order.

The brand offers less than the invoice to settle. Should I accept?

It is your call, and it may beat the cost and time of a claim. Get the terms in writing and check whether they close the matter for good. In New York, once work has started, a hiring party can't make on-time payment conditional on you accepting less than the agreed fee (§1411).

Sources

All read on 1 November 2026.

• EU: Directive 2011/7/EU, Art. 2, Art. 3, Art. 6, Art. 10 (legislation.gov.uk copy of the text as adopted); VAT Directive Art. 90; Regulation 861/2007 Art. 2, Art. 5 and Regulation 1896/2006 Art. 2 (text as adopted)
• European Central Bank: Key ECB interest rates
• European e-Justice Portal: Small claims, European Payment Order
• Germany: Civil Code in English, ss.195, 199, 247, 286, 288; Deutsche Bundesbank: basic rate from 1 July 2026
• UK: GOV.UK charging interest, debt recovery costs, court claim, court fees, VAT Notice 700/18; Limitation Act 1980 s.5; Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Rate of Interest) (No. 3) Order 2002, art. 4; Scottish order 2002, art. 4; Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct; Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims; Bank of England: Bank Rate history
• US: New York GBL §1410, §1411, §1414, NY Department of Labor; Illinois Department of Labor, FAQ; California Courts: small claims; IRS Topic 453

Rates and court fees change. Check the linked page before you send a figure to a brand.