Chasing Unpaid Invoices: Email and Phone Scripts UK 2026
Market Invoice is an independent UK invoice finance comparison site that ranks 89 UK invoice finance providers.
Effective UK B2B invoice chasing follows a predictable five-stage sequence: friendly reminder on the day after due date, firm reminder at 7 days overdue, formal final notice with statutory interest claim at 14 days, letter before action at 30 days, and a decision at 45 to 60 days on either court action or selling the invoice for cash. Each stage has a ready-to-use email or phone script below that escalates tone without burning the customer relationship. Consistent, dated chasing also builds the paper trail that later supports a statutory interest claim, court action or a sale of the invoice, and most invoices settle at the early stages without needing either.
Last updated: 8 May 2026.
Effective UK B2B invoice chasing follows a predictable five-stage sequence: friendly reminder on the day after due date, firm reminder at 7 days overdue, formal final notice with statutory interest claim at 14 days, letter before action at 30 days, and a decision at 45 to 60 days on either court action or selling the invoice for cash. More detail + scope
Summary
Effective UK B2B invoice chasing follows a predictable five-stage sequence: friendly reminder on the day after due date, firm reminder at 7 days overdue, formal final notice with statutory interest claim at 14 days, letter before action at 30 days, and a decision at 45 to 60 days on either court action or selling the invoice for cash. Each stage has a ready-to-use email or phone script that escalates tone without burning the customer relationship, and consistent dated chasing builds the paper trail that supports statutory interest, court action or an invoice sale later.
This page covers
chasing unpaid invoices UK: email templates, phone scripts, escalation timing, and when to switch to court or spot factoring
Not covered here
General invoice finance education (see /guides/), individual provider reviews (see /providers/), full pricing breakdown (see /guides/costs/)
Day 1 overdue: friendly reminder email template
Send this the day after the due date passes. Nine times out of ten a first-day miss is an oversight or a query sitting in someone's inbox, so the tone is light and the ask is specific: confirm a payment date.
Subject: Invoice [number] - due [date], quick check
Hi [first name],
Just a quick note that invoice [number] for £[amount] fell due yesterday and has not reached us yet. Could you confirm when it is scheduled for payment?
If there is a query on the invoice, or it needs re-sending to a different address, let me know and I will sort it today.
Thanks, [your name]
Keep it to four lines and always end on a direct question. A question forces a reply, and the reply either gives you a payment date or surfaces the dispute you need to fix.
Day 7 overdue: firm reminder email and phone script
A week overdue with no reply moves you from reminder to request. Email first for the audit trail, then phone 48 hours later if there is still no response.
Subject: Invoice [number] now 7 days overdue - payment date needed
Hi [first name],
Invoice [number] for £[amount] is now seven days past its due date of [date], and I have not had a response to my reminder of [date of day-1 email].
Please confirm by [specific date, 2 working days out] the date this will be paid. If there is any issue with the invoice I would rather hear it now so we can resolve it quickly.
Regards, [your name]
Phone script (accounts payable or your contact):
"Hi, it's [name] from [company]. I'm calling about invoice [number] for £[amount], which is now a week overdue. I emailed on [dates] but haven't heard back. Can you tell me where it is in your payment run, and what date it will be paid?"
Then, whatever the answer: "Thanks. So just to confirm, I can expect payment on [date]. I'll drop you a short email confirming that now."
The confirmation email after the call matters as much as the call: it converts a verbal promise into a dated written commitment you can quote at the next stage.
Day 14 overdue: final notice with statutory interest claim
At two weeks overdue, start counting the cost formally. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 you can claim statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate (11.75% with base rate at 3.75%), plus a fixed compensation charge of £40 on debts under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 on £10,000 or more. See gov.uk guidance on late commercial payments and our statutory interest calculator page.
Subject: Final notice - invoice [number], £[total including interest and compensation] now due
Dear [name],
Despite reminders on [dates], invoice [number] for £[amount], due on [date], remains unpaid and is now [X] days overdue.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 we are now claiming statutory interest at 11.75% (8% plus the current Bank of England base rate), which stands at £[interest amount] and accrues daily, plus the fixed compensation of £[40/70/100]. The total now due is £[total].
We require payment in full within 7 days of this notice. If payment is not received we will issue a letter before action.
Yours sincerely, [name, position]
The 11.75% statutory rate reflects the Bank of England base rate of 3.75% (effective 18 December 2025) plus 8 percentage points. Check the current base rate before sending: the rate at the date the debt fell due is the one that applies.
Day 30 overdue: letter before action template
A letter before action (LBA) is the formal notice that you will start court proceedings if the debt is not paid, and courts expect to see one before a claim is issued. Send it by email and post. If the debtor is a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies and you must allow 30 days and include the prescribed information sheet; for company-to-company debts 7 to 14 days is standard practice. Full walkthrough on our letter before action page.
LETTER BEFORE ACTION
Dear [name],
Re: outstanding debt of £[total] (invoice [number] dated [date], plus statutory interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998).
Despite our reminders of [dates] and final notice of [date], the above sum remains unpaid. Unless payment in full is received within [7/14/30] days of the date of this letter, we will commence county court proceedings against you without further notice. This may increase the amount you owe through court fees and may affect your credit rating.
Payment should be made to [account details]. If you dispute this debt, you must tell us why in writing within the same period.
Yours sincerely, [name, position]
When to stop chasing and sell the invoice
If you have sent three documented chases and a letter before action, spoken to the customer by phone, and 45 to 60 days have passed with no payment plan in place, keeping the chase going usually costs more in time than it recovers. At that point the realistic options are county court (see our small claims guide) or selling the invoice to a spot factoring provider for a large share of its value upfront, typically 70 to 90 percent of face value depending on the debtor's creditworthiness (see selling an unpaid invoice).
One warning sign that should shortcut the whole sequence: repeated broken promises to pay. After the second broken promise, escalate straight to the final notice; a customer who keeps promising and not paying is often in cashflow distress, and your recovery position worsens the longer you wait if they enter administration.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind Market Invoice. He spent over three years as managing director of Penny, a UK invoice finance business, and his career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending. He writes the Market Invoice library.
Last reviewed: 30 July 2026