Are Disputes Stopping You Getting Paid?

No one likes conflict. Whether it’s in your business or personal life, most people would be happier if they could avoid conflict altogether. Sadly that ideal just isn’t possible, and so individuals, business owners and companies all go through disagreements and conflict at some point.

But here’s the thing. While private conflicts can be dealt with behind closed doors, business disputes are much more difficult to navigate. Especially since, on top of people’s feelings, money is often involved as well. This means a business dispute usually results in one party not being paid for work they have delivered, even if the dispute is nothing to do with that particular piece of work. And when a dispute does happen? Many business owners simply don’t know who to turn to or what to do, and far too many sacrifice their hard-earned money by not actively resolving the dispute and chasing for payment. Instead, they do nothing, which surprisingly doesn’t achieve much.

Why Do Disputes Happen?

Unfortunately, disputes can and will happen in business – there is no way around that. And while you can do everything possible to prevent them, sometimes they are unavoidable. Business conflicts can arise in almost any type of agreement and about any element of your business, and the single most common cause is miscommunication. At some point your client thought one thing was happening while you thought something different, and before you know it there is a dispute going on.

There are some areas of business where disputes are more common, and so you can focus in on them first. For example, any business working with suppliers, contractors, purchasers, or other business partners run the risk of disputes due to contract disagreements. They might be because one party doesn’t receive the products they think they’re entitled to, or another feels they were not paid a proper price for their services. Parties can find themselves disagreeing on the particulars of contracts, over the quality of service received or any warranties issued. Or another very common thing is businesses getting into disputes with their own employees – although this usually falls under HR and employment law and can be dealt with internally.

Whatever the reason, the important thing is to understand is that business disputes do happen, and plan for how you will deal with them when they do.

How to Resolve Disputes

The bad news is that while disputes are pretty common within business circles, it’s the way you handle them that will make all the difference. If a dispute isn’t handled properly, especially if it involves one party withholding payment from another, it can get ugly very quickly, and ultimately cause financial and reputational damage to one or both parties. The good news is, it doesn’t have to get that far. It’s much more preferable for everyone involved to solve disputes outside the court system, as this saves a lot of time and money on both sides and means the business relationship may even be salvageable. But when in dispute, both parties are unlikely to see eye to eye without a little help.

That’s where we come in. At Debtcol we’re often called in to help with business disputes around payment, and are experts in facilitating mediation sessions and helping business resolve their disputes amicably, without needing to resort to legal proceedings. Our intervention normally avoids the parties becoming entrenched in bitterness, and prevents the relationship breaking down to the point where negotiation is impossible. Instead, we explore with both sides what their objective is and what their cause of concern is, so that we can bring both sides together to identify the most cost-effective way to resolve it in the shortest possible time frame. We find this early evaluation and intervention is critical, as it usually highlights that the dispute isn’t as severe as those within it think. We can then facilitate negotiations between both sides and bring the dispute to a favourable conclusion. Going through dispute resolution means that businesses not being paid can achieve a resolution that suits them (whether that’s partial or full payment). No court fees, no long time spent waiting and in court, and the possibility of a continued relationship. Overall, a much happier result in every way.

At Debtcol we believe in resolving disputes as quickly and amicably as possible, which means staying out of the court system whenever possible. If you have a commercial dispute that is stopping you from being paid and would like our help, please just get in touch to arrange your free consultation.