Consumer Law, Warranties charging for fees after long time

[thadson]

I have a business to business company in florida, offering a membership for services to small businesses all over the country. My company makes a third party recorded phone contract with the companies that want to join and that contract clearly states how much is the fee that thay agree to be ACH-d from their bank account.

Recently my accountant discovered some accounts that were never charged due to a computer mistake. Some more than 6 months old.

So, my question is... Is there a limitation on how long after the contract was made may I charge these customers for the fee they have committed to in their contract?

Please help.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The first place to look is in your contract and it should deal with payment issues. With regard to billing them for services rendered, you should look very closely. If nothing is written then you would have a right to bill them for a mistake within a reasonable period of time and don't know what the length of time would be and might be for a period at least as long as the statute of limitations in a similar matter. But even so, think about the relationship before you decide to go that route regarding legal rights. You may wish to send a letter with regard to the prior services rendered and then agree to share your loss. You might explain also that taking such a loss will require you to raise prices and the unknown discount is what has made the business a challenge going forward and you hope to continue to provide the valuable service to them.

Do you have a right to go to court if they don't pay? Perhaps...again, your contract is the first place to look. But this seems to be more of a PR issue than a legal one. I hope this situation works out for you.

I have a business to business company in florida, offering a membership for services to small businesses all over the country. My company makes a third party recorded phone contract with the companies that want to join and that contract clearly states how much is the fee that thay agree to be ACH-d from their bank account.

Recently my accountant discovered some accounts that were never charged due to a computer mistake. Some more than 6 months old.

So, my question is... Is there a limitation on how long after the contract was made may I charge these customers for the fee they have committed to in their contract?

Please help.