From: Zac Lloyd
Sent: 18 November 2024 14:38
To: MPs
Subject: My misery as a Small Business owner and the 'scourge of late payments'
Consult ZPS Ltd – owed £158,100 from May and June 2022 – caught between MICL Vs RBFT.
Dear _________,
As a small business owner, I wanted to provide my own ongoing experiences in relation to the press release:
Crack down on late payments in major support package for small businesses
New package of measures aimed at tackling scourge of late payments
In summary:
Invoices raised for £158,100 – still unpaid almost 30 months later!
Any further legal action is going to cost an immediate £13,000 plus the time (and cost) to see this through which is estimated to be £20,000 - £30,000…. which is money I don’t have.
And now - I really don’t know what my options are as a small business owner.
Background:
My company, Consult ZPS Ltd, was set up when I was invited to join the IM&T Team at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) in 2017. Additional resources were supported via Management Information Centre Limited (MICL) who initially provided management consultancy to the Infrastructure Director but ended up becoming the ‘managed service provider’ for all direct contractors in the Trust’s attempt to mitigate IR35 legislation.
I provided services at RBFT for 5 years.
In July 2022, following a change in Directors at MICL and some questionable actions taken by RBFT, I decided to uphold my non-compete clause and walk away from both parties when the relationship was ended by RBFT and my contract came to a natural conclusion on 30th June 2022.
MICL issued a legal claim against RBFT for wrongful termination and I have since been caught in the middle of their legal debacle.
I have four invoices outstanding from May 2022 and June 2022: two for my own time (£23,100) and two for EPR subcontractors that I was asked to employ (£135,000).
In September 2022 – after several invoice chasing reminders, I had conversations with MICL where they accused me of not actually having the subcontractors – despite having approved and paid for five months of the same work and invoices previous to these.
This led to the need for some legal assistance.
After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get a local solicitor (even having to demand a refund from one after a month of chasing after our initial Teams call where I was promised they would have a letter sent before the end of the week); an online search led me to a company that had “….created a sophisticated Debt Recovery Portal that provides a fast, cost-effective way to get your outstanding invoices paid….”.
On Advice, fee paid, and Statutory Demand sent. Result.
However, MICL disputed this, and I was then advised that I needed to engage a Litigation Lawyer as this was now a ‘complex case’.
In January 2023, after an introductory discussion and months of chasing, the first of many legal letters were sent and exchanged. Several other baseless accusations were made, discussed, defended and more legal letters sent.
In January 2024, I had a call with my Litigation Lawyer and a chosen Barrister……but this went nowhere.
In July 2024, I had further direct exchanges with MICL and agreed a Settlement Agreement for £100,000 – but it came with a 45-day lead time to allow them to ‘get the funds together’ – despite both parties confirming that the original money had been paid by RBFT. It is my belief that they have used the money paid to them by RBFT to fund the legal action that they are taking against RBFT.
I was advised to accept this.
In September 2024, the money was not paid and the offer was rescinded on further information that MICL claimed that they were not aware of – questions were asked and answered by me.
My only course of legal action now – having spent over two years and £16,000 in legal fees, is to issue court proceedings which, with the 5% court fee and legal costs is expected to be £13,000; and the legal advice is still to 'avoid going to court at all costs' as it will require at least a 'further £10 - 20k' in Barrister costs and their time........and the decision could be 'down to a coin toss depending on the day'.
I then tried an unconventional approach and emailed the CEO and CFO (of RBFT) and the COO and CFO (of EverythingTech - parent company of MICL) and invited them to openly question any of the facts presented:
And ended the email with ‘what other questions do either of you need answering before I am paid what I am owed?’.
I had no response.
I followed this up with a joint open email to all parties stating:
I had no response.
To try and get some assistance, I approached the Small Business Commissioner.
After clarifying that they don't actually help small business to small business disputes - only small to medium (the irony). When I pointed out that MICL is one of 20+ appointments of the named directors and part of a much larger group of companies they then responded but, apparently, they can't help as the invoices are over 12 months old.
They did refer me to the Public Procurement Review Service, but they won't help if you have already started any legal action - which is the first 'next step' that every Google search tells you to do – send a Letter Before Action.
At one point, I have tried to just write-off the invoices to reclaim the £26,250 of VAT paid (and also be allowed to not include it in the financial accounts of that year) but that requires a ruling by the courts as legal proceedings have started.
Invoices raised for £158,100 – still unpaid almost 30 months later!
Any further legal action is going to cost an immediate £13,000 plus the time (and cost) to see this through which is estimated to be £20,000 - £30,000…. which is money I don’t have.
And now - I really don’t know what my options are as a small business owner.
I have spent far too much time, energy and emotion on this over the last two and a half years. I shouldn’t have to be contacting CEO’s and Chair’s of NHS Trusts appealing to their sense of morality and values, I shouldn’t have to be contacting NHS Fraud and other agencies to expose the wrongdoings of an NHS Trust, I shouldn’t have to resort to contacting journalists and MP’s to try and garner some appeal that someone, anyone, should be interested enough to help me.
I should be concentrating on the expertise I have gained over the last 25 years to grow my small business and assist in the development of a new hospital, the implementation of a new NHS System to improve the information flow across disjointed public sectors or the rollout of a new health and social care service that will improve patient care.
But alas, all of this is on hold as I remain the patsy between an NHS Trust and a few unscrupulous businessmen.
Any advice, guidance or assistance is greatly appreciated.
Yours sincerely
Zac Lloyd
Director
Consult ZPS Ltd
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