An independent survey by online debt recovery service positivecollections.co.uk reveals that small to medium-sized UK firms are more likely to accept excuses from late paying customers than before the recession.

More than 260 business professionals across a number of industry sectors participated in the study, which found:
· SMEs are the most prone to suffer from late payers (with 74 per cent stating that they are likely to accept late payment excuses).
· 10 per cent of organisations avoid chasing debts in the first place as they are worried about losing future business or simply feel too uncomfortable about broaching the subject.
· Micro businesses (businesses with one to nine employees) are the least likely to worry about debt recovery as 45 per cent claim they are always paid on time.
· 17 per cent of businesses would try to chase debts but avoid legal action as they believe it will be too expensive.
David Green, CEO of positivecollections.co.uk said: 'There seems to be a clear trend towards delayed payments which has been made more prevalent since the recession took hold. The fact that so many businesses in the UK have become accepting of this 'late payment culture' is certainly a cause for concern as this has implications on the whole business community and economy.'