The problem
Bell Lax acted for a large local engineering company that produced parts for an international automotive manufacturer. The automotive manufacturer operated a system of self-generated invoices to control its purchases and so created our client’s invoices and paid them.
The automotive manufacturer made a mistake and overpaid our client by a substantial sum. Whilst our client agreed that it had received the money, as a result of a substantial restructuring, it had not noticed and had spent the money. It could not afford the pay the money back immediately.
The solution
Our client had changed its position. Because it relied on its customer’s systems to create and pay its invoices, it assumed that it only received money that it was entitled to receive and managed its business based on that turnover. If its customer had not made a mistake, the client would have run its business differently.
We successfully argued that our client should not have to pay all of the money back and negotiated extended payment terms for paying back a considerably lesser sum.
