Asda slammed for sending out a letter to suppliers that appeared to change their payments terms for the worse

25/05/2015
Supermarket giant Asda has been slammed for sowing confusion and 'dismay' among suppliers after sending out a letter that appeared to change their payment terms for the worse.
The confusion came despite Asda's boast that its letter had been approved by the Plain English Campaign.

The letter stated that new terms would cover 'anything we buy from you to sell to our customers'. It pointed to a private section on the company's website where suppliers were informed that the standard payment terms were 60 days. If suppliers did not ratify the new terms before June 15, the letter said they would be 'treated as having accepted that the Conditions govern your supply' by default.
One supplier on a 30-day payment agreement, who preferred not to be named, said he reacted with 'dismay' when he read the terms.
Asda told The Mail on Sunday that the newly drawn-up terms were 'nuanced' and would not apply to anyone on previously agreed terms.
Ironically, the letter boasted that the terms had been awarded a Crystal Mark by the Plain English Campaign, the 'seal of approval for the clarity of a document', according to the campaign's website.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said suppliers on terms other than those specified in the simplified documents should contact Asda immediately with any concerns.
However, while suppliers are not being forced to change their contracts, the standardised terms –which Asda says have always stated 60 days payment as the norm –appear at odds with Government attempts to tighten supplier terms and protect smaller firms.
The Prompt Payment Code, to which Asda is a signatory, asks firms to limit themselves to a 60-day maximum payment term, but adds that it expects them to 'enshrine a 30-day payment term as a norm for all signatories as standard practice'. The code has been widely accepted as applying only to small suppliers.
On its website, Asda describes the code as 'the Government's Smaller Suppliers' Prompt Payment Code'.
Tesco's chief executive David Lewis has recently introduced new terms for small suppliers, with a guarantee to pay any firm with sales below £100,000 in less than 14 days.
Last week, credit checker Experian released a report alleging that supermarkets on average took more than a month longer to pay than their contractual terms allowed.
Tracy Ewen, managing director of IGF Invoice Finance, which offers advice and loans to companies awaiting payment, said: 'The payment terms that many suppliers in the UK are subject to are not fit for purpose. If nothing changes, we may see small companies fold.'

Fonte:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-3094112/Asda-slammed-sowing-dismay-suppliers-sending-letter-appeared-change-payment-terms-worse.html

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