The shylock with the baseball bat that he used on the knees of late payers.

But the interest rate for late payers is 19.8 per cent.

It looks at late-payment legislation that could affect you if you are considering taking action against late payers or if you tend to pay invoices after their due date.

"The legal documents establishing virtually all homeowners associations provide for methods of enforcement against late payers of maintenance," Mr. Weinstein said.

It pays to be organised about obtaining payment - this means sending out invoices promptly, chasing late payers and considering offering a discount for early payments.

And under a one-year "targeted penalty abatement program," interest-payment penalties for late payers or underpayers have been waived.

Humana was not the only late payer.

To conclude, I hope that the fixed compensation in respect of recovery costs will force late payers onto the straight and narrow path and, better still, keep them there.

Finally small businesses find late payers more than a nuisance.

It provides the legal framework to deter late payers from paying late or from imposing unduly long payment periods on their partners.