Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Late Invoicing
Greetings! I am a computer consultant and I have
failed to invoice a client since March 2004. I know it
is not a good for either of us... and this will probably
end our 10+ year relationship (they still call me to do
work). We do not have any written contract. I
simply did work as requested and fixed the problems.
I have very detailed records of the exact work
performed with my voice recorder (time stamped to
the minute). Prior to March 2004, they would simply
pay invoices with the work detail (when they got
them). I finally got my invoicing system fixed and
gave them the report. They were not happy. I have
attempted to negotiate with the owner (like give
them credit for anything previous to 2005), but they
do not want to pay for anything older than 2006 (i.e
they'll pay for 2006, 2007, and 2008). Is there a
California statute of limitations on invoicing for work
performed? They said they consulted an attorney
and their attorney said ''any judge that saw this
would throw it out immediately''. Is that true? Am I
out of luck? Thanks for your help!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Late Invoicing
The SOL on an oral contract is two years.
Re: Late Invoicing
3 years on an oral contract, four years on a written one. If they ever sent you an email requesting you perform any work, this is as good as a written contract...so...no...they are lying.
Please let me know if you need assistance with collecting, I also run a collection agency at CVFinancialGroup.com.
Scott