Every single one of the UK’s major supermarkets are guilty of regularly failing to pay suppliers on time according to data analysis from a leading Commercial Credit reference agency.
The key findings shown by Creditsafe’s study show that Asda & Tesco between them have 149 County Court Judgements for non payment of their commercial debts which is a staggering amount and is largely due to non or late payment of invoices.
The findings also documented that Waitrose is on average 36 days late in paying its commercial debt in accordance with the agreed credit terms.
Tesco has been in a storm of controversy over the past few years regarding various aspects of its day to day operating practices and its payment record came in for much criticism however it appears they have done little to address the problem.
Aldi and Lidl fare better than their larger counterparts but even still, pay their invoices late, on average 15 days later than the agreed credit terms.
Sainsbury’s is stated as being the most ethical with their payments to suppliers but even they are paying later than agreed, on average seven days later than expected.
In the UK it would seem Asda leads the way and is the worst culprit for not paying its suppliers. Asda boasts a shocking 75 County Court Judgements against them, closely followed by Tesco’s on 74 however the average value of CCJ for Asda is £2,473 but for Tescos its £5,948.
Aldi have 5 whilst Lidl have 6 CCJs to their names.
The data on payment performance was analysed by Creditsafe on the 27th January and the analysis relates only to Creditsafe customers.
