Question: I have been doing contracting for years and am finding it harder and harder each year to collect money. There is one farmer in particular who is normally slow, but I eventually get it out of him. He now owes me nearly €60,000 and recently asked me to do some bales and I am contemplating refusing, but don’t want to jeopardise getting paid. He has promised me plenty of times, but still no sign of it. Do you have any advice?
Answer: This is a real, practical problem for contractors, especially in a year of higher fuel and labour costs. As the soft approach has not yielded any result, I would suggest taking the following steps.
First, pull together everything you have – dates, acreage/fields worked, fuel and time records, any texts and details of what you were paid in previous years for comparable work.
Get a written quote/statement from Teagasc or a contracting rates guide for the going rate for silage contracting in your area for that year, to support the amount claimed. Bring this to a solicitor experienced in agricultural or commercial disputes.
Formal letter
Sixty thousand euro is well above the District Court limit (€15,000) and needs to go to the Circuit Court (up to €75,000), which means a solicitor and possibly barrister involvement. Before proceeding, a solicitor may look for a retainer (part payment upfront) before they will take on the case. Thereafter, they will normally send a formal letter of demand asking the person who owes the money to acknowledge the debt and make a payment.
Often it’s a case of the person simply not having the money, so if the solicitor can get the person to acknowledge that they owe the amount claimed and set up a payment plan, this may resolve the issue without full litigation. A payment plan could be set up through the solicitor.
If the landowner disputes that the work was done, or the scope or quality of it, that’s harder to counter without documentation. Irish contract law recognises oral and implied contracts, and the fact that this exact arrangement (contracting silage, normally paid in autumn) has been repeated for years is itself strong evidence of an implied contract on the same terms as before.
Teagasc or contracting association rates per acre/bale for silage work in your area/year can establish what reasonable looks like.
If the landowner is insolvent or the land is mortgaged/in receivership, a judgment might not be enforceable
If you run a contracting business, your own operational records (fuel purchases, hours logged, work diary, silage bales or pit measurements) prove work was done and roughly what it’s worth.
Even if this year was unpaid, previous years’ payments from the same landowner for the same work help establish the rate and pattern. Any text or WhatsApp message with arranged dates and acreage, showing you were engaged to do the work, is helpful.
Neighbours, other contractors, or your own employees who can testify the work was carried out is also important. If there’s no agreed price, the law implies a “reasonable price” (this is the doctrine of quantum meruit – payment for services rendered, even absent an explicit contract).
Teagasc or contracting association rates per acre/bale for silage work in your area/year can establish what reasonable looks like.
If the landowner is insolvent or the land is mortgaged/in receivership, a judgment might not be enforceable.
However, your solicitor can check folios and carry out searches to establish land ownership and financial position before spending heavily on legal fees you might not be able to recoup; despite success in court.
There are six years from the date payment was due to make a claim, to avoid falling foul of the statute of limitations.
Lessons learned
The clearest lesson from these disputes is that a little documentation goes a long way, even in relationships built on trust. Get terms in writing, even informally. For example, this could be a text confirming “silage contracting, 40 acres, agreed rate €X per acre, payment by the end of October” is far better than nothing and costs nothing to send. Invoice as you go, rather than waiting until autumn to tally everything up.
An invoice issued promptly after work is completed creates a clear paper trail and a clock on when payment is due. Agree payment terms explicitly, including what happens if payment is late, even in a short text exchange.
A few extra minutes of documentation each season can be the difference between a quick resolution and a costly, uncertain court process if a payment dispute ever arises.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended as a general guide only. While every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained in this article, Aisling Meehan, Agricultural Solicitors & Tax Consultants does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising. E-mail ameehan@farmersjournal.ie
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