Small business owners should watch out for incorrect payment demands from La Poste
The mistake stemmed from a ‘technical error’ during the roll-out of a new debt-collection system
Letters from La Poste say that any unpaid invoices will result in court action
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Small business owners based in France may receive a letter from La Poste threatening legal action over outstanding payments - the result of a “technical error”.
Connexion reader Sarah-Jane, who owns an Etsy shop selling handmade needle-felted decorations, was sent a letter (dated May 26) incorrectly demanding a total of €474.94. She first opened her online business in Scotland in 2012 before relocating to France in 2019.
The letter arrived at Sarah-Jane’s home in Nouvelle-Aquitaine by registered post and was titled: “Dernière relance avant procédure judiciaire” (Final reminder before legal proceedings).
It stated that La Poste had already tried to make contact on several occasions and demanded Sarah-Jane pay the outstanding invoice within 48 hours. Failure to do so would result in court action.
“I do not owe them any money, I have not received any previous correspondence and I know of eight other small businesses that have recently received similar letters, all by recorded post,” said Sarah-Jane.
“I am concerned there are other small businesses that believe they are alone in receiving this demand. I have yet to see any communication from La Poste to reassure us that these were sent in error. It really would not take much effort for them to pop a message on their Delivengo website to say they are investigating the issue,” she added.
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A spokesperson from La Poste told The Connexion that an apology (see below) would soon be issued:
“Madame, Monsieur,
Vous avez peut-être reçu un courrier simple ou recommandé de relance concernant des factures à nous devoir.
Lors du déploiement de notre nouvelle solution de recouvrement, une erreur technique s’est produite générant ainsi par erreur l’envoi de ce courrier.
Nous vous remercions de ne pas en tenir compte et nous vous présentons nos sincères excuses pour la gêne occasionnée.”
Translation:
“Dear Sir, Madam,
You may have received a letter by standard or registered post concerning unpaid invoices owed to us.
During the deployment of our new debt-collection solution, a technical error occurred which caused this letter to be sent by mistake.
Please disregard this error and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
If you have received a similar letter in error from La Poste despite paying all invoices on time, you can contact the debt-collection service at: recouvrement-relance.adr@laposte.fr
Read also: Letters: Rural residents in France face long waits for letters from La Poste
