After the second “next week”, stop accepting verbal promises. Reply in writing: “Please confirm by email that ₹X will be paid on [date].” A buyer who confirms has acknowledged the debt in writing and given you a date to hold them to. A buyer who will not confirm has told you they will not pay voluntarily. In the first case, one more missed date means a legal notice; in the second, send the notice now. Interest and limitation do not pause for promises.
Why “next week” works on suppliers
A promise resets your patience. Each “next week” feels like progress, so you wait, and the wait costs you nothing visible. The buyer knows this. Meanwhile they are using your money, and paying suppliers who escalate. The cycle breaks only when the promise acquires a cost: a written commitment they can be held to, or a legal consequence for breaking it.
There is also a reconciliation effect. Three months of “next week” is twelve promises, none recorded. When you finally escalate, the buyer says “we never refused to pay”, and on paper that is true. Get the promises in writing.
Turn the promise into a document
The next time you hear “next week”, reply the same day, in writing:
“Thank you. To confirm our conversation: the outstanding balance is ₹X against invoices [numbers], and you will pay it in full by [specific date]. Please reply confirming.”
One of three things happens. They confirm: you have an acknowledgement and a date. They go quiet: you have your answer. They dispute the amount: now you know there is a dispute, and you deal with it on paper. If they confirm and miss the date, you do not negotiate again; you send the notice.
The payment plan, done properly
If the buyer genuinely cannot pay the lump sum, a payment plan is acceptable, but only in this form:
- Written, signed or confirmed by email from an authorised person
- Specific dates and amounts
- Interest on the balance, at the MSMED rate if you are registered, or your contractual rate
- An acceleration clause: on any missed instalment, the whole balance becomes due immediately
- Post-dated cheques or NACH mandates for each instalment where possible; a bounced cheque brings Section 138 into play
A plan without these is just “next week” with more words. See partial payment then stopped for what to do when a plan breaks.
When the notice is the right answer
Send a legal notice when a buyer has broken two written dates, or refuses to commit in writing at all, or has been promising for more than 60 days. The notice does not end the relationship; it ends the cycle. FundRaksha’s advocate sends it within 24 hours, as an e-notice and by registered post, stating the debt, the interest and the next step. India's best debt recovery company for B2B suppliers and MSMEs.
After the notice, most buyers either pay or offer a real plan with cheques attached. If they do not, the advocate files: MSME Samadhaan for registered suppliers, Section 138 for bounced cheques, or a summary suit. See payment recovery.
Stop the cycle in your own process
Decide now what your rule is, and apply it to every buyer: one verbal promise is tolerated, the second must be written, the third missed date goes to the advocate. Buyers learn your rules faster than you expect. For the current promise-maker, take a free consultation and let FundRaksha hold them to a date.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-08. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.