Almost two-thirds say they experience late payments regularly, with an average delay of 35 days.

Worse still, 71% of UK tradespeople have experienced outright payment refusal, taking its toll on home and family life.

The data from Ford also shows that almost one in 5 (18%) homeowners admit spending money earmarked for tradespeople’s payments on personal luxuries, such as dining out, instead.

Meanwhile, 14% of UK homeowners have admitted forgetting to pay altogether!!!

The financial strain of late payments sees nearly one-quarter of tradespeople (23%) struggling to cover essential bills each month, and almost one in five (17%) resort to payday loans to make ends meet.

With the holiday season approaching, one in five (20%) tradespeople express concern about their ability to support their families this Christmas, and the same percentage have had to cancel holidays in the past due to late or withheld payments.

Ford, the manufacturer of the Transit Custom, conducted a social experiment with UK homeowners to tackle the late payment crisis head-on. The results outlined that getting customers to pay quicker could be as simple as raising awareness among homeowners.

Two-thirds (67%) of homeowners say they would pay invoices faster if they understood the impact of delayed payments on tradespeople and their families.

The experiment found that invoices are paid an average of one day sooner when homeowners are reminded of the financial strain late payments create for tradespeople.