Sorting out paying on time and productivity | Letters

In defence of large companies named and shamed by Corbyn (Corbyn declares war on M&S - but retailer 'does not recognise figures', 12 April), Experian said that the data taken from its report showing very late payment of invoices do not apply to the majority of invoices. Capita said that only 10% of its payments are made later than 30 days of receipt. But even such a small percentage of late payment by a large company can cause huge pressures down the supply chain, and it invites questions about corporate ethics. Jeremy Corbyn raises a valid alarm about a potential national scandal.
SP Chakravarty
Bangor, Gwynedd

" Jeremy Corbyn is right to "declare war" on late-paying companies. Data on the scale of the problem comes as no surprise. My late father worked into his 80s doing bookkeeping for a small engineering firm. They did minor maintenance on ships. Every time I spoke to my father about work, he seemed to be chasing up overdue payments (cheques in those days) from major shipping companies. On some occasions, his boss had to pay his employees out of his personal bank account. Nothing has changed. That's what big companies do. That's why they're big and why small businesses struggle or go to the wall.
Karen Barratt
Winchester