Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find attached the eighth McCannics e-survey questionnaire,
which we hope you can spare a few moments to complete.

Legislation is currently being debated in the House of Lords which
would allow businesses to claim interest (at 8 per cent over base
rates) on invoices paid late.  In the topical section of this
questionnaire we have asked for your views on the late payment problem
and this statutory right to interest.

To fill in the survey, please reply to this message and put an X
inside the square brackets, like this [X], where appropriate.

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MCCANNICS E-SURVEY, Month just ended - FEBRUARY 1998

A. REGULAR QUESTIONS

1. Was your sales turnover in February 1998 higher, about the same, or
lower than in February 1997? (please put an X in the square brackets
next to your answer).

Higher [ ]

Same [ ]

Lower [ ]


2. Were your average selling prices in February 1998 higher, about the
same, or lower than in February 1997? (please put an X in the square
brackets next to your answer).

Higher [ ]

Same [ ]

Lower [ ]


B. TOPICAL QUESTION - LATE PAYMENT LEGISLATION

3. Do you consider late payment to be a problem for your business?
(please put an X in the square brackets next to your answer).

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

Don't Know [ ]


 4. When faced with cases of late payment, how often do you think your
 business would exercise its right to late payment interest? (please
 put an X in the square brackets next to your answer).

Always [ ]

Sometimes [ ]

Rarely [ ]

Never [ ]

Don't Know [ ]


5. Has your business made any plans for the charging and/or payment of
late payment interest? (please put an X in the square brackets next to
your answer).

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

Don't Know [ ]


6. Would you consider using a factoring or debt collection company to
handle late payment interest for you? (please put an X in the square
brackets next to your answer).

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

Don't Know [ ]


If you have any comments on the problems of late payment or the
proposed legislation, please put them in the square brackets below
(Please note that your comments may be reproduced in the survey
write-up):

Comments: [ ]

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Thank you very much indeed for your help in completing this survey
questionnaire.

May we stress that the survey is being carried out solely for research
purposes, and individual replies will be kept strictly confidential. 
Only anonymised results will be published, and your e-mail address
will not be passed on to any third party.