Pay Up, Buddy

[AGoodJob]

Customer not home to give you payment when you complete a job, they didn't leave check behind (either because you didn't mention it or they forgot). You don't want to leave and come back to do the job, so you give them an invoice with your business address on it, leave a message on their phone also.

Customer doesn't think job is worth it... or whatever reason... what is best way to get paid? Small claims court, collections, lawyer (Big Bucks), scream mechanical lien? How are liens done?

I am sure it's big money.... lets say this is a matter of $250 or $2500. Opinions... ideas.

 

[ron]

ron p

do it yourself in small claims court.
Do you have a contract that the customer signs?
if not, you need one.

 

[Coastal]

Eat the small job. I tell them that you we will reclean or refund the amount in full if they are not satisfied.

85% of the time the customer will have you reclean.

For larger jobs, try to offer the same thing but instead of refunding the total cost try to get them to just pay for labor, materials, etc.

 

[john orr]

I pay $16/mo for a legal service plan that I can use to have a lawyer write a collection letter - will also work for bad checks. I have never had to use it against a customer, though it has proved effective against a company I used to do business with.

 

[Richard R.]

AGoodJob,

I'm curious about this post.
What is the customer complaining about? How much were they charged and did the house come clean?

Richard R

 

[Bill B]

John Orr, I am interested in the service you spoke to. You pay $16 per month to have someone on "retainer". They write 'send your money NOW' letters on demand?

 

[jschessler]

show me the money

Like I have said before, don't ever mention credit only due on receipt because then your legal options change. Note if you did not say this credit word to the customer, or said i will take a post dated check or pay me later then you have not given them credit . So the next thing is MECHANICS LEIN..... they now can't sell, borrow or transfer title to this property until they pay you with int.... that means never until they pay and you sign a release. For example.. if they never pay and the bank takes property back , guess what, now the bank has to pay you because the lein is against the property not the owner.
Do it own a house, you will see how fast they pay you then.

 

[Richard R.]

jschessler,

That's great information.
Does this civil law cover all 50 states or does it only apply in certain states?

Thanks
Richard R

 

[AGoodJob]

The job was for a wash and seal of an elevated deck. We argued back and forth and ended up knocking the price down of $75.00. It was originally a $350. job.

Contacted an attorney, just to get advice for the future, he said that MECHANIC LEINS are not cheap. There's paperwork and a lawsuit involved.

The customer stated that she was under the impression we roll on sealer (we only roll on stain), we didn't do the BOTTOM (underside) of the deck, the knots in the wood were a different color, that the deck had areas that weren't done (she said she could see some areas weren't sealed), that we broke the leg on her $30 resin table, we only waited 30 hours to seal after washing (she was told by the paint store that you need 48-72 hours after washing to seal) and that 2 different people worked on her deck (I have a helper). It was one excuse after another.

 

[Richard R.]

Sounds like you walked into a real mess waiting to happen.
It almost sounds like this person already had plans for you before she found you.
That's the very reason we need to work under contracts. I know it's a hassle, but it always brings people back down to earth.
It's a good thing everyones not like that.

Richard R

 

[ron]

ron p

Goodjob.
The table was an accident and you should have paid for it[pro-rated].
The confussion on the service you provided was YOUR fault, from the little info you gave here.
I go over everything im going to do,how im going to do it,poss. prob.,what im going to use,what day im going to be there,ect....
Dont know what sealer you used but 30 hrs sure sounds like too short a time to me also.. Do you use a moisture meter?
Now tell me what you use as a sealer thats not a stain?
Clear?
Knot holes are denser and dont soak in sealer/stain like the rest. I tell customers about this before i do the job.
Also you said "an elevated deck" depending on the deck I could understand her thinking if you did not specificly spell everything out about what you were doing for your money.
This thread should be more about how to handle dis-satisfied customers?
In my opinion,and the way I do things, I would have eaten the materials and labor to make sure the customer was happy.
You took less and had a customer that will bad mouth you forever.
I would have spent the $75 to make it right and had a customer that would say nothing but good things AND in 16 months had a chance to make up some of my loss from this job.[it will need to be serviced]
You did'nt loose $75, you got a $75 education. Use what you've learned.

 

[Mike Hughes]

Well said.

 

[Richard R.]

I disagree.
I think Ron beats around the bush to much.
Why didn't he just come out and say what he meant?

Richard R

 

[jschessler]

show me the money

I dont know the laws in all states, but nothing is better than a mechanics lein. PERIOD. Oh , since you brought the subject of cost, dont forget who owes you the money. If they want to clear the bill , they also have to clear up the attorney cost if they get involved plus any other court cost.That is the beauty of it, But since this is my opinion you are free to come to your own conclusion since this is not a proffessional opininon. My disclouser.

 

[Steven Rowlett]

You can join the local credit bureau and report it on their file. It stays there for seven years unless you remove it. It will not get you paid but they will remember what they did for a long time.

 

[Richard R.]

Steven,

You lost me on this one.
Are you saying that you can report one of your non paying customers to the BBB?
Why would anyone check with the BBB before doing work for a residential customer?

I might have misunderstood your reasoning here.

Just making sure I'm not missing out on something here.

Thanks
Richard R

 

[Steven Rowlett]

Richard, that was the credit bureau, not the better business bureau. The BBB is for customers to find out about business . The credit bureau is for reporting non payments and late payments, also for running credit reports.

 

[Richard R.]

Your right Steven,
That's what I get for trying to respond to posts late at night.
How in the world did I managed to over look that.
Wonder why I thought of BBB.

Oh Well, sorry about that Steven.

Take Care
Richard R

 

[Michael T]

Legal Service

Bill B,
Contact me . I have some information which may be helpful to you. This is pretaining to a Pre Paid Legal Services plan. This is a little something I do besides PowerWashing.

Michael T

mtessaro@centurytel.net
www.prepaidlegal.com/info/michaelltessaro

 

[mhpoole]

Im wondering if you made her sign a contract. And you should have made everything perfectly clear. Thats why i get 25% up front, if something is not right you can usually tell if they complain about 25%. Make everything legal, professional, and thorough and you will not usually have a problem. By the way if you are not a lic contractor a judge might just throw the case out. Always make them sign a contract with terms and conditions. That way everything is legal, and they will be more likely to pay. If something seems fishy in the beginning learn to walk away from the job !!!!!! it will save you in the long run.

Mark