Hi,
Did a small plumbing job 2 months ago for a homeowner, actually an acquaintance. Mailed her a bill ($153) a few days later, and also called, leaving a message to see if she was happy. Nothing back. 3 weeks later, I ring her home phone twice leaving polite messages to please pay me. Nothing. I find her cell and work numbers, where I reach her. She tells me she’s very happy with the job and will send me a check. That was a month ago. Left 3 messages at work, the last one stating that I’m thinking she’s trying to rip me off, and I can’t believe she’d do that on the basis of bad karma alone. Guess she’s even screening calls at work now.
Thought maybe I’d transfer anger into having a little fun with her. What do you think? Any creative ideas? The process to file a lien here would cost me about $125.
Jon
Level Best Remodeling
Replies
Personal appearance at her job before all her work cronies. You take it from there.
That's your money an she's trying to steal it.
'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
Continue to haunt her and make her dread answering the telephone. Call from a different pay phone every day of the week. Use your buddies cell phone a couple times. If she won't pick up the line at her work, see if there's a main number for her business instead of just her extension number. Call that number and explain to whoever is on the other end why you really need to get ahold of Mrs. X.
Have a buddy call representing himself as Attorney James Shakemdown representing Mr. Jono1. (don't know if that's legal, but I'd give it a shot).
$153? Ain't about the money... it's the principle of the matter. I get more aggravated about late payments of small amounts than I do with larger amounts.
Be the ghost. Haunt her. How'd you get the job? Call that person ask them if they have Mrs. Deadbeat's cell phone number.... even if you already have it. The point is to find a reason to explain to that person that you haven't been paid yet.
You gotta make it seem to Mrs. Deadbeat that $153 is a fair price to make you go away, not a fair price for plumbing work.
There are some pretty strict rules about debt collection.
Perhaps she's financially embarrased at the moment because of unforeseen events.
I suggest a polite letter suggesting payment terms.
Good will is invaluable.
And the bad PR that can result what some might consider "creative" collection attempts might cost you well more than $153
Now why'd you have to go and get all reasonable on us?View Image
True, and a point well taken.
A $153 bill over two months and no reply from what, a half dozen calls?
be She'd better not be ordering home delivered pizzas.
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
The Fair Debt Collection Act is aimed at 3rd party debt collectors.However, extreme cases might lead to charges of harrasement or libel.But, as the debtee (sp?) you are free to make call outside of the restricted hours and to tell the employer what you are calling about.State laws might vary.A while back I got a call from someone that would only identify themself by first name and wanted me to go to the neighbors 4 houses down and give than a note to call him.Would not tell me what it was about. I suspect that it was a debt collection agency. They are not suppose to disclose that to a 3rd party. But to the neighbor it would could still be embarrasing.
I have had this before. 4 times to be exact. Bob is right. Let it be. If you harrass her, embarrass her etc. you end up looking like the chump. Send her a bill every month for a while but if she hasn't paid after talking to you on the phone, she ain't gonna pay.
In the future she can say nothing bad about you because she owes you money. If someone asks about her tell them you feel hurt because you worked for her in good faith and she wouldn't pay. Then it becomes a character issue. If you continue to harass her it also becomes one. And you are the jerk. Take the high road. Those people always get theirs in the end. DanT
I agree with RJW, SamT, Dave45, RickGreg, JDRH1, Bill Hartman and DanT on this one.(An eclectic list of people to agree with. LOL)She has not paid after several months of what I would already call harrassment. (You do not want to get yourself into any situation where anyone else is deciding what is harrassment, and what is not. Best just not to go there.)It is not likely she is going to pay after more harrassment.Small claims is going to cost you more than you will collect in the end.Karma... your own point. Send her a nice letter and then send her a bill every month, and the karma is on her head. But you have already started pulling some of that karma onto your own head by harrassing her.You are going to end up with all the bad karma if you don't watch it.
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
I think we all agree on a heck of a lot more outside the Tavern.
A love of building is what initially drew most of us here to begin with.
Where you been lately anywho?
Hope all is well.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Been gettin several different kinds of knots tied in my tail.Alls well that ends well, though. I'm actually doing pretty good.And you ?
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
Glad to hear it.....all is well round here also.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Karma? Not everyone is superstitious and superstitions don't pay the bills.
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
View Image
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
"Small claims is going to cost you more than you will collect in the end."I'm not sure I understand the aversion to small claims. Other than time, small claims shouldn't really cost you anything. These are usually pretty cut and dried cases (like this one) and often just letting them know you plan to go to small claims if the bill isn't paid within X days is enough to get the to cough it up.I've only had to do it once, but it was painless for me. Just sent the letter stating I was taking it to small claims if the bill wasn't settled. They paid.
Darrel,It is true that just the threat of small claims court is enough to shake an awful lot of people loose of their wallet.But if the threat doesn't work, you will spend time filling out all the paperwork, going to court, proving your case... And you will spend a lot more time carrying around ulcer causing baggage over this case...It's just not worth it.Personally, I kinda like the 1-2-3 combination of a nice letter with a bill, followed by a christmas card a' la' CU, if this goes past christmas, then a morning filling out the forms at the courthouse, and the threat that you will go through with a mechanic's lein on her property at the very least. But at that point, I would leave it be. Even up to that point... I would not be vindictive in my heart about it, because my time is more precious to me than to be spending it on being angry at a deadbeat.
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
darrel.. there is another problem with small claims court
getting the judgement in some states , is just that.. you have a judgement.. now collect it
on TV court.. the producers pay the judgement.. that's why those dumb people are willing to broadcast their travails for all the world..
in real life most judgments are unenforceable ( some states allow sherrifs sale ).
so all you do is add to the amount of time you've already invested in the deadbeat
what do we have here ?
an investment of 2 hours for the original work.... and 20 hours to collect it..
better to devote your time to developing a pre-contract screening process to avoid deadbeats and sharks
but hey, whadda i no ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
in real life most judgments are unenforceable ( some states allow sherrifs sale ).
If the sheriffs sales are allowed, it's a powerful motivator. It's important to have language that allows for paying the collection fees though. Just win the case, turn over the foreclosure duties to your lawyer and wait for the check to come.
blue
I agree on the language re collection costs. What I don't know is whether or not a court is likely to award you the full value of the work not paid for PLUS all of the collection costs, and let you foreclose for that amount. I have heard plenty of stories where the judgement was for much less than actually owed. The challenge would be to have a tight enough contract, and enough progress documentation, to make a solid claim for every penny. It seems like the odds are against that, from what I've read around this forum.
jono... i got stiffed for $500 once... sent them many letters & invoices
i got stiffed for $800 on and advertising deal.. many letters 7 phone calls... gave it to a collection agency.. nada..
today.. i'd simply send the invoices and the added interest and move on
life is short.. too short to waste it chasing deadbeats
the time you spend on her is better spent on someone elseMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
i got stiffed for $800 on and advertising deal
Is that when you swapped some carpentry for advertising services?
Sorry, couldn't resist. :)
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Tell all the other plumbers around and tell them to red flag her. This works great in rural areas where help is scarce.
We live in a small area too. And you are right that works! DanT
Excellent post, Bob!++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our ancestors killed mastadons with pointy sticks!
"There are some pretty strict rules about debt collection."
You make a very good point but I think that it's important to note that the strict rules about debt collection mostly apply to credit collection firms. Individual members of the public are not bound by the same restrictions. I often work graveyard shifts from 19:00 to 07:00. When I'm out of options, I don't think twice about calling a deadbeat at home on my mid shift coffee break.
you don't say what type of job it was, but if it was to replace a toliet , i'd wait until i got the nastest crapest [litaerly]toliet and plant it in her front yard . had a friend one time grind a stump out,customer wouldn't pay. so one day he loads a 8' long 40" dia. stump on his winch truck and puts it right in front of both garage doors.happens that this guy lived 2 blks from me .he work all weekend cutting and hauling this off.bet he thought twice before jacking with somebody over 85. again. anyway have fun with this but don't waste time stewing over it,she will need something else someday, either she will have to find someone else or pay you4 times the price in cash before you start.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
what does small claims cost where you are?
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
Why not simply take it to Small Claims Court?
How many people actually collect a small claims judgement? Filing the paperwork, paying the fees, and taking time to appear just throw good money after bad.
sometimes it is the principle.what if all his customers statred to not pay him on small jobs, or people heard about this and new customers started having him do work and not pay because he wouldn't do anything about it.sometimes it ain't the money.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
I did on a past tennent, got it all from the Marshall two weeks ago. Key is the defendant having a good steady job.
Jono,
Give the problem to God and let him deal with her in the manner He thinks best.
SamT
what did the people in Africa do to deserve what they are getting?"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
Did I just hear the troll alarm go off?View Image
dang but that was funny.
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
You ask that like you have inside knowledge about what the creator of everything that is has in Its' mind.
Care to enlighten us heathens?
SamT
Did you shut the water off to work on the shower valve if you shut it off at the main go back and shut it off again as you are not finished and haven't been paid until you turn it back on.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
?!?
I say the heathens are right and you're wrong!"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
I feel like I'm omly hearing one side of a phone conversation.
SamT
This may not help you collect anything. But it could be fun just for revenge.
I once sent flowers to the office of a female cousin of mine. On the card I put:
"Thanks for a great time last night"
In reality all I had done was spend the night at her place while I was travelling. (Her Husband and 3 kids were around the whole time, so spare me the cousin jokes)
But the other workers at her office didn't know that, and gave her all kinds of hell over it. Fortunately she took it all in stride, and is still speaking to me.
(-:
Take a deep breath and send a calm, friendly, but business-like letter. The letter should try to give her a way to save face (who knows what's happening at her end) and it also establishes a paper trail.
In it, you could offer an olive leaf... such as payment terms. "Please let me know if you would prefer to pay the fee for this work in installments." It should also establish a timeline for response.
If you get no response, then it's time to go into collections mode.
FWIW, see link below to a great little booklet on business letter writing I helped develop many moons ago:
http://www.foxandcompany.com/pdfs/PersuasiveBusinessLetter.pdf
I once had a beef with an eBay seller who sent me an item significantly different than advertised. We went back and forth with some emails about me returning the item and him refunding my money. He lived one county over, as it happened. I finally ot pissed enough to hassle him (it was over a $300 item) so I got the small claims docs mailed to me from the county courthouse. I filled them out and included a detailed timesheet indicating the amount of my time this was consuming, total of about a $750 complaint. I mailed him copies of the whole thing with a note indicating I would file them in one week if we had not settled the issue. That took care of it--he mailed me the money back and I sent him the item.
My younger brother went through a similar situation just a few weeks back. Everyday he'd run a half dozen "creative ideas" by me to see what I thought. Most of which were probably likely to end him in a harrassment suit. Certainly not worth it for such a small amount of money.
I'd probably just forget about it.....aint gonna make or break ya.
At the very most, a monthly invoice mailed to the house. Of course, the cost of stamps will eat up that $153 before long.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
>At the very most, a monthly invoice mailed to the house. Of course, the cost of stamps will eat up that $153 before long.The invoice should increase every month for interest, which should cover postage...when it's paid!
Yer right.....I guess I was just figuring, if she aint paid such a small amount to this point, its unlikely she'll be willing to pay additional charges.
Luckily, I've only had to deal with such a situation once thus far, albeit for a larger sum of monies. Believe it or not, it was a former co-worker.
He dodged my calls for several weeks, but his wife got on the horn and called me the second she received my invoice which included a 10% late charge. Picked up the final payment the next day.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Don't listen to me. The other guys have far more sense in their head than I do. Good thing I usually get paid on time, huh?
I felt, reacted and acted differently when your age. Just experience and old age in my case lol. DanT
Could probably boil it down into even simpler terms.... acting vs. reacting. I still tend to react sometimes.... in case you hadn't picked up on that. ;)
What was the number? $153 or something.... to be honest, I don't think I'd even chase it. I'd write it off and never do business with that party again and if I was ever asked by a third party about the non-payer.... I'd tell the truth and not try to clean it up one bit.
But in this case, I believe but may be wrong, that the sum total of the whole job was $153. So the original poster got zero, zip, zilch, nada, for his work at this lady's house. Personally I'd find it hard to even back the truck out of my driveway for $153, but it's simply a matter of scales. I've wasted more money than that by not latching the tailgate of my truck before driving home. But this poor bastard got out of bed, got in the truck, did some work on this ladies house... for nothing. That blows. That's why I said it's the principle and not the money.
But no matter how you cut it up, lowering yourself to the wrong-doers level and playing their game never seems to help in the long run. But as far as "maybe she has extenuating circumstances" goes.... sure that may be the case. But then he'd deserve an explanation as well.
Collecting money is rarely a good time.... but it really should be, don't you think? ;)View Image
You have PM. DanT
Jon,
I'm sorry she turned out to be such a creep. You could try small claims court. I'd hesitate to do anything 'creative' because you don't want to cross the line into harassment.
In the future, I'd recommend that you don't walk out the door without a check in hand. If you do walk out the door, make sure you have a full legal name, address, birthdate, and social security number, because you are issuing credit. When somebody fails to pay, you are going to need all of that information so you can tag their credit report.
"so you can tag their credit report."that thought crossed my mind, but how do you do it?went to the different credit burea sites (or 2 of 3, DCS)
could not find how you could make an input to someones credit report.may have to buy a subscription service with them to input something.couldn't tell from the site, least I couldn't
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
I've never done it, so I'm guessing. I think the easiest way is to go through a collection agency. They may get you half (the other half being their fee), and if they don't they will contact the credit reporting agencies for you. If not, I would try writing a letter to the credit reporting agency with copies of the bills sent, the letter informing the person that they are about to be listed in default, and any other related paperwork.
My buddy walked out the door with a check in hand for a $1000 job. Problem was, the stiff he did the work for never kept $1000 in his checking account. My buddy tried to cash it at the stiffs bank several times - "insufficient balance" is what he's told, the teller would let him know how 'short' the account was. The stiffs account balance never got above $980. So after the 4th time trying to cash it (and there's $950 in the account) he whips out his credit card and grabs a deposit slip - he has the teller issue him a cash advance on his Visa and he deposits $50 in the stiffs checking account - no laws against that. Presto! There's now $1000 in the account and the teller cashes the check.
The look on the stiffs face when he finds out what happened must of been, as they say, Priceless!
-Norm
That's a great story!
Along these lines, I wonder how many of you guys have 'cost of collection' clauses in your contracts? I asked my attorney to put in whatever he could to help me collect for any costs related to chasing people for their money (i.e. the cost of filing a lien and having him pursue the matter). What he came up with is essentially an attorney's fees clause, which I hope would be effective in the event that I have to go that far to get paid.
Norm,Your post brought back a memory from my stint as a sales engineer at an electrical supply company. I had left for other employment just after selling about $1500 of supplies to a small contractor in a small town back in the late 70's. My ex boss told me the story several years later when I ran into him that the contractor's check bounced. So my boss was in that small town (there was a large paper mill he called on) and stopped at the local bank to see if the check was good that day. The teller said something like "well it almost clears" and my boss asked "how much is it lacking?". She replied that she couldn't tell him the exact ammount. Boss says " can I deposit to the account?" She says that is OK.
"Would $50 deposited make the check good?" "Yes it will". So my boss posted $50 to the account and the teller cashed the $1500 check for him!Frank DuVal You can never make something foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
Can you plug her pipes with a dead possum?
That's awesome! Very creative. I can't stop laughing.
I just started my dead possum list and there will be a few people getting the "dead possum door prize" who thought they could stiff me.
Dead possum gets attention quick!
All those years I wondered where all the road kill went, now I know somebody owed someone money. Well guess what, I'll be doing my part to preserve my Michigan roadsides when I'm owed some money.
Glad to be of help.
From March 2006
"I just started my dead possum list and there will be a few people getting the "dead possum door prize" who thought they could stiff me. "
======================
I know this 2 1/2 years old but if your list was longer than your possum supply I have a dead possum for you. If you get back to me before animal control comes to takes it away it is all yours. I'll ship using DHL, I have too much respect for FedEx and UPS.I can even drop ship it for you directly to your next recipient. :)TFB (Bill)
What is her phone number? Post it here and let nature take its course.
Good luck!
I'll make a call. I'll be polite too.
blue
I'm with the "dead possum" crowd. It's the principle of the matter. If she's still answering her phone, that means you'll know when she's at work, which is of course tempting. Doubt a possum would crawl down the stack, but my neighbour's drain was plugged by squirrels who dumped walnuts down the stack and that's not the first time it's happened. Could that perhaps happen at the right time of year, without the help of the squirrels?
My dad was an auto mechanic, and after 11 years in business on his own he had a shoebox full of bad cheques. But in the later years, dad got smart. A creep paid for some work on his car with a bad cheque. Not just a rubber cheque, but an actual fraudulent cheque. My dad took the towtruck to the guy's place when he was gone and approached his wife, saying, "Geez, sorry lady, I screwed up on your husband's car and didn't fix the brakes quite right- I need to fix it right away!" The wife was only too happy to let him tow the car to the shop, where he put it up on the hoist and called the guy in. The b*stard had the gall to claim he was going to call the cops on my dad for stealing his car, but my dad told him that the bank had confirmed that he'd passed a bad cheque so he'd be only too happy to call the cops, who would charge him with fraud. The guy reached into his pocket, pulled out a fat wad of cash and paid up. A lesson to learn from this one: most scumbags aren't all that poor...and poor people often pay more reliably than rich ones.
You know where she lives. Remind her of that by showing up at her house. You may need to park around the corner in case she decides not to answer the door if she knows that it's you. Saturday or Sunday morning might be a good idea.
I wouldn't let it go. Not even for less money. She should know that it's not OK to steal. And it is stealing. She's stealing your services and now she's wasting your time as well.
Based on her reaction when you see her face to face, you'll probably know whether or not to pursue it in small claims court.
If she hands you a check on the spot, make sure it's a local bank so you can go there and verify that it's covered. They may not cash it for you, but they should tell you if it's good. Preferably, she'll just give you cash.
Don't let it go. Insist on civilized behaviour within this society to which you (and she) belong.
-Don
Do you have any idea just how quickly a man can land in jail, and have a retraining order put against him if he followed your advice ?Think, before you just tell some guy on the internet that you don't even know, to go park around the corner and then show up on a woman's doorstep.You aren't insisting on civilized behaviour, you are insisting on vindictive, harrassing behaviour.
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
Lighten up francis
Ok, you follow his advice.Go ahead, I dare you.Don't call me for bail money.
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
Heck, I wouldn't follow my own advice. Just for the record, I would not actually stuff a dead possum up her pipes.
ROFLMAO
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
I'm not suggesting that he harass her. I'm suggesting that he make a personal visit to discuss payment. I don't see how that's much different than calling her.
Saturday or Sunday mornings are times when people are home. I didn't mean that he should start banging on the door at 6:00 am.
How does parking around the corner increase the harassment?
Maybe you read my post to mean that he should start a program of personal visits just to annoy this person. That's not what I meant. I think the best way to judge a person's intentions (in this case, her willingness to pay) is to see them in person. If she asks him to leave, he should just leave. I can't imagine how she could get a restraining order against him for that.
Don, just because you do not consider it harrassment, that does not mean she will not consider it harrassment.What you don't seem to realize is that it doesn't matter what you "intend".... If SHE yells harrassment, it -will be- harrassment in the law's eyes.You are insisting on looking at yourself, and the OP here through rosey colored glasses. I assure you, the law will crush those glasses fast. They do not care what -you- claim your motives were. They care what it -appears- you were up to.The cop that she calls, and the judge who will hear about it, are about 95 percent more likely to side with... Poor defenseless feminine little her, in her own house... Over big macho construction working male you, standing on HER doorstep.You can be as pleasant as a baby's smile, and if she tells them that you were angry, shaking your fists, threatening and yelling, and points out the fact that you were trying to collect a bill... guess who they will believe ?Parking the car around the corner, will only strengthen the law's assumption that you planned on being harrassing. If you were as innocent as that baby's smile, then why would you have to hide the car and sneak up on her ?No amount of "intention" on your part, will lessen the judgement the law will put on your actions. (A tribute to Alias' tagline, "we judge ourselves by our intentions, others judge us by our actions")You can explain until you are blue in the face that you were just paying her an innocent visit to discuss the bill. The law will still judge you on the facts that you are male, you were on her doorstep... and SHE says you were harrassing her. If on top of that, you parked around the corner, the assumption that you were intending something besides an "innocent" vist, will be all but a foregone conclusion in their eyes. The nail in the coffin of assumption against you.Common sense should have been all that was needed for you to understand this. I suspect that your common sense already told you all this, but you just can't let it go without arguing your innocence. Your innocence has nothing to do with what common sense will tell you are the facts of life.Go ahead and argue here, then go out and do exactly as you suggest to the OP. As I said to Mark, don't call me for bail money if your 5 percent chance of actually getting away with it, doesn't come through for you this time...By arguing your innocence here, you strengthen the OP's personal opinion that they could probably do just as you suggest without repercussion. You are doing him no good service at all by encouraging that sort of delusion. Next thing you know, he is going to be doing 7 to ten in the penitentiary for breaking and entering when he "innocently" uses her house key to toss that squirrel inside. (Even though said sqirrel will probably make it back out the door before he has a chance to close it.)Don, you've been around a while. I've grown to respect you. Think about this sort of thing before you post. Your words do have an effect on people.
Geekbox hero who once visited the glass city.
Your points are well-reasoned and I hope the OP reads it.
The thing that inspired me to post at all were all of the posts recommending revenge. Some of them were attempts at humor, but others sounded like actual suggestions. There's no way I would agree with any form of revenge, but rather than come out and say that, I offered another civilized (or so I thought) approach.
I re-read your original post http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=70586.21 so I know how you would handle it. I have yet to have this happen to me and so I would have a hard time moving on.
-Don
Be careful!
I once called a customer and said "I'm coming right over and not leaving until I get a check!"
I never got there, because I was in handcuffs within 30 minutes.
I got out of it in court, but it cost me more in time, lawyer, and public face than the $3,500.00 she owed.
A conviction, or even a plea bargain, would have ended up on public records, haunting my employment opportunities for years!
I asked my lawyer to sue her for the money, and he said forget! My temper had precluded any chance of collecting.
I
I once called a customer and said "I'm coming right over and not leaving until I get a check!"
I never got there, because I was in handcuffs within 30 minutes.
There has got to be more to this story than just that. I really find it hard to believe that I can just call the cops, tell them that someone "threatened" me and they will go to their house and ARREST them. No, it doesn't work that way. There's more to it.
-Don
There really wasn't, Don. Other than, perhaps, she knew the cop.
I made the mistake of being honest with the cop, and admitting to making the phone call. It was an "intervention" in the cops words, to "let the court sort it all out."
Professional collection agents work accross state lines, and behind anonymous phone numbers with made up names, to avoid these situations.
Hire a lawyer, or use small claims. Those are the only safe and legal ways of collecting. I like the Christmas card idea, though.
Had several people screw me this year for lots more than that. Sent them all Christmas cards. Hoped they were enjoying the money I was gonna spend on my kids.
On a side note, I started taking credit cards about 6 months ago. I've had several customers that I thought were gonna stiff me charge it to the visa card.
Birth, school, work, death.....................
http://grantlogan.net/
Jono,
This is easy - Let her know that if you don't receive payment within 7 days, you will file in small claims court. ALSO let her know what it will do to her credit for the next 7-10 years. It puts a negative mark that lasts for a long time, and really drops your credit score. BTW, filing in small claims is easy. I've only done it twice in 23 years, but it was very satisfying!
PV Rich
Dont know what kind of job you did but I would go to her house and tell her "I'm here to get my stuff back."
I hear you. Problem is, once you install something (anything) in someone's house it immediately becomes their property. So it really isn't yours to take back any more. Screwed up system, ain't it?
I once thought about attaching a deck to the bumper of my truck one time. Would have been a fun repo, but the fallout would have really sucked.View Image
Diesel, here in Michigan, I think it's possible to foreclose on someones house if they owe a mechanics lien. The process would be long and slow, but in the end, if all the paperwork is right, they are going to pay.
Add those collection clauses.
blue
>Guess she's even screening calls at work now.
*67 before calling...block your ID. She'll probably answer. Or call from somewhere else.
FOLLOW-UP
My buddy who knows her told me today that he was in her house one time, and she had library fines of $3,000 for not taking books back!!! I feel a bit compassionate, knowing she's a whack job, and it's not personal to me. But I'm going to hold her accountable. I do agree that revenge isn't the way to go. I like the idea of monthly bills with late fees. Think I'll try for a friendly face to face, but I'll tell her how I feel.
My buddy told me something else interesting-where she hides a house key. Coincidentally, at the house I was working at today, the owner caught a squirrel in a cage-it was one po'ed, frantic animal-thought of letting it loose in the house.
BTW-the job was finishing a new shower valve install which her boyfriend started.
Thanks All,
Jon
My buddy told me something else interesting-where she hides a house key. Coincidentally, at the house I was working at today, the owner caught a squirrel in a cage-it was one po'ed, frantic animal-thought of letting it loose in the house.
jono-
what are you saying here?
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
>I like the idea of monthly bills with late fees.I'll speculate--an atty can correct me if necessary--that you cannot impose late fees, or at least have them be enforceable, unless they were specified in the contract. I learned that from Judge Judy. <g>Sounds like this client just likes to blow people off and expect that most will tire of chasing after her. One day someone will be persistent enough to get her attention.
Cloud, I would tend to agree.
I signed one contract with a foundation sub. His standard contract contained some fine print on the back. I turned it over and it was very small, very light and hard to read, but I managed. Everything under the sun was covered on this one page document.
Since I knew I was going to pay him, I didn't mind.
blue
I had gutters installed on my own house once. I happened to read the back of the one page contract one day. I stole about ten paragraphs off the back of that thing for my own contracts. Everything from acts of terrorism to force majure to late payments was crammed on that thing.View Image
Be thankful that it isn't a lot more!
That being said - try my "Do it yourself collection method." I had a problem w/ a woman in Texas that was stiffing me for all of $34. I wasn't about to screw around with that crummy sum from Atlanta, Jawja. Soooooooooo - I sent her 35 cents. Told her to go to the lumber yard, buy a brick; go home & toss it through her living room window if she wasn't going to pay me. A week later I received a check for $34. I cashed it - it cleared.
Don
The Glass Masterworks
"If it scratches, I etch it!"
On a little job like that you should have collected on the spot, most small jobs like that are flat rate anyways.
Harrassing them gets you nowhere, if they were a real jerk about it, wait awhile then throw a handful of roofing nails in the driveway on a random basis, the tire store is not going to let her leave without paying for them!!!!
You may look into sending her a form 1099 for 153$... you get the write off and she is on the hook for taxes on the 153.
probably cost her almost that to figure out what to do with it.
I think this is ok with the irs, consult your accountant.
james
I just love this idea of of the 1099. Infernal Revenue Service will make her day.
You would need her SSN to send a 1099, and the threshold is $600.
$600 is the amount where you are REQUIRED to send a 1099, but is there anything that says you can't send a 1099 if the amount is less than $600? (I don't know - I'm asking...)
Good Q, I'm not sure. I typically send out a handful every year for a thousand or two. But you'd still need her SSN and honestly for $153 I would not risk waking up the IRS.
"You would need her SSN to send a 1099, and the threshold is $600."The treshold is where you HAVE TO SEND ONE.You can send them for less.Like 1099-INT don't have to be send for less than $10, but some banks send them anyway to everyone.
I'm with Rez,
Public humiliation..... not necessary tactless or humiliating, just find her in public, work, church, etc, and ask her to pay you there.
2nd Followup
Left another invoice (with late fee), in her mailbox today. Got home tonite and there was her check in my mail.
Not sure what to conclude from this whole thing. Sure get upset when someone stiffs me. Get nasty with them and want revenge, though I know its not best.
Was good to realize its not me personally-they mess with everyone else too. They probably think there excuses are justified and can't understand why everyone's po'ed.
Maybe the check will even be good!
Jon
If the check is good, send her a thank you very much and a bill marked paid in full.
I haven't read the rest of the replies, so I don't know if anyone else mentioned this already, but I hope you didn't actually put the bill in her mailbox. It's a violation of federal law for anyone except a US Postal Service employee to put anything in a mailbox.
" It's a violation of federal law for anyone except a US Postal Service employee to put anything in a mailbox."
Yeah, theres a sewn on tag on your mattress you're not supposed to remove too. Don't want to run farm fuel in a road vehical as well as a few other slain federal laws you shouldn't break. DanT
Negatory on the mattress tag. That's specifically for the retailer (tags are color coded for new mattresses versus used/reconditioned). The customer that purchases the mattress can do whatever he wants with it.
My point is that he could unintentionally get himself in a lot of serious hot water by stuffing the box himself instead of spending the $.37 (or has it gone up again) to let an "authorized" person stuff the box for him...
(Sidenote: is there really a large market for used or reconditioned mattresses??????)
Don't take this wrong because I agree with your point, but, - heads up - you DO NOT want to be caught running off road fuel in your on road vehicle!Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
It was just a point as I live in a farming area. I have no farm fuel as I am a townie. DanT
I don't remember if this was addressed in the initial details but I know of many people who live paycheck to paycheck. There simply is no money there for home repairs, auto repairs, etc.
When something happens they juggle things around for several months and for some people paying a bill at 90 days is the way they do business.
Many homes deteriorate because people simply have no money to pay a contractor when that first piece of ceramic tile comes loose in the shower. They put it off for six months and a few more fall off.
They put it off another year and a large section of the wall has a hole in it.
.
^^^^^^
"and that's all I've got to say about that"
Grab some wood and some cardboard and make a sign. go to her workplace and picket during lunch. stay on the sidewalk (public) and don't go indoors, even if invited. the sign should say the facts "i did work for __________________ and i haven't been paid. its been __________
days and she won't pay the $_______________."
Carry some business cards...maybe you'll get some new clients.
at the very least you'll make her coworkers day
you say she is an acquaintance? tell your mutual friends..let them decide.
have fun!