ANSWERS: 5
  • Take the person to small claims court.
  • If the work is done and the contract (or addendums) does not specify penalties for meeting key metrics, then the customer can be pursued for collections. You could repossess what the customer has not paid for. I have a friend with an IT business and he turns off websites when customer refuse to pay legitimate work. The questions are these: 1) Did the delay in construction (or delivery or whatever) result in loss of profit or potential profit for the customer? 2)Did it cost the customer anything? 3)Was there an agreed upon time frame? If so, then was a mechanism to report delays? If not, then tough nuts. Lastly: 4)Was any of this documented? it is OK for a gentleman's agreement to manage business when things are good, but when they turn litigious you'd better have a paper trail or you're screwed. Odds are the business you work for is in a gray area about the delivery or, for PR reasons, does not want to make it known they sue people who pay late, so i would negotiate a settlement. Odds are the person is looking for a little discount for being late. If it is not that, then you're going to have to move to step 2: lawyers. If your business is completely in the right, sue the customer's ass off or send his butt to a collection agency. If you need one, tell me where your geography and I will get you in touch with a good one.
  • About once a year I meet someone who makes a whole career out of not paying bills. They stiff anyone they can: their property manager, their suppliers, folks who lease them equipment, subcontractors, car rental agencies, etc. Or they blackmail businesses into giving them larger and larger credit. "Okay, we'll pay the overdue amount on these ten computers, but only if you can lease us 50 more on good credit terms. Otherwise you get nothing!". Some folks just do ANYthing they can get away with! That's why when someone refuses to pay, I don't mind the hassle of going after them. It gives me pleasure to stop that lifestyle and stick it back to them. Go for their credit rating, file lawsuits so their name shows up on public records, get a collection agency, seize any materials you can, call their business associates to enquire about (and spread) their reputation, their employer and coworkers too, search the County Records (usually on the internet) for other lawsuits against them, call other contractors in town to see if they've had experience with them, see if you can find who does their electrical, plumbing, yardwork, or anything else. People ought to know and be careful around these guys.
  • Are you employed by the contractor or are you a sub? Normally in these situations the Contractor is the first in line and needs to go to court and get a lien against the customer. Feeling that the job took to long isn't a very strong defense. The Contractor would win.Then you could get paid.
  • Thank you guys so much, but Its not a small claims matter, its ALOT more than that and they now say they will pay only what is on the contract when they forced him to lay out the money for their carpet, the husband claims there is a small stain on the carpet and the wife doesn't see it but he won't even let my boss come a remove the carpet that they claim they can't pay him for because they have to replace it.they are blatently stealing it!!! HELP, what do I do? (oh by the way, they are also friends and neighbors)its pretty much as shitty as you can get!!!!

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