Also if they are not home. I ask them to leave a check, if its not on heating system we walk right out- to reschedule cost $50 more for wasted gas and time. If work goes over the original price , we call explain and usually fo work and hope they pay. I actually FIRE many customers. Few contractors using me, takes too long to pay, i fire. I fired 5 customers this year.
As a self employed carpenter I had a customer not pay for some kitchen remodeling. As he stalled paying I didn’t argue and he asked if I could do some work on the soffit. I agreed but said I was busy and gave him a week to come up with some money. When he didn’t pay I installed part of the kiln dried, custom milled very nice cypress. To this day I still laugh about that job. A friend who rented a basement across the street was hired to clean up that mess. Every board was cracked (no pre drilling) especially at the ends where the screws were so close to the edge the boards just fell after a few weeks. I still have some of that custom made cypress furniture from 24 years ago. The moral: doctors, lawyers, police and judges AND CARPENTERS can screw you. 😂
As a carpenter I always needed materials plus first day’s labor up front. Half the balance paid by dry in and full payment final day. One a house or addition was dried in, the homeowner was not in a position to have windows and doors removed for non payment and I never had customers who would not pay.( which is where you should start anyway)
Personally I have a policy that if your house is on the market you have 48 hours to make full payment upon completion of the job. If you file a lien after that 48 hours is up it will inhibit their ability to sale the house until paid. I know it sounds like a d-bag move, but it prevents stuff like this from happening.
Agree 100%. My contracts mention this too!!!!! For normal clients we file lien and send to collections after 7 days, but if they are selling home, it’s 48 hours
Oh ya- never, ever sign a contract that requires you to sign a lien waiver prior to final payment, OR that says in the contract you need to sign a lien waiver prior to full payment. Also never sign one in order to get payment. Don’t sign one until after check clears
I put a mechanics lien on a house I sheetrocked and finished. I waited five years and one day I got a call from the realty trying to sell it. I got my money. It was worth the wait!
@ThomasJones-sz3sx it's not easy to put a lien on a property? You gotta file paperwork at the County Clerks office, the owner has to be served a court date. Either in person or registered mail, etc. Plus you need the pin number or legal description of the property? At least in Chicago suburbs from my experience? But new construction where there's a Title Company representing the bank, that's a breeze! You're going to get paid no matter what? Even if there's a dispute on the work the subcontractor did wrong? You see it backs the owner into a corner because he can't take possession of the property until all sub's are paid in full.
@@brianwells4507 Tn. is a totally different world from Chicago. Down here we take care of business. One may have to wait for 5 years but my lien, which took 10 minutes to file finally paid off.
As a homeowner I would never do this to anyone. If I cannot afford it I just do not do it. It is embarrassing to stiff people, not to mention plain theft.
It's not that he cannot afford it, this is just plain theft. Premeditated theft. He has the money cause he just sold a house, but he just scammed this poor business owner out of $250. Should expose this guy and his wife, these are not nice people and the public should be warned.
I’ve been a house painter for 43 years, and I own a few pressure washers. I understand what you just went through. I make a habit of not doing business with anybody unless I see them and meet them face-to-face I’ve had people try to explain the job via text and I want nothing to do with it. Every time I did a job the way you just did it I got the same result. Anyway just keep trucking brother
Hello. Im in hvac. If the owner of the home does not show up to meet me personally that is a huge red flag and I do not do the job. I'm surprised that this contractor does business without meeting the homeowner that is not very smart
@@robertdavis3433 I have been an owner before and im a plumber, i would txt a guy that i need job done out of state, he done the job i pay him via paypal or whatever, cc is another payment too, u dont need to meet them is what im saying.
@robertdavis3433 what about if tenants live there and the owner of the property calls your business to work on the a.c. then when you billed him, he doesn't pay. do you go after the tenants??
I was rear-ended on my delivery scooter by a tow truck driver. The owner and I agreed on $500 rather than go through the insurance. It was the responding cop that suggested this. No ticket either! The crash scene insurance went nowhere. The owner kept blowing me off for a week. Then I did some research as I had the D.O.T. number from the truck. Turns out the F.M.C.A. has a handy dandy online form where you can report D.O.T. licenses that don't have insurance et cetera. He was at the bank in less than an hour. Wasn't too happy about it too. Should have still reported him for being a douche. Sometimes you just have to shake the right tree.
@@youngeshmoney up yours too. It was a $400 scooter and he broke the exhaust and it's mounts. I don't fake injuries like a criminal. But you do you. Twat.
I completely agree with getting the money for work completed. Even if it's $300 or $3000 you gotta get paid. If they fall on financial hardship communication is key!
I dropped an employee off at a house with a pressure washer one time while I and my business partner were working at another location. He called me and said the owner was arrested. He went to jail for a while and got out and paid me extra without me calling or asking. He was in jail feeling bad about not being able to pay me.
4 years and I have only been screwed by one customer out of a few hundred bucks. I do no contracts and have never been completely screwed. It's mind blowing how communication falls apart after the job is done and time to pay. Tons of customers probably 40% bug you until you start job. Answer your calls or text within a few minutes but the second I email invoice they aren't available for a few hours or even a day or 2
It's funny how they are your best friend until it's time to pay. I like the ones that are there everyday, all day, until you are just about done and then they vanish into thin air!
@@russellparker3298 bro it's as if you're working with me. I had one the other day wad texting me every 2 days. Started his job to shut him up. Text him that I'm done. Don't hear anything until the next day. He is out of town for a few days. His wife was clearly home but lied. He just so happened to leave the day I finished.
Stop playing the poor victim!! When you guys are even dirtier!! By taking deposits and disappearing! Promising to come and never show!! Ripping people off with lousy work! Its good thats done to you!! It’s a wake up call!!
@@russellparker3298 It goes both wats skumbag!!! You lowlives always try and rip off the customer!! Of there hard earned money!!! Until customers are slick!! And fight back!!
Seems like you are saying that the customer had to track you down and hound you to show up. If I had to call and call to get the guy to show up to do the job, and he started the job way later than his stated start date, then he can wait a little bit to get paid.
I painted the interior of a house, the bill was like $450. The person that hired me said the following, "I'm not paying you, and there is nothing you can do about it." I was already living in poverty so I took it pretty hard. I was able to practice non-retaliation so in the end I ended up in a better position.
That sucks man. Glad you didn’t make it worse for yourself by getting into trouble. Idk the scope of work, but sounds too cheap. Cheap customers are the worse.
Man, I hear ya, it sucks trying to run a business and not get paid. I ran a trash business, and one of the ex customers actually filed bankruptcy on a $5 bill. After that I set up with an accounting firm to handle invoices, and made it mandatory prepay for the service. I lost in the end. My expenses outgrew how much I lost as income. Then the ultimate thing happened that drove the final nail in the coffin, the truck transmission gave out, couldn't afford to repair or replace. I basically ran a non profit for 3 years. Glad that chapter closed, living way better days now.
I am a general contractor in California and had a church stiff me for $10k!!! They told me to just right it off as a donation. Went back and forth with them for months and they never paid me and it was under contract. They even told me they loved the work. Then they called me months later to try and get me to do more work for them. Um no!! Still been trying to get my money and it’s been almost a year.
I read where some people including the guy in this video mentioned a “lien” on the property for those that fail to pay. That might get their attention.
One way to minimize your loss is to have a contract made on a percentage completion basis. ie: collect a deposit and when the job is half done, collect an agreed upon amount, then when finished, collect the remainder. If he doesn't pay the amount at the half-way point, you just don't complete the job. If. you don't collect at the completion point, at least you have mitigated the loss.
I cut lawns and do landscaping maintenance luckily I’ve never ran into this in my 10 years but I will say I’ve had some issues with getting my money and it’s usually people that got plenty of money that will take the longest to pay , people that live in a average house seem to pay very easily. Thanks for sharing.
I used to help my Dad build screen room enclosures for people. My dad used to tell the owners that payment was due immediately upon completion of a job (Cash or Check only). I always remember a lady on Jupiter Island (A very private community) that told my dad that she couldn't pay us because only her husband wrote checks. So, my dad said that is great, and as per our agreement then I will wait in your driveway until your husband returns (She of course, had excuses like he might not return today and that we needed to leave). (Essentially, if we left without getting paid, we'd never been able to get back in to get paid (This was in the late '80s).) The lady called the cops on us. When the cops arrived, the cops listened to both sides and then went back to the lady and told her she needed to pay us either by cash or check immediately as agreed upon. She reluctantly wrote us a check and my dad raced to her bank to make sure it would cash. He said he had dealt with rich people like that before that would either try to avoid paying or pay him with checks that wouldn't cash due to lack of funds. (He told me about one bad check that he tried to cash 3 times, and on the 3rd attempt, there was just enough money in the account to cash it. He had held onto that check for over 3 months trying to cash it at the bank it was written on.)
I dealt with some ‘rich people’ too.... when you do business with them you’ll find out how they made their fortune.... A mate of mine told me about how he,ages ago,had to do a job (normal honest work) for some rich guy.... job finished he refused to pay.... The rich dodo happened to find his VERY expensive car back in the pound in his garden.... upside down.....completely wrecked.... It is called Karma.... and,at times,it is probably worth more then the figure on the bill....
I wouldn't even call the police in that case; I would have used the castle doctrine on you both. You don't get to trespass just because someone didn't pay. And when you get fired (as your father was by that client), you don't get a paycheck. If you get fired from FedEx and they call the police because you refuse to leave until you get your last paycheck, guess what? The police aren't going to "hear both sides," they'll physically grab you and haul you away. If you get asked to leave a basketball game and don't because you paid thousands of dollars, guess what? Security will get physical and if you report them to the police, the police will arrest YOU for trespassing (or "battery" if you defended yourself). So the fact that the police actually listened to your side of the story when you were clearly trespassing tells me that they were either rogue, you're making up the story, or the police only care about the private property rights of big business, not homeowners.
Yeah, in all those viral "Karen freakout" videos in restaurants, hotels, bars, etc. not once do the police ever listen to both sides. They tell the "Karen" that they're trespassing and immediately grab them and frogmarch them to the police vehicle out front. The police don't care that the "Karen" spent thousands of dollars on tickets or made a prepaid online order, they just tell them to leave or be arrested. Whether you've rendered services (fired Dunkin Donuts employee ordered to leave without getting last paycheck) or spent money, you don't get to trespass in response. So if they actually listened to both sides of the story when you two were trespassing on someone's PRIVATE HOME -- not even a McDonalds store or NFL stadium -- then it's proof that the castle doctrine is best. I would have told you to leave once, and if you didn't, gotten you off the property myself through whatever means necessary. No police contact at all. But maybe paramedic contact lol
@@whodoesntlikesurfing Believe what you want, but this was the 80s, and we had a contract with the customer. Plus, back then, Jupiter was a much smaller, close-knit, and good old boy-type community. They looked out for hard-working people.
I'm a self employed carpenter. I had always worked on a crew or with a head carpenter. The first job that I had after I moved and became self employed I had a remodel of a living room and kitchen and several small things from this young woman. I thought that she was doing pretty good as she had a painter come in and remove all the doors to her kitchen cabinets and take them to his shop and re-spray them. She also had a company re-pave her driveway and walkway. She gave me a thousand dollars toward materials and labor to start. I padded out her walls in the living room and sheetrocked them. Trimmed out her three living room windows along with the baseboard and ceiling moulding as well as inside corner moulding. I fixed her pass through shelving between the kitchen and living room with all new shelves and trim. I removed the entry kitchen door, squared and plumbed the framing and installed a new, expensive door. And there were other small incidental items that I did as well. Now I'm getting close to being done. All I have left to do is cut and install crown moulding in the kitchen. I had a funny feeling so I cleaned up all my tools for the day and went home. I called the customer and told her that I would be over in the morning after getting the crown moulding and install it and I would be done. I told her the bill was between $1600 and $1700 plus the crown and labor to install which would only take a few hours. She said that she had a dental appointment that afternoon and she would come right over to my house and pay me. Guess what? Never heard from her again. Her mother and stepfather went to church with me and my wife was the pastor. And this woman attended as well until this happened. About week later her mother called me and asked what 'we' can do to address the situation. I told her that it was between myself and her daughter and the way to address the situation was for her daughter to pay me. Turns out that I was the low man on the totem pole to get paid for all the work she had done. I also found out that she had a long history of issues because she was bi-polar. But in the last fifteen years of being on my own this is the only time I got stiffed.
I had a client who tried to stiff me for about 6K. I was persistent and didn’t let off until I got paid 8 months later. Towards the end though I went to his neighbours house and started asking where was he, etc. I was about to start printing flyers with his face, name and big bold red letters that said your neighbour is a SCAMMER. Luckily for him, he paid right before I launched that particular campaign.
Something like this happened when i quit my job and started cutting yards. Contacted by an Air Force Veteran who asked me to cut their lawn. He called me on July 3 evening and ask if i can cut his lawn the next day. I at first did not want too as I did not want to disrespect other veterans celebrating their weekend, but he begged. So, I went to cut the lawn, the front yard was not so bad, but the back yard was something else. The weeds were 4-5ft tall. He did not tell me this. He also did not have a key for his lock so went to buy a bolt cutter.... (I was not thinking then but easy to just remove screws and slide locking bolt back/I now mostly contract fence replacement). When I was about done, he left for work at least that's what he said. He said payment will be under the mat. well finished and no payment, I knew wife was inside, but she ignored all my knocking. Husband ignored my calls. The next day he said check will be under the mat, I went not there. the same two days later. On the third attempt he finally left a check. It ended up bouncing. I ended up paying the bounce fee. To this day, I have not been paid. This happened again and the same from another veteran. Fast forward to 2022, I met a plumber at Home Depot while buying materials and he said he needed his fence done. I went to see the fence, gave him a quote and ask me when I can start. I told him I can start the following Monday; I went there knocked on the door hoping to get the contract signed prior and he would not answer. I know he was inside as I have drove around the house and his van was on the driveway located on back of the house. I attempted to knock again and as I look two houses down; I see his van driving off. He messages me later how was the job going. I wanted to say some nasty crap but did not, I knew a scam when I see one so never responded.... and yes, I am a military veteran and I try to stay away from veteran potential customers. many of them always feel they are entitled for free services.
It's obvious what happened when you know the full story. The guy hired you to make the property look as good as possible in order to sell the house, then hightailed it out of there knowing you would never find him, whilst selling his property with your help!
I had a customer agree for us to do a new back patio and foundation expansion. He didn't pay us for 3 months because his finances went down the drain when his inheritance was not deposited for a while but he never said to us that anything like this would be a problem... So after some looking.. lien's aren't beneficial to me since the cost and legal work, plus going to cort would have cost me almost half of what he owned me just to get my money back. It ended getting handled but I now make customers pay a 100% on large project upfront.
My local Sheriff's Department will have a "chat" with anyone who does that here in Southern Oregon, they call it, "Theft of Service". I had to call them when I was towing and I had a customer who played me for the cost of gas when he called for help. His roadside covered the call but he was on the hook for the cost of the gas. Got my $26 and it only took about 6 hours... Hope that helps
"Theft of service" doesn't apply when you're on someone else's property; it's then a civil matter. And the Sheriff's Department can have all the chats they want, but they have zero prosecutorial authority to actually file charges
I had a carpet cleaning business in San Francisco 30 years ago. It was a constant battle with commercial customers to get paid. Always had to deal with scammers!
Very Ballsy to Getem at Work (I did commercial tree removal to get through college and post) we had a Doctor at the local Urgent Care who Didnt Pay so we Parked the trucks in the lot and I go in and ask for sonso and sonso quickly comes out and I'm like, "You kiddin me? Ya owe me 2850" (The waiting rooms heads snapped) and he just rolls it right out. People are always wanting things for free.
I was a debt collector for many years. The first thing I would do is call city to very with the tax collector the home was sold. They could be lying deadbeats. When talking with city hall or any government official, I always say "I could use your advise". They'll tell you anything you need to know if they can. Next, you could send an invoice certified so they'll have to sign for it. If they moved, they left a forwarding, or are going back to get their mail from the new owners. I would also have the words DELINQUENT:REFERRED FOR ACTION on that next invoice. You're not saying what type of action...
@@dosmundos3830 But if you send an invoice by recorded delivery it will have to be signed for by the addressee. Very few people will move house without having their mail redirected, which will be done automatically at the mail delivery office. The new owners may not be lying but the point is the deadbeats WILL receive the invoice.
@@allwrighty100 I never said anything about invoices, I said I don't think the new owners are "lying deadbeats" as you suggested. I still don't, don't give a fuck about invoices or your old career of harassing people either 😝
Sorry to hear this happened to you sir! That sucks BIG TIME and yes you are right he is a dirtbag! Karma is a 🤫 I hope you get more and more business. God bless you, your family and business!
I always pay immediately the job is finished or even before he finishes..i just want the contractor to know im not a problem when i next need him…i usually tip a tenner as well..trust is everything in this relationship..
@@albundy3929 they don’t get any return business if they do one on me.. and their reputation goes south..good people like to be trusted..I don’t play with cowboys..cowboys have to do jobs over the county line..where nobody knows them..
I get your point here, being a contractor it's part of the job and it doesn't matter how much they owe you if you have to lean them then that's what you do!
I had a pressure washing business and accepted payment upon delivery of service. It was mostly cash which went right into my pocket - LOVED THAT! I sold that business along with all the equipment, and the new owner allowed billing. One guy refused to pay, so Mr new owner sued, and the defendant reported Mr new owner to the IRS. His suit was dismissed, and the IRS seized his bank accounts, two vehicles and one trailer. You can't operate under the radar and expect the law to rescue your business, so if you want to bill folks and get involved in collections, make sure your shit is together with taxes, insurance and license.
How awful. I just had my house washed last Friday. He was awesome. Paid him up front plus tip. His work was perfection! If you take care of people nine out ten they treat you right. ❤. Good luck Sir.
I feel ya bro. When i had a home maintenance business i got a call from a customer who needed his moms bathroom shower remodeled but needed it done before he went back to NY. Mind you she lived in VA where i did. He was leaving the next morning, so i worked into late night. He stiffed me $100. Like you i just ate it. Saw his mom in the store months later and she was all smiles recognizing i was the one who did her bathroom. Her happiness outweighed any money he owed me.😉👍
I went through this and it is the worst feeling you can have. I feel for you man. I finally ended up getting my money after 110+ days. I had to send invoices out every other day and to multiple emails. It's extra work to get paid for what you've already done. It is the reason I will now not do any work without a deposit. If I lose customers that way, so be it.
That is a theft of service case in most places. They had you clean the house to get a better price on a sale of the house. You should look into your legal options including criminal charges.
@@brad1367 Someone hired him to clean the outside of a house that they clearly were trying to sell not that they told him that. Since the new people moved in shortly after the cleaning, it may have been a requirement of the buyer to close on the sale. They previous owner bailed on the bill, did not responding to calls or emails and he waited 3 months before considering putting a lien on the property but it was sold the month he cleaned it so he can't do it. This was clearly a planned act to get a service without paying for it and in most states that is considered theft of services and is criminal act. That is why he should look into filing charges against the person.
The police will tell you it's civil a matter . Small claims court will cost you $100 plus your time and youll never be able to collect . Deadbeats know what they are doing
@@dannymiller4560 In Missouri and Arkansas it is defined as 'theft of services, intent to defraud a business'. In addition the value of those services determines if it is a felony.
No, it's not. It's a CIVIL matter. When you go to someone else's home, it's their rules. By your logic, getting kicked out of a basketball game without a refund is also theft. But go ahead and call the police and tell them that security kicked you out without giving you a refund. Guess who the police will side with? Not you.
That sucks Mike. I don't get any money down either and do jobs when home owners are at work. I usually give them a week to pay and for most part they do. I have never had anyone stiff me yet. I sure hope you track this dead beat down and get you money. Good luck.
I was sending invoices by email 25 years ago. The problem with that at the time was, half of the population didn't even own a computer. I send invoices via email, then the customer pays by e-transfer. No credit cards. That way there's no extra fee for processing the CC.
I never stop there, you can find out where they live and file in small claims court in the area where the job was completed. They will have to come back or loose the case and have a judgement against them. You can file against their new job and property to collect. You can also give them a three day notice that you will be reporting it to all three credit reporting agencies. If you were hired through a real estate agent you can also talk to them, all subs have to be paid and recorded prior to last day (escrow). There is even more you can do, but this is a good start. Never let them get away or there will be more of them. I’m not a charity, I’m a for-profit business!
Sorry this happened! I do appreciate your due diligence in the collection process. You are right that most people aren’t home during your services. Hope it didn’t jade you! Most occasions, people are good. Hoping your business thrives!!! 😊
"I came to get my money" lol great intro I love it. If I was the new owner I'd told ya that I'm not google to enquire elsewhere and ask if you could read the signs you went past to come down my driveway through the gate lol. I just bought a house in writing it says there is no money owed to anyone else so if someone comes looking for him I'll let them know like the signs say they are trespassing for their own safety they will need to leave I ain't listening to any of their story, the guy that sold it to me lives 1/4 mile down the road in an RV go bug him.
I’m a plumber, and have been screwed over a few times, but now get a down payment over the phone on credit card to handle the materials or labor costs before I start the job. Baring that small debt court usually comes through with a satisfactory balance. Years ago before I smartened up I installed a hot water tank and the guy wouldn’t pay. So about a year later I staked out the house and waited until the teenager kids arrived home. Told the kid I was there to fulfill the maintenance contact. My drill accidentally drilled eight holes in that forty gallon tank. I left a business card behind but never got a return call back , not sure why ? Possibly not the best dispute resolution, but totally satisfying.
DUE UPON COMPLETION Three magic words I learned very quickly to live by in the glass business with residential customers. Most of the time I had already required a deposit that at least covered my materials. Unfortunately, commercial customers can’t be dealt with in the same manner or they would be writing a check on completion also with me. I think some feel that since there are unscrupulous contractors out there ripping people off that we all somehow deserve the consequences. And, believe me, $250 may be a small amount but you put the work in and provided a service in good faith. I once chased a guy for 2 years over $50 because it was the whole idea that I had attempted to fix another company’s workmanship and because he had got burnt by them, I allowed him to hold back $50 until we were sure my fix was good. I didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t my work I was fixing and while somewhat related to what I was hired to do, it wasn’t part of our contracted work. It was a favor that turned into a $50 lesson.
I always get paid immediately upon completion of the job! Unless it's commercial, then you need to talk that over with the person who's in charge of paying you
With 36 years in business, my Stanard Contract is 60% up front at time of Contract Signed. Balance due at Completion. With a Book of Customer References available for the Customer available to call on. I have only had to place Liens on 8 Customers in 36 years. I have a good Attorney on Retainer to handle the Issues. Otherwise, never been burned on a Job.
People like this MUST do this to the wrong person from time to time...Here's one I heard of: My friend knows a guy who you don't mess with - bad temper and will get you if you mess with him. (Let's call him Jim) A guy a few towns over, owed Jim money for something (I forget what it was) - and was not returning Jim's calls. Jim called to his house and guy's wife would say "He's not home right now. I'll tell him to call you" even though Jim was pretty sure he was home (no calls received from him either) - So one evening Jim waited down the road from the guy's house, on his route home from work....and drove into his driveway just after the guy had got his front door. Jim knocked on the door and wife again denied he was home. Jim said "I just saw him walk in here" - Wife said "Oh he went straight out the back door across the fields to walk the dog. I'll tell him to call you when he gets back" Having had enough at that point, Jim told her something like "I've had enough of this. It's time for me to act. I guarantee you he will pay me soon! Tell him to call me when he gets my MESSAGE, or next time it will be far worse" - Confused, she closed the door; Jim walked over to the guy's car, noted his insurance policy number and ins. company from the insurance disc in the windscreen (in Ireland, insurance discs and tax discs were/are displayed in the corner of the windscreen so cops can easily verify you're covered) - Jim phoned the insurance company, pretending to be that guy and said he wanted to cancel his insurance effective immediately. He then went back the next night...smashed a window in the car and burned it to the ground. Guess what...the guy phoned him and offered to pay him immediately - knew he'd crossed the wrong person. I don't condone this level of aggression, but there are guys out there who don't handle this type stuff well. If you're cheating people, eventually you will cheat the wrong person..and it could go very badly for you
Fantastic story . I too am very much into vigilante justice . I believe in a fair deal and if I get shafted then I’m your worst nightmare . I have blatant disregard for the law when I’m plotting my revenge . So you are right when you say one day you may cross the wrong person .
bs story. if he did that, he commenced in severe criminal activity. 'jim' threatened his wife, then his car window was broken and his car set on fire? that is an immediate reason for police to step in and write 'jim' down as prime suspect. owner will get notice of how supposedly his insurance was cancelled the day before (which you can't actually do without verifying name, data and account number so again your story is total BS and just an invention). owner did not do this so this is deliberate fraud. time of conversation can be looked up and phone number traced directly to this 'jim' dude. jim will get prosecuted and slamdunk sentenced for harassment, threatening, vandalism, arson, identity theft and fraud. he'll be locked up for years. next time come up with a better story.
15 days to send a 2nd email is too long. I send an invoice and give them a call within 24 hrs to "kindly" let notify them I'm calling to collect payment.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Nothing wrong except they have too long to think about paying, taking time to resend an invoice and spending gas money and more time to travel to the client's home to collect payment....sure nothing's wrong!
I run a plumbing service business. Back in 2011 a lady screwed me on a whole new water heater and water heater install. The way she did it, I could tell she planned it. Labor and parts were close to $900. I've dealt with bounced checks as well, but everyone paid the bounced checks and fees. Luckily, I found 99.5 percent of my customers pay!
Every state has a Tax Commissioner’s Office or Tax Assessors Office, just search for their name on the web to identify new owners and see if they actually sold the house or possibly renting it out. Could be he’s renting it out to friends or family. I’ve been doing pressure washing approximately 7 years and always do the job when their home and collect before I leave. Also I would still put a lien on the house somebody will or tell where dude move to. Possibly his realtor will rat him out.
I would collect payment prior or at the time of service. If they don't trust you to do the work for $250 when you show up, then move on to the next customer. I'm sure you are busy enough.
This may be my ignorance speaking. But I generally only hire companies I feel I can trust. Good reputations and reviews etc. With that said, it allows me to pay up front (or half now half later) which typically gets me service super quick when I mention paying up front. I had gutters done by a local company with excellent raving reviews right during storm season, and offered to pay half up front if they could get to me quickly. They had a crew there within 2 days and finished it quick. They did an incredible job and got all their money.
I've got a lawncare company in SC. In my 2nd year I had a guy skip town and ignore my emails for 2 months about a $60 cut. After months of no contact and ignoring me he calls me and says he wants to prepay for 3 months of lawncare. You better believe that I've never stepped foot on that properety again lol, i took that money as time spent collecting
Ah that sucks man. I collect payment on completion for jobs and I let them know the day before so they can have it ready. I charge late fees immediately that they agree to signing the contract so make sure I’d they try to play me, I’ll put a lien immediately
What you could do with each house you wash, run a quick google search to ensure the house didnt just get listed for rent/sale, that could identify any prudent measures you might need to take on those specific contracts, ie. quicker correspondence, etc. My neighbor just moved out, so you might not see a rental listing for a month or more. It might help sometimes.
Just an interesting thing to think about with money that may improve the outlook on it. Instead of calling the money "your money," consider it as "the money you were given by Hashem (G-d)." It's helped me, in many cases (with money and material possessions overall), to realize that if something like this happens, it's unfortunate, yet everything happens for good.
I worked for a custom home builder long ago. Owner hired us for architecture drawings and the construction. She would not pay the last payment: $20,000.- Hinsdale, Illinois
They're in a hurry to get the work done. They'll bug you. You pay for all the product, etc. upfront. When your done you become low priority. Some people try to wait to pay you weeks or months later. They have have it justified. Some people just wait to pay at the end or the beginning of their next pay cycle. They wait for money to come in, instead of pulling existing money out of the bank account.
I've done work for international corporation and they wait 90 days to pay. I've been jerked around by lawyers to get paid after doing work on their rentals.It just depends.
@@mrgregw Huge corporations with billions in the bank are notorious for late paying. They want to hold onto every penny to keep their numbers looking good until the last second. Since they often buy large orders, a lot of suppliers let them get away with it. They will pay (unless they switch payment companies or departments and screw everything up) but they’ll do it as late as possible.
This is crazy, I owned a pressure washing company named All American softwash in va. I very rarely had to deal with deadbeats because I used map quest to do a lot of my estimates because you can tell by looking at someones house what kind of person your dealing with, and also knowing the area. I would threaten a lein and give them a few days to pay up if they didn't pay I would send them a certified letter. That usually works.
You waited way too long to collect. I understand if they're not home. But the new homeowner told you he moved in October of LAST YEAR? And you did the job in September? A day or two at the most before you should start hounding them big time. My lawn guy texts me if I'm not home when he does my yard and I Venmo him right away or as soon as I'm not driving. There's no way you should ever wait months to be paid.
I had a small business repairing equipment for steel fabrication shops. I got a call on a Saturday to go to a shop 50 miles away to do an emergency repair on a 480v 3ph steel bender. I found the transformer was out, got an OK to fix it, drove 20 miles on Saturday, bought the part, my money, went back installed it, tested and watched it operate. I had a hand invoice signed by the co-owner. 3 months later no pay, no answer I went back on Saturday, waited for their lunch break, I took my transformer out, left their junk one on the machine, and billed them for two trips and threatened them with the BBB. I was also a local rep for their machinery company, so they had problems getting any techs out there. Stupid is like stupid does. $425.00 cost them almost a months worth of finished product. Eventually the other owner paid me and I put the job off another two weeks and COD Cash only
I remember once I had to collect a payment for our finance dept. from a large contractor in North London. At first it was "He's out" so I told reception I would wait. He eventually saw me then it was "I can't find the cheque book"! He then said they had financial problems so I said I would wait in reception and mention it (loudly) each time a customer arrived. After much grumbling he wrote a cheque for the full £5000 and I trotted down the back stairs to the car park. As I was calling finance he drove past me in a nearly brand new Ferrari, some "financial problems"! I hooted and at least he had the grace to look embarased lol.
I've been a contractor for many years. It's interesting how many people feel that contractors try and screw them with poor work, cutting corners etc. There is some truth to it. One of the factors in this is people tend to hire the CHEAPEST one they can find. There is a reason, many times, why they are so sheap. The old saying" you get what you pay for " is true. At the same time it is unfortunatly true that some people refuse to pay simply because they are hopeing you will just give up or reduce the price. It is the reason i insist on some payment up front, and a well written contract.
If I was the homeowner who just bought the house, I would have paid you!! It doesn’t matter if the seller was the one who ordered it. It’s MY house now and you DID CLEAN IT, so I will pay it no questions asked.
The original owner might have sold the house but usually they would leave a forwarding address with the new owners you should go back and check. I'd stick their name all the social media platforms someone could see it and hopefully in box you as to where they are now. Good luck. thd house looks lovely.
Wow, 15 days. 3 days max. They confirmed when I sent the estimate and they new upon completion to pay. Sucks you had that happen to you and good for you for confronting.
What if they did the work and said my deductible was $1500 but turns out to be $2500 from my insurance. What do I do? I already paid $1000 up front because I thought it was $1500. My insurance couldn't tell me because my house was going into foreclosure. There's no way I can pay another $1k.
Or send the invoice to the old address “Return Service Requested”. The post office will send the letter to his new address and then send you a copy of the new address back to you. This will only work if he forwarded his mail to new address.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Sorry, I mean more like someone randomly attacked you or one of your guys on the job? I was just randomly curious. On the other hand, you're an angry guy on the internet who only cares about money 😂 no way anyone would attack you offline. 💪
You can not call some ones place of work in most states if you are trying to collect a payment FYI. It can actually land you in a good bit of legal trouble.
