Customer not paying small amount but it's the principle!!!

[mylocalplumber]

Girl calls me up. Her salon toilet is blocked..she's desperate..needs someone right away. She's nearby so I say ok. She asks my rates..I tell her £60p/h and give her my website with all my terms and rates.

get there and it's a mess..tricky and dirty. She asks can I give a price and I explain I can't coz I don't have X-ray vision but if it takes longer than an hour I'll let her know.

45 mins later I tell her I got to take the toilet off the wall. She says I don't care it needs to be done.

1.5 hrs later I'm done, cleaned up. She's not around but I discussed that I'd email the invoice.

£120 all in. This is in London btw.

She gets back to me via email calling me a cowboy and refusing to pay. Tells me it's nonsense I could not give her a price. That her boyfriend could have done it. That my rates are too high. That I never told her my rates and finally that she only had a budget of £80 which she said nothing about all while I'm still cleaning the turd off my tools.

so it's no biggie is it? £40 but I'm just so livid. She's ignoring me to even discuss on phone saying how she would advise her clients against me-I mean I'm not sure if she's trying it on or she really believes that I'm a rip off!

Her salon is a new business but I have not had a non payer for over 2 years and feel as though I should not just take it up the wrongen when I've done a good and tbh cheap job.

what would you do?..I know you should just take the knock but If she had not try and sully my name I would be a lot different. Hinting that she'd advise her clients against me? Wtf

remember she's not unhappy with the workmanship.

 

[dangreen]

Hair or nail salon? I'd tell all the women you know to go there, refuse to pay and then say their boyfriend could have done it haha.

 

[oz-plumber]

Just tell her you will reciprocate.

What is she going to do ...start every conversation with a client telling them you charged too much for unblocking her toilet.

Also, tell her you will tell everyone you know not to use her and you will do everything possible you can to make sure her doors are shut within 6 months.

Just to upset her more - lodge a claim against her in the small claims court.

It may cost your more than you lost, but you cleaned up her and her clients 'mess'

Or better still - just turn up and demand your money when she has a salon full of clients.

 

[Fallon1982]

I work on a fixed price basis for blockages. Some take 30 seconds to plunge clear, others a bit longer like you have described. But lets be fair most blocked bogs can be shifted pretty quick.
Then if you hit a bugger of a job, yeah you miss out a bit, but what you made on the easier jobs covers it.
One thing I learnt from my area is customers want to know how much a job is going to cost from the start. They don't like unexpected bills with additional time on top of what they thought it was going to be.
All this said, it don't make it easier when someone just knocks you like she has. Why don't you post the contents of the blockage through her letterbox? lol

 

[Ray Stafford]

Keep it professional. Small claims court. Dont be blackmailed, but dont let it go.

Consider it an action taken on behalf of the unofficial union of self-employed and small businesses. It may not benefit you, but it will benefit some other poor sod down the track if you can convince here that this is not the right way to behave to service providers.

 

[REDSAW]

get down there and confront when full of customers.
take what you can even if its £80.

send the other half down there if not settled and tell her to ram toilet full of sanitary towels and a bag of quick set.

sorted

 

[plumben]

I'd see what money you can get then as said get someone to ram a bag of rapid set drain cement down there pan

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

problem is, if you just take what money you are offered then it paves the way for the next poor sod who walks in, and snowball effect means she tells her BFF (in with the lingo ) how she did it and they do the same. Produce an invoice for the full amount, take the cash she offers and produce an invoice for the remaining amount and politely advise her that you will have no hesitation to use the small claims court for the remaining amount. its tempting to kick off in a room full of customers but its best to be remain a professional especially when the cowboy term has been thrown about by her.

 

[SimonG]

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/20/contents

Its a commercial debt as well.

 

[joni os]

My understanding is that small claim is for debt between £50 and £10,000.00. If you accept the £80.00 you cannot use small claims for balance. The commercial decision is to take the £80.00 and use your time more productively.
That is not to say other means of recovery shouldn't be used.