advice on non paying customer

[jlcgas]

Finding it more and more these days. Had one the other week job was priced at £350, parts were around £160 completed it all good happy customer. He wrote me a Cheuqe looked ok so took it. Cheuqe bounced so I rang him he said he had a cash flow problem so he bounced it. The cheeky sod then refused the full price arguing he had had between estimates online. In the I took £100 less than I should have just to re coup. Off the back of that uv sorted some terms and conditions I get people to sign befor jobs. Also I'm looking at getting a mobile card payment machine got the money straight away then.

 

[SimonG]

Too many soft lads out there by the sound of it, need to toughen up. 🙂 If word gets around that you don't chase people or are a soft touch you'll get shafted left right and centre.
I use 'all' means at my disposal to ensure the customer pays the bill and any costs involved in collecting it.

Like it's been said before people don't go to asda and tell the checkout people i think it's too expensive or I'll pay at the end of the month.

The trick is to growl under your breath when the excuses start. 🙂

 

[jase158]

I always take money for materials up front, pure and simple, Then I am not down anything, Never had any problem with customers paying it up front, problem is, most plumbing merchants give 30 days, most tilers take longer then a week to finnish, so your talking 2 weeks for completion of a bathroom plus if they choose to pay 30 days later, so your talking 44 days before payment, which gives you a bad rep with the plumbers merchant, not worth the hassle, over £50 and the customer pays the materials

 

[jase158]

And then I only reduce the price if it is genuinelyt my fault and I will say if they do not pay, "this was not my fault so I will not take responsibility"

however with the power of the internet all it takes is 10 minutes of their time and you are out of business.

 

[SimonG]

Thats slow for a bathroom jase158, generally 5 to 6 days just for me to plumbing and tiling. Suppose it's down to needing different people in etc.

 

[jase158]

Yeah, I dont do tiling, leave the tiling to a tiler. I have had loads of problems with tilers, 1. chipped bath and wetroom had puddle, 2. left grout/ adhesive marks on tiles, I spent hours cleaning off, 3. took nearly 3 weeks to do 1 bathroom. I am amazed at how bad the tilers are around here.

 

[secret squirrel]

Finding it more and more these days. Had one the other week job was priced at £350, parts were around £160 completed it all good happy customer. He wrote me a Cheuqe looked ok so took it. Cheuqe bounced so I rang him he said he had a cash flow problem so he bounced it. The cheeky sod then refused the full price arguing he had had between estimates online. In the I took £100 less than I should have just to re coup. Off the back of that uv sorted some terms and conditions I get people to sign befor jobs. Also I'm looking at getting a mobile card payment machine got the money straight away then.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, thats it, I just despise people like this I get the urge to take my tomahawk axe out of the van and ram it through his head.

 

[secret squirrel]

Too many soft lads out there by the sound of it, need to toughen up. 🙂 If word gets around that you don't chase people or are a soft touch you'll get shafted left right and centre.
I use 'all' means at my disposal to ensure the customer pays the bill and any costs involved in collecting it.

Like it's been said before people don't go to asda and tell the checkout people i think it's too expensive or I'll pay at the end of the month.

The trick is to growl under your breath when the excuses start. 🙂

I gave someone a bill a year ish ago, he said he wasn't going to pay, I said 'I knew you were going to be like this' walked through him upstairs kicked the bookcase out of the way (I'd put it back after I was told there was a false wall behind it for the pipe work) he followed me and enquired what I was doing. I explained calmly that I was going to remove my pipework, he informed that he would call plod. I stopped looked at him and said I'd rather do time than let you treat me like this and by the time plod turns up I'll be at home. He paid.

Let me be honest, I'm not proud of what I'd done nor would I recommend it as a course of action, but this chap was having a go at me for 2 days. No matter what I did it was wrong etc. It was the proverbial straw. Not been like it since, thankfully

 

[jase158]

I had a chap who was watching my every move the whole day wanted me to explain my every move, then at the end of it, I said I would come back and sort out his underfloor heating that was never working for him and I would do it for free, He then said to me he will only pay me half of what he owed me and the other half when I came back, I went mad because I did loads for him that day and didnt charge (as I was doing a power flush and had a bit of time on my hands inbetween each radiator)

I said at the end that I wanted the money he owed me and that the second visit would be a further £150, He never called me again.

So much for my calm and collected attitude

 

[ADM360]

Wrong Wrong Wrong. He agreed the estimate he pays the price. If things go well it's your choice to share that with the customer. Put it this way if it had taken longer would he have paid more? 🙂

I relise it's wrong but how much time and money do you spend to get it back!! do you spend more than your owed just to prove a point, i looked at it that either way round I'm out of pocket!! although I did tell the builder that passed the job on to me, and where we were all about to start a large job ( the non payer was apperently a bit of a bricky), and the builder rang him the next day to say the job has been cancelled!! the new bricky hasn't put his trowel drown for nearly three months!! so I spose what comes around and all that!!

 

[SimonG]

I relise it's wrong but how much time and money do you spend to get it back!! do you spend more than your owed just to prove a point, i looked at it that either way round I'm out of pocket!! although I did tell the builder that passed the job on to me, and where we were all about to start a large job ( the non payer was apperently a bit of a bricky), and the builder rang him the next day to say the job has been cancelled!! the new bricky hasn't put his trowel drown for nearly three months!! so I spose what comes around and all that!!

Whatever it takes and charge accordingly. Otherwise he's out there bragging he pulled a fast one on you. After all your running a business not a charity.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

And then I only reduce the price if it is genuinelyt my fault and I will say if they do not pay, "this was not my fault so I will not take responsibility"

however with the power of the internet all it takes is 10 minutes of their time and you are out of business.

Every bathroom we do is 2 weeks, we have set days with the same trademen every week and we do bathrooms almost all year round. we bring in other trades as required - always tiler & sparks and sometimes plasterer or carpenter.
We tell customer balance is due on completion and we do expect our cheque on the last day. Almost all pay that day and most within a few days.