What can/Should you do with a customer who fails to respond to you in regards to past due balances/invoices, for over 3 months.
Or Blatantly lies to you about payments being sent, or bills not received, or Checks that cant clear do to inadequate funds
Not to mention the fact that their vehicle takes 50% of your work area during these times of postponement and ponder…
Please, any info is helpful, serious suggestions only, don’t name vehicles or owners please, as search results will most likely return this thread. Thanks
this is correct, the vehicle CANNOT be left out side during increament wheater, ( i really shouldnt try to use big words)
The vehicle is also a “project” that is meant to take a specific period of time which has lapst 4 times now due to non payment of billed invoices.
Also the vehicle takes up 1 bay of the garage limiting the amount of work I can perform on a daily basis. Now in remote Stert season i NEED both bays, this vehicle was suppose to be completed about 4 months ago according to the last deadline. and it also has about 400 hours of labor left on it.
so what to do. I dont think a collection agency would want this job.
Please Im sure some of you know the vehicle that I am speaking of, just DONT mention it, the customer is not a board member.
i’d let them know the vehicle is now going to be stored outside, in reguards to getting them to pay you asap, most of the delinquent customers ive had buck up at the mention of a lawyer, court, or collection agency, if it hasn’t reached that level yet, than continue to harass them until you get what you want from them (in a nonthreatening way)
EDIT: if it cant be stored outside than Id prepare to take this to the next level
I would contact them today and tell them if payment is not received in hand by 10/20/06, a collection agency will be called to handle the situation. You need to communicate with them clearly on the specific times you have contacted them and the specific responses you have received. Tell them if they say the check is in the mail that you will take antoher form of payment by 10/20 and you will void any other payments that may come after that.
I’m sure at some point you can take possession of the car. The PITA of it will be that you’ll go through hours of work, and pay fees, and then he’ll pay up before it’s finalized, that is if it’s like anything else that involves the authorities.
Whatever your recourse is, I would start pursuing it now, maybe move the car to your house, and store it there?
Don’t bother with a collection agency, they’ll only eat up a big percentage of what the deadbeat owes to you. I’d suggest going to a magistrate and filing a claim for the amount of money owed to you for the work done to this point plus storage fees if (and only if) you had the terms of your storage fees printed on the repair order that the customer signed.
If you don’t have repair orders or a storage fee that is posted then you should contact an attorney for advice. You could put a mechanics lien against the car. From what I understand this gives the owner a certain period of time to either pay off what he owes or the title will be transfered to you and you can dispose of the car any way that you see fit.
I hope you have something in writing documenting the original work, the estimated cost and your policy on storage fees. You should also get all the paperwork in order that shows how you’ve been trying to collect money from your customer over the past few months. The more documentation that you have the better your case will go.
my dad is at the magistrate almost every week because of non paying customers. I can see what he says about actually getting the money owed when I talk to him tonight.
