Help with a difficult customer!

[Eddy Currents]

I’m still waiting for a £300 bill from about 4 years ago. I won the case, customers wages were to be arrested… she changed jobs… covid hit….. back to the courts to get wages arrested from new employer…. She’s paying £300 plus all my solicitors fees.

If it was a commercial business you can also charge for a late payment fee of £40+ statutory interest at 8% + Bank of England base rate

 

[littlespark]

If it was a commercial business you can also charge for a late payment fee of £40+ statutory interest at 8% + Bank of England base rate

It wasn’t. Was private customer. Was asked to finish off someone else’s work because “they couldn’t get hold of him now”
Turns out I was third in queue for receiving money through wages arrestment. They’ve not been paying anyone.
Since she changed jobs, I believe I’ve jumped the queue, because I know where she now works.
Scottish legal system. I don’t think we can employ debt collectors, and it’s certainly not as easy as “Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay” on TV.

 

[Vortigern]

The problem with pursuing money is it takes time. Let's say you put in the bill and wait a couple of weeks, no money forthcoming. Take time to remind the customer of outstanding. wait again, rinse and repeat. Thats an hour or more of your time. Next stage give formal notice. Form letter and send, another hour. Maybe a couple of phone calls, more time and call cost. Ok off to debt collection agency, another couple of hours. Client refutes bill and cites his perceived shortcomings, back to you to refute/agree? Before you know it you have lost a days work/wages pursuing a bill. In one day £300 is not uncommon maybe £400 if the wind is with me. I am not going to lose a days work for a paltry debt. I can make up that loss by not engaging and working instead. Just my view on the matter. Mind you, in over forty years there has only been a few rare incidents that get complex like this so I have been fortunate.

 

[swaRRR]

The problem with pursuing money is it takes time. Let's say you put in the bill and wait a couple of weeks, no money forthcoming. Take time to remind the customer of outstanding. wait again, rinse and repeat. Thats an hour or more of your time. Next stage give formal notice. Form letter and send, another hour. Maybe a couple of phone calls, more time and call cost. Ok off to debt collection agency, another couple of hours. Client refutes bill and cites his perceived shortcomings, back to you to refute/agree? Before you know it you have lost a days work/wages pursuing a bill. In one day £300 is not uncommon maybe £400 if the wind is with me. I am not going to lose a days work for a paltry debt. I can make up that loss by not engaging and working instead. Just my view on the matter. Mind you, in over forty years there has only been a few rare incidents that get complex like this so I have been fortunate.

It doesn't take an hour to send an email. Letting this go just lets scummy clients get away with it. I always take payment there and then for anything up to £500 and for anything over, it's 30% up front the rest within 14 days.

The first sniff of no payment is legal action.

OP, you've not been paid to explain the regs to someone. An EICR is the service, it doesn't matter what the outcome of it is, the actual act of carrying out the EICR is what they are paying for. You've carried it out, so now they have to pay.

Other people say otherwise but imo the cert and the findings within are your property until the client has paid for them. So i would withhold the information until i've been paid.

Explain that to them - they've paid for the EICR irrespective of outcome. They are under no obligation to employ you for the works, you've just put them down for reference.

I don't do EICR's but aren't i right in thinking if you found several C1's you should have de-energised the property?

When i do start doing them i'll be explaining up front that the EICR is the service they're paying for and the results are immaterial - they have to pay upon completion of the service and then they will get the certificate detailing the outcome. I mean really, with the amount of customers who moan about them both in real life and on here, i'll just be charging up front for them. Don't pay, i won't do it. Simple.

 

[plugsandsparks]

I know as i write this i am setting myself up for a fail, lol (touchwood)- but this has been my philosophy in 12 years of running my own Ltd Co and 15 years of running businesses inside a PLC.

1. Choose your customers carefully, for Companies i used credit referencing in the early days, for domestic (very small amount) usually referrals from other clients.
2. Use spider senses during the job, any sign of an issue deal with it there and then
3. Taking over an un-finished job is a major flag, but i have done it, start a very small amount first , then invoice to see if payments have been the issue.
4. Prompt payers jump my work queue
5. Clients i have to chase for payment, very rarely now, go to the back.
6. Difficult clients get dropped altogether, this may be more to do with working practices, than payment, you will know if a client is difficult, lol

Remember as soon as you answer the phone its your time and its your credit you are giving, if you leave the house to quote, its credit ! , if you start the job without payment, its credit etc etc - In other words recognise that your are giving credit and recognise it as such.

Don't get me wrong, my terms are full payment on completion of job within 30days of invoice, i do occasionally request large material payments be made when the goods land on clients premises and very occasionally i request payment for materials prior to order, however this is rare.

In 12 years the only bad debt has been £90 inc VAT - Its was one of these cold calls from middle men to attend a fault at the clients premises. I agreed to go, fully expecting not to be paid by said middleman, met the client, explained before i started work that i am not expecting to be paid, he agreed to pay me if the middleman did not. I appreciated the offer, but did not take it up. I diagnosed a faulty pump which was going to be circa £500, agreed with client to cut out the middleman and this client has been one of my best for years, since. Invoice middleman for £90, Chased up the original call out from middleman as they had charged client £180 via credit card, got fobbed off, ha ha. Shortly after, middleman went into voluntary liquidation, the administrator included me as a creditor, lol and i got my hands on the total list of creditors, it was so sad to see so many other trades were down many thousands of pounds. I dodged a bullet, treated it as marketing as they did at least introduce me to a very good client.... lol

 

[littlespark]

I just want to add, there's nothing wrong with explaining to a client exactly what's needed. An EICR can be confusing to the general public.

If theyre going to take this information and try to fix things themselves, then that's not so good.

Its also prudent to explain beforehand that an EICR is just the report... any repairs are charged afterwards.

Some customers can be surprised how long it takes to complete an EICR. You can be there best part of a morning sometimes... and the condition of the house can impact the time taken.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Something else to add:

Some customers are wary of the trades, especially so if they've had problems in the past. They've probably seen those 'tradesmen from hell' programs on the TV too, that reinforces their preconceptions. It may be that the excessive quizzing of every detail is just because of these suspicions.

That doesn't give them the right to be a PITA of course, but it's worth bearing in mind when dealing with them. I would keep things friendly and professional as best you can, even if you don't feel it!

 

[buzzlightyear]

I need to sort out my contract from now on to the customers, saying if this payment not paid in full there is a bounty on your head.

 

[littlespark]

I need to sort out my contract from now on to the customers, saying if this payment not paid in full there is a bounty on your head.

I prefer a snickers

 

[LukeD]

many small business people fail or suffer badly NOT from been bad at their work etc .But from been POOR in communication . Clients need to know all costs up front and need to respond that they are aware and accept them etc