Bad customers/clients who wont pay...

[nick182]

Hi, (im not sure if this topic should be posted here or not but im AnGrY! and i need to VENT!) my apologies before hand... anyways,

as the title suggests.

basically, we are all out there trying our damn hardest to make a living and to make ends meet...

Ive just spend a tonne of cash to get qualified over the years. I have spent a lot of hard study time with moments of frustration and bad tempers. Ive failed a few exams and have studied even harder. I have spent loads to be possibly the best i can be in order to make a decent living..

Now im an honest/hardworking/passionate electrician who simply wants to make life a little easier and safe guard people from danger. BUT i am tired after clients who refuse to pay when u have opened ur wallet to pay for materials etc..

I want to know is there a way that this can be stopped? A way of blacklisting customers or clients who refuse to pay for the work done and to stop US hardworking electricians who struggle to make ends meet to make sure that no other electrician works for them? I dont want another fellow electrician to work for the same client as i have had who previously ripped me off!!!

Ive had enough of clients continually asking for a discount.. or to come down on price.. or simply refusing to pay a cent because the bill was not under a "£100"


Well i say NOMORE! Something has to be done in order to protect our livelyhoods not only from cowboys who undercut us but from clients who just simply wont pay...

We have spent far too much money and time to get this far to be pushed around by anybody that includes the clients...

We need people like you to stand up for what you believe in (our livelyhoods) and to have these customers/clients who refuse to pay BE BLACKLISTED! meaning that no hardworking decent electrician will work for these guys no matter what...

Electricians United... lets do something about this together. I need your help! and together we can make a stand.

Do you agree?

All comments welcome. good or bad

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Just who the hell do these people think they are....I mean to not pay for services rendered is an outrage in my book!....I guess some "people" have had a morality bypass and think where just here to serve.........another one i have been warned of by various trades is the "i pay you cash" as a means of renegotiating the price after completion. Some of these characters i am sure know the rules as once installed basic services cant be removed as you render the "client" without the basic neccesities to live....i am sure they know this one and will use it to con, cheat and decieve.....

 

[trev]

I've often thought about a site where tradesmen could go to rate their customers, in the same way as they can do with us eg myhammer/ratedpeople etc but the legalities would be scary I think.
The only thing someone can do with people like these is to put the word out in the wholesalers and with every other contractor you might come into contact with that they are the type of people who want £1 off the bill or simply refuse to pay at all.
I've been asked loads of times after submitting a price if there's something I can do on it... HELL NO MATE I'M CUTTING MY OWN THROAT AS IT IS because I really want/need the work.(Sorry for that shouty bit there but this subject winds me up no end)
If there was something we could do without contravening any defamation laws then that would be great until then spread the word at the wholesalers

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Agreed. Wholesalers is a good "meeting place" to spread the word about Mr Beans like that...

 

[JamesBrownLive]

A large tin of Nitromors poured over their car at about 4am, together with some expanding foam up the exhaust.
You may still be out of pocket, but I guarantee they won't be smiling :ihih:

 

[GLENNSPARK]

A large tin of Nitromors poured over their car at about 4am, together with some expanding foam up the exhaust.
You may still be out of pocket, but I guarantee they won't be smiling :ihih:

Why not go the whole hog...and stick some of that 2 part syringe glue in the locks n all....:56:

 

[JamesBrownLive]

Why not go the whole hog...and stick some of that 2 part syringe glue in the locks n all....:56:

Now you're talking.

I always thought the potato up the exhaust was a good one, they usually get about 50 yards down the road before it conks out, and it's a ba$tard to figure out what the problem is..

 

[GLENNSPARK]

On a serious note here though......its about time that there was a site dedicated to "non payers" and conners for the edification of the whole public and buisinesses alike......:shuriken:

 

[trev]

It might be an idea to start a place here..... a Bad Payers/A******* customers topic, with some strict rules, who are they, what was the job, why are they refusing to pay.
The only problem I could see is that it would get bogged down very quickly but it might be a help, maybe a bad payers by region topic.
Discuss please guys.

 

[bugsy]

This isnt the first post regarding this and will not be the last.
1: Always take a deposit
2: Always ask them to sign an order ( specifying the work to carried out and agreed cost )
3:Also ask them to sign the work off when your finished
Then if it does go ---'s up at least you can take them to the small claims court ( £60.00 )

 

[Knobhead]

Slightly off topic.

When I did wedding photography I got a lot if work in the farming community. They would always pay in cash and I never had one argue, but after paying they would stand there with their hand held out wanting “luck money”. Once it got around that I always gave luck back I soon picked up more work. What they didn’t know was I had two different price lists. Even the tax office accepts the practice of “luck money” with farmers.

 

[the pict]

A written quote signed by the customer and 50% cash or cleared cheque up front if I do not know them, a signature for the work when completed, any greive the signed acceptance goes to my solicitor for £50.00 he takes over, all costs are met by the blagger they soon stump up faced with £280 costs
Pict

 

[vernam616]

Go into the house and remove your materials, at the end of the day its your property which someone has effectivley stolen, failing that call their bluff and tell them the heavys will be around

 

[Spoon242]

Although this does not apply to domestic, you do have a level of protection the late payements act in commercial business although still a ball ache.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file37581.pdf

 

[Knobhead]

Although this does not apply to domestic, you do have a level of protection the late payements act in commercial business although still a ball ache.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file37581.pdf

I used to work for one of the biggest chemical companies in the world. For small works they would use local companies. God knows how many they put out of business with their standard terms of trading, 90 days from the date of final invoice! Even big companies would run a mile from them.

I worked for a while in the planning department, the number of times I was told to $od off was unbelievable. To save a bit of interest with making late payments it cost them a fortune, as they had to pay top whack for everything.

I used to send hours on the phone to our buying department, we need XXXX, well order it and we’ll sort the rest. Oh no you won’t it’s letter of credit then the parts will be sent, otherwise forget it! I had every sympathy for the suppliers, it got to the stage that they were holding us to ransom and I don’t blame them. No cash, no goods!

The last company I worked for had a slightly more pragmatic view of things. Again international but with local roots. I needed a tripping relay for an OCB. The buying department spent a week looking for something I’d told them was obsolete, they came back with the “next generation” relay for £650. I made a quick phone call to a local electrical salvagers and got the exact replacement for £75 after a bit of haggling. BUT it had to be cash on the nail! I was sent off in my own car with £75 in my pocket so the salvager didn’t know the company I worked for. The company was happy and so was I with £25 beer money in my pocket, I’d known the salvager for years!