what would you do

[Jonesy83]

i work for me dad so ill be taking over the business in a few years time hopefully if theres any work about by then so in events like this really pee me off

been called out to do a repair on my own as theres usually 2 of us turned up on site to a small factory and to be told i wasnt needed as it turned out some numpty didnt no how to use an on and off switch and to be politely told to bugger off site

when i asked him to sign my job sheet to show ive been to site and explained that there will be a call out fee as its a 2 hour round trip he went ballistic at me calling me a robbing so and so and basically refused to pay so after a small argument i left site

as its my fathers company and were only a 2 man band its really peed me off as its costing my father money in diesel if it was a large firm that could afford these minor set backs i wouldnt be bothered

what chance do we have in claiming the money back if we took it to court or shall we just waive it?

 

[pennywise]

It's about the principle no matter how much it is, take them to the small claims it may cost you slightly more but the sense of satisfaction makes it worth it .

 

[acat]

Collate all the information you can ie who called you date time etc etc and send a solicitors letter about £20 and add that to the bill. Name and shame with other sparks and try and get them blacklisted in the area.

Good luck


Chris

 

[andrew692003]

Wait for the next time then charge double!!! I've done that in the past.

Cheers

 

[bugsy]

Depends on what was said when you took the call , was it mentioned there was a call out fee, or you charged by the hour ( or part there of )

If this was mentioned and he obviously accepted then he entered a verbal contract so take him through the small claims court
If nothing was mentioned then you could still take him to court although you position would be weaker

Always quote either hourly rate or call out charge if it's a company try to get order no

I did my apprenticeship with my dad as as well , we did'nt get on so I left , became his biggest competitor and 8yrs later took over his firm and we remaind on good terms throughout

 

[UNG]

Had a problem a number of years ago getting paid for some work we did at a small engineering firm after about 7 month's we had a call from them one afternoon wanting a machine fixed urgently as an order needed completing that day, I pointed out to him the unpaid bill and told him to have a cheque ready to cover the outstanding amount as our engineer would not do anything till he had the cheque in his hand which he agreed to. I arrived on site and was fobbed off with the usual "cheque went in the post yesterday" so I about turned and started to leave, the guy on site said my boss wouldn't mind as he would have the cheque in the morning to which I replied I will be back when it lands in the post box and that I was the person he had spoken to on the phone and didn't appreciate his lies.
I took great delight in telling him to cancel the cheque that was in the post and write a new one to cover the outstanding bill and write a second one for £100 as an upfront part payment on the work I was about to do if he wanted his machine fixing that day
Never had a problem getting paid again after this as they were told we wouldn't be so accommodating when they had another urgent order

If I was in your position I would invoice them for the lost time, if you let them off they will do it again. Even if you don't go legal with it, if they are likely to use you again you will be able to force payment then

 

[andrew692003]

You have to pay a £60 fee to the courts to start the Small Claims process and then think about the time you spend doing the paperwork! Probably not worth the time and effort.

 

[flukey]

if he doesnt pay after a final demand i would put it down to experience as going small claims route is never as easy as it sounds and you will waste more time trying to recover this small amount than you could be earning on other jobs.

a cheap and easy option that is worth considering is using these people

Testimonials | The Thomas Higgins Partnership | Business Debt Collection Solicitors

as a letter before action only costs 2 quid plus the vat and usually works. small outlay and worth a try.

best of luck with it

 

[rocker]

Had a problem a number of years ago getting paid for some work we did at a small engineering firm after about 7 month's we had a call from them one afternoon wanting a machine fixed urgently as an order needed completing that day, I pointed out to him the unpaid bill and told him to have a cheque ready to cover the outstanding amount as our engineer would not do anything till he had the cheque in his hand which he agreed to. I arrived on site and was fobbed off with the usual "cheque went in the post yesterday" so I about turned and started to leave, the guy on site said my boss wouldn't mind as he would have the cheque in the morning to which I replied I will be back when it lands in the post box and that I was the person he had spoken to on the phone and didn't appreciate his lies.
I took great delight in telling him to cancel the cheque that was in the post and write a new one to cover the outstanding bill and write a second one for £100 as an upfront part payment on the work I was about to do if he wanted his machine fixing that day
Never had a problem getting paid again after this as they were told we wouldn't be so accommodating when they had another urgent order

If I was in your position I would invoice them for the lost time, if you let them off they will do it again. Even if you don't go legal with it, if they are likely to use you again you will be able to force payment then

Did the phantom cheque turn up in your mailbox then?

Mate just send the firm a bill. It's likely that fella doesn't do the expenses himself - if it's a small call out fee it aint going to ring alarm bells with the office girl and will probably just get paid as a matter of course. If not, send a final demand and then put it down to experience. In future make sure you mention there will be a fee charged for call out in the event of this sort of thing. And if he calls you out again.... well price increases don't necessarily have to go with inflation.