Getting Paid for the work

[Steve in clermont]

When i arrived in America someone told me to watch out for the English coz it will be one of your own that screws ya.

Just want to see if anyone has been down the road im on and what the outcome was.

I did some work for a company and helped them out when they were stuck. I could have told them to take a running jump as they were never the fastest payers when i did work for them before, but im not a nasty person and always help if i can.
So anyway after helping this company out of a hole they go and tell me that they are skint and will not pay me..... strangly enough the owner and his wife both have brand new cars on the drive , and openly boast about earning loads of dosh for working 3 days a week.
I dont know if this guy thought id just go away and swallow the loss , or if he is just ignorant.
Sooooo i took him to small claims court and had the judgement go in my favour. .. I have a piece of paper from the county court saying he must pay me xxxxx dollars ., but still he thinks its one big joke and wont pay.
I wanted to avoid being nasty about this but im losing patience.
I offered not to register the judgment in public records if he pays , but im not sure he understands the consequences of having it entered into public records.

I am looking into going back to court to get an order to garnish his bank account and personal property, this is not difficult to do but can be costly as i have to determin what he actually owns via a supina of property through the court. The its a case of paying the sheriff to come to his house with me and start removing his stuff. I believe i can add this cost to his debt.

I also have the option to sell the debt to a collection agency whos tactics would be far more costly to him, but i would lose 15% of what im owed.

Hs anyone else gone down this road of suing someone and trying to collect ?

[byjove]

Can you do the mechanics lien? A person has the right to place a lien on the property they have worked on and not been paid from. It all goes on the records. Also file with the BBB I dont know what work they do but alot of people use the BBB for reference.

[chris]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. I've only once had to take a customer to small claims court over a debt and they paid up smart afterwards.
Perhaps the idiot you are dealing doesn't realize what a mess he's getting himself into.
Yes, the sheriff can go in with you and take goods to the value of, but I'd bet anything that the 2 new vehicles on the drive are lease.
When we first arrived we were told there are a lot of sharks out there and not all are in the water and we were also told to beware of fellow Brits who scam because they work on the fellow Brit trust garbage.
The best advice I can give on avoiding bad debts is NOT to take them on in the first place. Your gut is a great guide in these things. Set out your credit terms, the size of the order/business you will take on by value and how they will be expected to pay for it. Say up to $500.00, full pre-pay, $500.00+ deposit of x% with balance on delivery, or something like that. Hit them with fees if they don't pay on time.
Couple of months ago I had an interesting experience with a Property Management company. I had done business with them before and they had paid straight away. They had an office in Kissimmee. Then they contacted me wanting a chunk of new stationery cos they'd closed the office down and were now home based. They need stuff like yesterday. And yes, just like you Steve, I helped them out by processing and paying for order myself and collecting the money later. They told me they'd mailed a check and after 3 weeks, I started asking where's the check and I need the money, meantime they have got all their new stationery. They agree to meet me outside palatial Providence where they live and give me a business check. That promptly bounced all around my bank and I got stung for fees. I tried calling the person and got voicemails, then emails saying they were out of state, the check was good, blah, blah. There bank was the same as mine and my Manager checked and said there was no way the check was ever going to be honored and wink wink gave me the nod that this wasn't the first time they'd done it. I googled them on the internet and after souring through several pages found the owner and wife had been jailed in NY for housing fraud and their vacation home management company and previous companies were littered with bad experiences from guests. Aaagh I thought, what next.
Anyhow I googled about rubber checks and found that Florida does take bad checks very seriously and the State Attorney will go after them, via the Sheriff's Dept. Their website tells you in straightforward terms how you word your correspondence to the customer and what the timescale is for trying to get paid then reporting to the Sheriff. It is also likely they would get arrested.
Needless to say, once I sent them this letter, they paid up straightaway. I will still do business with them, but they have to pay before I breath and they know I know their little secret history.
I know you are a down to earth guy Steve, so why not give them a little unwelcome publicity locally. Sign on the side of your van and park it up opposite their house or where they do business. Are they in any associations? Let them know they are bums. You do what you have to do to get your owed money.
I would be back to see Judge quick sticks.

[telco]

When i arrived in America someone told me to watch out for the English coz it will be one of your own that screws ya.

Just want to see if anyone has been down the road im on and what the outcome was.

I did some work for a company and helped them out when they were stuck. I could have told them to take a running jump as they were never the fastest payers when i did work for them before, but im not a nasty person and always help if i can.
So anyway after helping this company out of a hole they go and tell me that they are skint and will not pay me..... strangly enough the owner and his wife both have brand new cars on the drive , and openly boast about earning loads of dosh for working 3 days a week.
I dont know if this guy thought id just go away and swallow the loss , or if he is just ignorant.
Sooooo i took him to small claims court and had the judgement go in my favour. .. I have a piece of paper from the county court saying he must pay me xxxxx dollars ., but still he thinks its one big joke and wont pay.
I wanted to avoid being nasty about this but im losing patience.
I offered not to register the judgment in public records if he pays , but im not sure he understands the consequences of having it entered into public records.

I am looking into going back to court to get an order to garnish his bank account and personal property, this is not difficult to do but can be costly as i have to determin what he actually owns via a supina of property through the court. The its a case of paying the sheriff to come to his house with me and start removing his stuff. I believe i can add this cost to his debt.

I also have the option to sell the debt to a collection agency whos tactics would be far more costly to him, but i would lose 15% of what im owed.

Hs anyone else gone down this road of suing someone and trying to collect ?

Steve, Dont bother with debt collection agencies, as they are toothless, and do nothing more than you are doing now.
Spend the money on a good attorney, and get authorization to take the money direct from their bank accounts.

Jim

[Steve in clermont]

I have had bad checks before , and reported them. They do pay up pretty quick when the sheriff comes a lookin.

I just think this guy is being a plonker. This is a management company as well , we worked on about 12 houses and have not been paid for any of them. Im sure the guys father has advised him not to bother paying as we cant do anything... dont ya just love them people who think they know everything.
I have obtained his bank details and will apply to court to garnish his bank account at the end of the month. I dont want to pay for an attorney as i have found most of them to be hopeless and not that knowledgeable. The clerk of court kinda gave me hints on how to proceed, but cant officially say " yes do this". There is a letter you can get from the court that forces him to declare all his assets leased , owned or hire purchase. Once i have this i can apply to go collect whatever goods he lists. I know he has a trailer and gardening equipment, but ive not been able to get the license plate to find out if its his or registered to someone else. The cost of this can be added to his debt.
At this rate the court costs will be more than the debt ...

I wish id stuck him for hell of a lot more interest,,, the judge was happy to sign off on anything

[chris]

Steve,
On the bit about sticking him for interest. Surely the SC Court made its decision on what was owed then and what you wanted by way of penalties. The judges decision was based on that and also the guy paying up promptly. Now that the guy is being a plonker and not paying on this court judgment, when you go back to court for the warrant can you not ask the judge for a further award of penalties from the day of the original judgment to when he finally pays you. Say like so many dollars per day penalties. If you can get that, an extra chubnnk of change should really get up his nose.
Also check out if the Company is a member of the Central Florida Vacational Rentals Managers Association (CFVRMA). They have a website and it lists all their members. They do actually got tough with members who bring the Association in to disrepute. The website is www.cfvrma.com I think.
Good luck.
Don't these idiots make you proud to be British????

[Kriz1]

I only help people if I can do it for free..but from what I've seen the Brits sure like to take other Brits for a ride..I'd not do work for one without money up front ..

[Susie]

Sorry to hear of your news Steve, lets hope it all comes out in the wash.

I believe what goes around comes around and people who do the dirty on others will one day have the dirty done on them, two fold