Stiffed for the first time

MTCInc

MTCInc

Location
Bay Area, California
Hey guys

Well, for the first time in being self employed for over 17 years, I have been stiffed.

I gave a verbal quote to a neighbor of a very good client of mine to remove a pine tree that fell over into the shared hedge and into his tree. My job was to remove the tree out of my older clients yard/hedge/tree, and go clean up his yard and repair the damage on his tree. We did this job during a crazy week of storms, and did a really good job at preserving the hedge it fell into as well as fixing the other tree. The price was $640. I gave it a higher price due to the storm clean up. If it was a normal work day, and the job was scheduled for down the road, it would have been more like a $450 job.

Anyhow, she agreed, happily, to the price over the phone. We came out the NEXT day, did the work (jan 20th), and did a great job. I emailed her the invoice, mailed her the invoice, and left 3 messages. She finally called back a few weeks ago, and this was her response:

"I had another tree company come out, they said you charged twice what it should have been, and they advised me not to pay you" she then went on to say how she is a single mother, etc. etc.

I have no idea who the other guy was. For all I know, it was her gardener. I wrote her explaining to her that she did not have to have us do it, and we are a professional, legit company that plays by the rules.

Meanwhile, it is going on 3 months. I would not be so pissed had I done the work by myself, but the fact that I had guys on payroll doing the job. So, not only am I at a loss for my time, but now I have paid out of my own pocket to take care of this lady's mess!

So, long story short: What can I do? I think I am screwed and will be eating this one.
 
what you could do is call another company see what they would charge, by no means am i saying you charged too much and try to reason with her letting her know who you called and you were in the price range, however without a contract legally i think your screwed, but if you could even get your cost out of it maybe she will at least do that. i hate when people think they can get one over on you. i personally would try that route even though i would be p--- off aboput it just to get some money out of it and i would let the person know who referred you in a casual way.
 
I had a similar problem once and filed in small claims court. I added the court costs and filing fee as well as my hourly rate while preparing the paperwork and trying to contact the client to the amount. When they got served and saw the amount I was going to take them for they settled up that day for the original amount plus my filing fee.
 
There is a contract if there is "a meeting of the minds". A piece of paper with the details and signatures is evidence of that contract.

The amount is irrelevant. You gave her a price, she accepted. Did she subsequently set the date for the work to be done?

Something can always be had for less. That doesn't determine your price.

Your neighbour should be made aware of this. Some pressure on her may help.
 
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single mother, etc. etc.

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Was she cute?? lmao.

What she do for work call her for her service and not pay her. Give her the oo remember me I'm the tree guy, lets call it an even trade.
 
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90 days later is probably too late to file a lien. Small claims may be your only resort.

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Well, with the verbal quote, I never had the option of the lien...I think that is correct?

I'm not so sure I would go through with small claims, but I guess it is worth pulling the threat out of the hat..
 
The company I worked for said that they send the bill 3 times and then if they dont pay he sends it to collections...i dont know what that means though
 
I knew a roofer who was the toughest guy in town. He got stiffed and duct taped the guy to a light pole naked. But really for one in 17 years I'd probably just give her a couple pleasant overdue calls or letters and move on. It's bound to happen to us all.
 
So if you "charged her double", does that mean she should not at least offer to pay the "single" rate?




I have only had to deal with one customer that wasn't paying (I think he was a bit unbalanced. Part of the job was to prune a dead tree to help him achieve his vision of his dream yard, like the Gardens of Babylon. ok.)




Writing off a hundred bucks might be one thing, but FWIW, I'd say that a $640 bill is worth a strongly worded, polite, and non-threatening letter laying out all the points, and give her options, as she is in control of what will happen.

Indicate that she happily agreed to the price, and the timeframe, knowing full well that it was storm response time. Overtime pay, additional expenses that come with storm work, etc, etc.

I'd ask, if she had this other tree company come out seemingly to bid the job, why didn't she have them do it? Or was it that the other company guessed what the job looked like, and then said they'd have done this hypothetical job cheaper.
(How did your hours on the job, and your hourly storm work rate jive with the bid? Kosher? And, I'm not doubting you.)


Indicate that you have tried to be reasonable with her, and took her word as bond.

Indicate that you would still be willing to settle for the agreed upon price with no late fees, charges for additional time, etc. (Right now you have zero, so giving her the option for monthly payments as a way to deal with it will be a lot more that zero. It could become like, "Wow, I got a bonus $100 the first of every month, for more that half a year!")

Indicate that if she chooses not to live up to her word, then she is essentially forcing you to do charity work or stealing from you, as you still have all the expenses of running a crew, in other words, taking money out of your wallet, taking it away from you and your family.

Indicate that you love to settle it for the agreed upon price, amicably.

Explain that there may be additional costs incurred that will be added on your time pursuing any and all applicable leins, collections, or litigation, as well as additional costs associated with such options.

I'd finish with,
"Please contact me to make payment arrangements, or to inform me to pursue other measures.

We look forward to settling the matter.

Thank you."
 
Just take it to small claims court. I've heard that half the time, the other person does not show up.

If they do, the law may not allow them to receive a benefit like that without paying.

Would you happen to have about $500 worth of chip to leave in the front driveway in exhange for the unpaid debt?

cool.gif
 
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Would you happen to have about $500 worth of chip to leave in the front driveway in exhange for the unpaid debt?


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Trespassing and vandalism charges come to mind, two wrongs don't make a right.
 
I've got a contractor who has stiffed me...going on 16 months now. tried polite letters, tried firm letters...gunna turn the collectors loose on him soon. I won't fight to the death on this one..that's what the collection agency does.
 
Take them to court.. Verbal contract is sound especially if she admits to hiring you in court. Every dollar we work for is earned and worth getting. Leins are no good. They have to be renuewed at a cost. A judgement is good for 27 years(in NY) and there are avenues to collect afterwards.
Its worth setting a precedent and gaining the experience in court imo.
 
regardless how much other people think the job is worth she agreed to a price. everyone knows that storm damage jobs go for more money. regardless of the industry. you think after a hurricane roofers are still fixing roofs for the same price as prestorm? higher demand means more money. she could have received other quots. but she didnt. she didnt question the price before you did the job. she needs to pay verbal agreement are binding.
 
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