# Its Small Claims court for the Millionairre



## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Got a customer that lives on an exclusive pond in town called Geist His house is probably worth 875,000 and you can cast a fishing line off the back porch into the lake.. Has the dock, boats and all... 

We get a call back in November that he has some Yay-hoo remodeling his downstairs bathroom and they need plumbing help..... The guy wants to get done with the work by X-mas because he has some other job to do on the east coast......

I come in and lend this clown my jackhammer and cut out some water lines for him and he was supposed to break up the floor and prep the room for the plumbing to be done....... We come back out when he says he is ready and of course we have to spend half a day breaking up more of the floor that he did not do for us ....:blink:

We also have to run hot and cold lines to an expensive Grohe shower faucet they picked out..... The faucet alone cost about $1200 and they have no rough inn information for the install... just some crappy un-readable specs off his cell phone.....Its an 8 inch wide spread 2 handle faucet that basically is not even code here ...special order...

We make about 5 trips back and this clown does the finish himself....
I send him a bill for 100 per hour and the total was $1200...
I took it easy on him.

This guy spends 1200 for some special faucet and now is crying like a baby about the plumbing bill.:furious: Have sent him 2 invoices already and plan on dragging this boy into small claims court....

Its funny how the more exclusive areas in town think you should feel grateful for the privilege of coming to their homes and getting to see how they live ..

I should have brought my fishing pole along with me 




[/SIZE]


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

did you have what the yahoo was suppose todo for you in writing? do you have a signed contract with the owner?


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> Its funny how the more exclusive areas in town think you should feel grateful for the privilege of coming to their homes and getting to see how they live ..


It ain't that. It's disrespect. They think we're like the bums begging for spare change on the freeway ramp.

File a lien, too. I have a Notice of Pending Lien that's scary as all git. I used it to collect a debt from a slum lord/Owner's Daughter, even though I didn't have supporting docs.

If that don't work in a week,file for court. At the least, it will inconvenience him. At the best, you'll get a judgement.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> did you have what the yahoo was suppose todo for you in writing? do you have a signed contract with the owner?


Good questions. 

Also: Written change order? Agreed upon hourly rate for said changes in original contract?

If not you may be floatin' without a paddle. He didn't fatten his bank account by being low hanging fruit.


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

Seems like the more they have the more they look down their nose at people or our B**t heads.

Ran into a contractor building a new home in an exclusive area. The guy next door would not let even pay for water to use until a service was installed. That was bad enough, but when the owner two houses down let him have water, the guy in the middle would not let him run a hose across his yard. The contractor has to buy an additional 300 feet of garden hose to get around the guys property in the gutter.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

GAN said:


> Seems like the more they have the more they look down their nose at people or our B**t heads.
> 
> Ran into a contractor building a new home in an exclusive area. The guy next door would not let even pay for water to use until a service was installed. That was bad enough, but when the owner two houses down let him have water, the guy in the middle would not let him run a hose across his yard. The contractor has to buy an additional 300 feet of garden hose to get around the guys property in the gutter.


well to be fair to the home owner that didnt want anything to do with water..I have personally seen nice home owners get screwed by contractors saying they would pay their electric bill and water to use for a new house and then never pay...nor have guys walk through his yard dropping cigarette butts and garbage on the lawn..many have no respect in that manor..


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Originally we were supposed to be installing a
new water softener for this fellow because his unit blew apart and filled
the plumbing system with resin..... $1300.... he cancelled on this work due
to the bathroom being installed..... That should have been my first warning.

I went out there the first time and flushed out the lines to a toilet and 
made repairs to this toilet total $250

I also lent the clown my Jack-hammer to expedite things and cut out some
water lines ........ And like stated before we had to still break out the floor
to move the toilet and shower for the guy.... half a day at least

then we come back out and do the 1200 Grohe shower faucet...


I have worked for this fellow many times before, but now he seems to think
just because he found himself a handyman to remodel his bathroooms I should also work for 40 dollars an hour and bail the guy out... I normally charge 90--110 per hour for clusterfu/ks like this...minimum..

Sometimes, I hope in my heart they come home and find the basement flooding over into the lake 20 feet away....:laughing::yes:.


its no great loss either way but its more an issue of respect, they feel I am being given a break just to get to see how the other half lives......:yes:..


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> did you have what the yahoo was suppose todo for you in writing? do you have a signed contract with the owner?



They were both told time and material, and I got onto them because he was dragging his feet and expecting me to make 4 or 5 trips out there..... I explained to them they better get the Ghroe faucet rough inn specs and get the faucet on site because its 100 per hour for us to stand around......

that seem to light a fire under his ass...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Master Mark said:


> They were both told time and material, and I got onto them because he was dragging his feet and expecting me to make 4 or 5 trips out there..... I explained to them they better get the Ghroe faucet rough inn specs and get the faucet on site because its 100 per hour for us to stand around......
> 
> that seem to light a fire under his ass...


do you have a signed contract or work order with all that info on it? my time includes travel.ill make 100 trips if they want me to, and are paying for them...


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> do you have a signed contract or work order with all that info on it? my time includes travel.ill make 100 trips if they want me to, and are paying for them...



I was lax and I let this one slide by me because this was for a long time customer who had never screwed me in the past..... 

Its my mistake, and it really chaps me that the guy would buy a 1200 ghroe faucet for a bathroom that will probably get used once ever month or two and he crys about his bill........


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## celtic1 (Dec 16, 2008)

*Us irishman*

Know how to deal with this Ass


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> I was lax and I let this one slide by me because this was for a long time customer who had never screwed me in the past.....


Same here Mark. Just got finished eating $875 because of poor communication on our part and not following our own procedures. 

It is easy to become complacent.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Master Mark said:


> I was lax and I let this one slide by me because this was for a long time customer who had never screwed me in the past.....
> 
> Its my mistake, and it really chaps me that the guy would buy a 1200 ghroe faucet for a bathroom that will probably get used once ever month or two and he crys about his bill........


 unfortunately thats the way it goes sometimes..sucks but all good things come to an end..hopefully he pays up..


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Use the threat of the lien. Maybe that will light a small fire under him.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

I might consider doing the lien.... in the whole scheme of things this is really not a huge loss except to my pride... we have no materials sunk
into this job, only our time and we were actually sort of slow at that time in November .... 

When my father was alive I watched him take a couple of HUGE losses that could have sunk any business......all because of laxness in sending out bills and collecting money.....

this is the reason I only do service, 
the emotional wounds are not as deep and as severe as with construction work

and they heal much faster :yes::yes:

...


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## bct p&h (Jan 19, 2013)

This happened in November and you have no paperwork? I don't know how the laws are where you are but around here it would be too late to file a lien and the only thing you'll get from small claims is a wasted day that you could have spent working and making money.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

bct p&h said:


> This happened in November and you have no paperwork? I don't know how the laws are where you are but around here it would be too late to file a lien and the only thing you'll get from small claims is a wasted day that you could have spent working and making money.


Not necessarily,I have won each and every case that I have taken to small claims court and I have gotten my money each time,my judge don't put up with nonsense of people not paying their bills,he even swore out a warrant on one woman that would not show up,after she got out of jail she was at the next scheduled hearing:laughing::laughing::yes::yes: with money in hand


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## Qplumb (Dec 19, 2015)

Sorry to hear that, I hate when hard working guys get screwed over. I switched over to flat rate on everything and basically solved no pay problems. The customer always knows exactly how much they are going to pay and what they are getting for that price. Any change orders or specialty fixtures that weren't brought up before bid gets a change order and price increase all communicated to customer before any work begins. It's easy to get complacent but after you money it really gets you to wake up and pay attention. 
I hope you get your money, good luck!


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

Where was that thread from a few years ago about how to deal with non paying customers...

There were a couple of interesting ideas including hooking one end of a chain around a hosebibb and the other to your truck. Or shutting the water off at the curb and then filling it with hydraulic cement. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

plumberkc said:


> Where was that thread from a few years ago about how to deal with non paying customers...
> 
> There were a couple of interesting ideas including hooking one end of a chain around a hosebibb and the other to your truck. Or shutting the water off at the curb and then filling it with hydraulic cement.
> 
> ...


the sad part about that payback.is your going to jail and would be liable for all damages...and still wont get paid for the original work..I go with the mechanics lean papers and I tell the non payers ill have my accountant send the IRS a 1099 for the amount owed, as it is now considered reportable income of the non payer..and if they dont claim it on their taxes and pay tax on it..AUDIT time..that usually motivates them to pay or discuss payment plan..


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

plumberkc said:


> Where was that thread from a few years ago about how to deal with non paying customers...


Maybe its over at phac?


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> the sad part about that payback.is your going to jail and would be liable for all damages...and still wont get paid for the original work....


Agreed. There are days when the ball just doesn't bounce your way when you own a business. That is the real world.

I have found it much more profitable to use the strictly legal means of debt collection. Then win or lose, just move on. My time is better spent on winning deals, not losing ones.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> I might consider doing the lien.... in the whole scheme of things this is really not a huge loss except to my pride... we have no materials sunk
> into this job, only our time and we were actually sort of slow at that time in November ....
> 
> When my father was alive I watched him take a couple of HUGE losses that could have sunk any business......all because of laxness in sending out bills and collecting money.....
> ...


 















*Mark, any news?*


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## HSI (Jun 3, 2011)

Had a similar issue last month with a long time customer. I showed up at their front door with a smile and asked for a few minutes of their time to discuss the bill and clear up any misunderstandings. Told them how much we valued them as a customer etc..
Within ten minutes I left there with my money and a slight taste of crow in my mouth but with my money. 
They called today and we are going to do more work tomorrow for them. Yes we will have a signature first this time. 
Hope it works out for you.


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> I might consider doing the lien.... in the whole scheme of things this is really not a huge loss except to my pride... we have no materials sunk
> into this job, only our time and we were actually sort of slow at that time in November ....
> 
> When my father was alive I watched him take a couple of HUGE losses that could have sunk any business......all because of laxness in sending out bills and collecting money.....
> ...


What happened, Mark? 


I spent this morning literally chasing a deadbeat for 2k he's owed me since Monday. After the job was finished on Monday, he looked at me and said, "I don't want to pay". He then walked out of his house.

I may not have his silly ass tats and shyte, but that's the wrong thing say to me. His tats and bad attitude don't impress this old phuckhead and never ever will. He was all bad azz on me and I just laughed. He paid.


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## newyorkcity (Nov 25, 2010)

*Nice*



Plumber said:


> What happened, Mark?
> 
> 
> I spent this morning literally chasing a deadbeat for 2k he's owed me since Monday. After the job was finished on Monday, he looked at me and said, "I don't want to pay". He then walked out of his house.
> ...


What did you say to change his mind? Was it just verbal?
He walked out of his own house with you in it?


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## Fatpat (Nov 1, 2015)

Haha ^^


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

newyorkcity said:


> What did you say to change his mind? Was it just verbal?


He's a store-bought bully. They're never hard to back down. I just out-waited him with a big ol' smile. Do not attempt this at home as serious injuries may occur.



> He walked out of his own house with you in it?


That's the thing, too. The first day, we were left alone for 4 hours. The second and final day, he or his wife was there. Ever get that feeling that things were going sideways?


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## Green Country (Mar 6, 2009)

Plumber said:


> What happened, Mark? I spent this morning literally chasing a deadbeat for 2k he's owed me since Monday. After the job was finished on Monday, he looked at me and said, "I don't want to pay". He then walked out of his house. I may not have his silly ass tats and shyte, but that's the wrong thing say to me. His tats and bad attitude don't impress this old phuckhead and never ever will. He was all bad azz on me and I just laughed. He paid.


I've read or been told that if someone does that you can call the police right then before you leave and they can be charged with theft of services. Criminal, not just civil.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

He finally paid after push came to shove... I called him and left a voice mail on his phone bacially saying I wanted this resolved peacefully this week or I was gonna drag him into small claims court.....

I got the whole 1200 in the mail and he claimed he still wanted that water softener installed sometime soon but I figure he got the yay-hoo who did the bathroom to go out and land him a deal at lowes on a GE unit....:yes:


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> He finally paid after push came to shove... I called him and left a voice mail on his phone bacially saying I wanted this resolved peacefully this week or I was gonna drag him into small claims court.....
> 
> I got the whole 1200 in the mail and he claimed he still wanted that water softener installed sometime soon but I figure he got the yay-hoo who did the bathroom to go out and land him a deal at lowes on a GE unit....:yes:


Well hell, that was anti-climatic. I got to teach you how to perform High Drama.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Plumber said:


> Well hell, that was anti-climatic. I got to teach you how to perform High Drama.



I dont need any more high drama in my life.....The millionairre has a lot to lose and I knew that eventually he would come around......

I just spent the whole week re-pipeing some "hell hole" down town right across the street from a crack house......

When I first went to bid the job the owner of the property pointed out the crack dealer who sits out on east washington street and sells his drugs.. 
He was a nice clean cut looking fella... his clients looked real good too :laughing: 

the estimated price of the job went up double.... 
and damn if he still took me up on it...:blink:


Packing a gun all week long with a load of democrats all sitting on the curb watching my locked up truck is what I consider---- "high drama" :yes: .


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> I dont need any more high drama in my life.....The millionairre has a lot to lose and I knew that eventually he would come around......
> 
> I just spent the whole week re-pipeing some "hell hole" down town right across the street from a crack house......
> 
> ...


High Drama Lesson 1: Always screw with crack dealers. I would have spent my time plotting to rip them off or at least make their miserable existence a lot worse. Make sure they get the paranoia going on from Day One. Good times...lol


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Plumber said:


> High Drama Lesson 1: Always screw with crack dealers. I would have spent my time plotting to rip them off or at least make their miserable existence a lot worse. Make sure they get the paranoia going on from Day One. Good times...lol



It all went well, I installed wirsbo water lines and new drain lines and just kept the doors locked ....... I feel that a nickle plated 9mm has that "special shine" to it that seems to ward off trouble.... 

the very first thing you do is lay your thing out for everyone to see on your dash... it sets the tone for the whole job......:yes:


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## Nathan901 (Feb 11, 2012)

Open carrying whilst plumbing? Hahaha


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I just filed a lien against a gentleman's property for non-payment. The invoice is not much; around $900. 

The story goes: I get a call from a man who is selling a home. The prospective buyer hired a home inspector to look things over. The home inspector finds some cracked leaky cast iron under the house in the dark and dusty crawl space {1920's era home, hence the crawl space}.
The owner then tells me via telephone that he wants me to go take a look. I do. I say it'll cost you about $1000 to repair. He says, "Oh my God, that's a lot....blah...blah....blah." I ask, "do you want me to fix it?"

He says 'yes'. So I make arrangements to go out Friday morning to do the work. No one lives in the house. It' vacant. The man agrees to meet me there to pay me. I always get payment arrangements on jobs like this where the homeowner is residing elsewhere.

I go there Fri. I crawl underneath, cut out about 4' of 4" cast iron with my diamond dust sawzall blade. OK, where is the owner? I call him. That is when the baloney starts. 'There are new arrangements, things have changed, the realtor is paying you.'

She of course denies this. After several more phone calls to the gentleman, and after he hangs up a few times, I become a little steamed. Not steamed enough to get the 12 gauge and pepper someone with it, but steamed slightly. Long story short, I fill out a lien document or in legal parlance, a claim of lien. I go to my attorney's office, the secretary notarizes it for me, then I walk to the county courthouse, pay $10 and have the lien recorded. 

I am no lawyer, but I think that with the lien filed, the man can't sell the house in June like he is planning. And if I'm not mistaken, if he doesn't pay within a prescribed time period, the house is forced to be sold to pay the lien.

I'll keep you guys posted.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

...


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> ...




Where you are probably gonna be burned here will have
something to do with whom ordered the work and that person not being the legal owner of the property... 

I would suggest you keep your phone records of the dates and times you talked to this sleaze ball... You got your lien and all you can do is watch the game get played out...



Me and another plumber freind of mine have been getting a rash of text calls from people who* claim to be deaf* and cannot speak on the phone....
the also claim to be out of town and need work done on some rental property or some vacant home... and of course do I accept plastic

I have texted a few of them back and simply ask if this is on the level and that something smells fishey... then I never, ever hear back from any of them...

I dont have a clue what the angle is unless its is something like you are going through but what do they stand to gain getting the property tied up in liens??


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Nathan901 said:


> Open carrying whilst plumbing? Hahaha



No, I generally keep it in my back hip pocket... not in a holster....

I dont really like to be walking around as though I am in the wild west
but it does let the lice know you are not playing around with them....

only in a combat zone


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> Where you are probably gonna be burned here will have
> something to do with whom ordered the work and that person not being the legal owner of the property...
> 
> I would suggest you keep your phone records of the dates and times you talked to this sleaze ball... You got your lien and all you can do is watch the game get played out...
> ...












It's funny you should mention a hearing-impaired person. The same thing happened to me. It was a text message from someone claiming that they are deaf and cannot talk on the phone. They live out of state. They own a property in my state. They want me to repair something at their rental property. But the text messages are not really clear; they are vague, almost like a kid typed them or some person who is mentally impaired. Since the same thing is happening to you under very similar circumstances, I'm convinced it's a scam.

And I do have many customers that live in other parts of Florida and some that are out of state who own rentals here. I get called, I repair their plumbing problem, then I get a check or they give me a c/c over the phone. And they are legitimate. So I am used to absentee customers. Many I wouldn't recognize if I passed them on the sidewalk since all of our communication is via phone or electronic means.


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## Qplumb (Dec 19, 2015)

Master Mark said:


> Where you are probably gonna be burned here will have
> something to do with whom ordered the work and that person not being the legal owner of the property...
> 
> I would suggest you keep your phone records of the dates and times you talked to this sleaze ball... You got your lien and all you can do is watch the game get played out...
> ...


I Have had the same text or email over a dozen times now. It's definitely a scam. I've screwed with these low lives so much that one of them actually called me and threatened to destroy my life, I just laughed at him. I still get the text and emails. The last one I got was an email and I responded by saying I was blind and needed then to send all their emails and texts in braille. They responded "ok no problem". I then told them I only accept 17th century gold coins. Usually If you respond "no" to accepting credit cards it ends there until the next time.


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## Letterrip (Jul 28, 2013)

Tommy plumber said:


> I just filed a lien against a gentleman's property for non-payment. The invoice is not much; around $900.
> 
> The story goes: I get a call from a man who is selling a home. The prospective buyer hired a home inspector to look things over. The home inspector finds some cracked leaky cast iron under the house in the dark and dusty crawl space {1920's era home, hence the crawl space}.
> The owner then tells me via telephone that he wants me to go take a look. I do. I say it'll cost you about $1000 to repair. He says, "Oh my God, that's a lot....blah...blah....blah." I ask, "do you want me to fix it?"
> ...




When they do the title search as part of the sale, the lein will pop up. The lein has to be cleared up before they will finance. You will have to file a release of lein to clear it up, which you won't do until you have your money. As long as the title search hasn't been done yet, I think you are good.

You shouldn't have needed to file a notice to owner IIRC because you are in privity with the owner. You do have to execute the lein (begin foreclosure proceedings) before one year. Otherwise, you may have to wait for them to sell to get paid (if he doesn't end up selling in June. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Letterrip said:


> ..
> You shouldn't have needed to file a notice to owner IIRC because you are in privity with the owner. You do have to execute the lein (begin foreclosure proceedings) before one year. Otherwise, you may have to wait for them to sell to get paid (if he doesn't end up selling in June.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's always confusing. The only constant is the over $1k bit.

If you're a professional (What? A OMS?) providing professional services and/or material, you don't have to give a notice. 

If you're a contractor (A OMS?) and the contract is over 1k, you have to give notice. 

The terms "Professional" and "Contractor" are not defined in this instance.

What if you do it T&M and the bill does past 1k? You didn't give notice before start because you didn't know it was going that high.

Even if Tommy doesn't force it, but maintains the lien, no financial institution will want to hassle with a liened property in any way. No refi, nothing.


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

When I was young, Dad would take my brother and I to small claims court with him. He never lost. In a smaller town/city, it gives all the appearance of someone who won't be stiffed... I saw him take someone to court for $25.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

mtfallsmikey said:


> When I was young, Dad would take my brother and I to small claims court with him. He never lost. In a smaller town/city, it gives all the appearance of someone who won't be stiffed... I saw him take someone to court for $25.



Thats funny.... because by the time the dead beat pays the court costs and fileing fees the 25 dollars baloons p to about $200... 

I took someone to court for $145 one time and you think I had raped them when they had to write a check to the court for close to 400 dollars...:laughing::laughing:


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Letterrip said:


> When they do the title search as part of the sale, the lein will pop up. The lein has to be cleared up before they will finance. You will have to file a release of lein to clear it up, which you won't do until you have your money. As long as the title search hasn't been done yet, I think you are good.
> 
> You shouldn't have needed to file a notice to owner IIRC because you are in privity with the owner. You do have to execute the lein (begin foreclosure proceedings) before one year. Otherwise, you may have to wait for them to sell to get paid (if he doesn't end up selling in June.
> 
> ...


 










Sounds like you know the ropes. This is the first lien I've ever had to file. Everybody else just pays the agreed price.

When the owner started playing games, I was on the property having already cut out the corroded piece of cast iron. I pulled off the job and didn't complete the repair. An attorney advised me to add a few dollars for the return trip to complete the repair. So when the owner is forced to pay, the invoice will be closer to $1100. My argument {which the attorney agreed with} is that I would have completed the repair in {1} trip but because the owner reneged on his end, I wound up pulling off the job that day fearing that I may not be paid. So I didn't complete the repair in {1} trip. Hence the need for {2} trips.

The realtor lady said that the buyer agreed to pay for the repair. However, I filed the lien to force the current owner, {the one who ordered the repair and agreed to the price}, to pay me. I don't want to stick the buyer with the repair bill. Some plumbers might not care who pays them. But I think it is un-ethical to stick the repair to the lady who is purchasing the home. Let the man who called me up and told me to repair it pay the bill.


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

Was there a signed estimate? Whomever signed it is the responsible party.


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

Signed estimates are huge in court. Spend more time with your customers before you start work and have them sign it. I do it on my tablet


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## Letterrip (Jul 28, 2013)

Tommy plumber said:


> Sounds like you know the ropes. This is the first lien I've ever had to file. Everybody else just pays the agreed price.
> 
> When the owner started playing games, I was on the property having already cut out the corroded piece of cast iron. I pulled off the job and didn't complete the repair. An attorney advised me to add a few dollars for the return trip to complete the repair. So when the owner is forced to pay, the invoice will be closer to $1100. My argument {which the attorney agreed with} is that I would have completed the repair in {1} trip but because the owner reneged on his end, I wound up pulling off the job that day fearing that I may not be paid. So I didn't complete the repair in {1} trip. Hence the need for {2} trips.
> 
> The realtor lady said that the buyer agreed to pay for the repair. However, I filed the lien to force the current owner, {the one who ordered the repair and agreed to the price}, to pay me. I don't want to stick the buyer with the repair bill. Some plumbers might not care who pays them. But I think it is un-ethical to stick the repair to the lady who is purchasing the home. Let the man who called me up and told me to repair it pay the bill.




Our invoice includes interest per month on unpaid bills. If you have that, you can add it to the amount due at the time they call to settle the lein. 


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## Gargalaxy (Aug 14, 2013)

...... If any payment is not timely received by ......., Customer agrees to pay late charges and shall accrue at the rate of 1.5% per month (18% per annum) or the highest rate allowed by applicable law (Florida Statutes). Costumer agrees that it shall pay all costs and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees, plus court costs incurred by ........ in the collection of any sum payable by Customer to ......... or its exercise of any enforcement or collection remedies

This disclaimer going in all my invoices and quotes.


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## Letterrip (Jul 28, 2013)

Looks almost identical to ours Gargalaxy. Our first line states that payment is due upon completion of work. That sets the timeline in our favor. 

Had one customer challenge it. He noted the "reasonable attorney fees" line. He quipped that he had never seen attorney's fees that were reasonable!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

GREENPLUM said:


> Was there a signed estimate? Whomever signed it is the responsible party.














No. I spoke over the phone with the man. In fact, many of the people that hire me own rental properties in this part of FL. I get a verbal approval over the phone, perform the work, then send an invoice to another part of FL or a different state. They all pay.

I have a tablet. Do you send a quote in the form of a text message for them to sign?


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

I use quickbooks and email a estimate, they can sign and send it back


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## Gargalaxy (Aug 14, 2013)

I use invoice2go and email it as well (estimate or invoices). This is what they get and sign.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Thank you Greenplumb and Alex. I have to catch up with technology and start getting signatures.


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