Unbelievable

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Re: Unbelievable

The key word in this equation is realtor. As a rule the seem to be a very weird bunch. What other profession puts their picture in their advertising?
 
Re: Unbelievable

give her a call tonite,and ask her when would be a good time to stop by and get paid for the work you did at her house,,,,,,then let her talk.see what she says.
"you gotta put her on the spot"
as for her being a realtor,and giving you work in the future,you can "FORGET ABOUT IT"
and if she does call for future work,tell her you don't want to do it..period.
 
Re: Unbelievable

I agree - call and say that you need to get a check, and ask when you can pick it up. I've had to do it and it works.

Then I'd explain that I do not need customers like her.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Yep -- she expected a discount and pestered me about getting the job done right away. It was for a client of hers who wasn't even moved into the house yet (part of the deal with her client was that she'd pay for my work on his new house). I don't remember if she whined about the permit; I tend to tune out stuff like that because my reaction is automatic: Yes, I will be pulling a permit and no, it's not optional.

Normally I'd be a little hard-nosed about this, but it is my friend's sister. This is a friend whose kids I've babysat, whose house I've eaten at a million times, etc. She's also the Realtor I bought my house through. I don't want to start a big mess that will reverberate. I just have a hard time grasping that she'd pull something like this. No one has ever asked me to do installment payments after the work was done. Now, instead of having an electrician she can trust, she has an electrician who is too busy to return her calls.

The next time she needs an electrician, I suspect I'm going to be too booked up to be able to get to her in time, so she'll have to look elsewhere. Now that I think of it, I'm sure I'm going to be too busy. :D
 
Re: Unbelievable

What was lost on me earlier is that this was for a business deal. Not even for her own house? Why someone would even ask for a discount in this situation is lost on me.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Jeff if you have eaten a million times at your friend's house you are already ahead of the game. I just did some calculations and I have only eaten 55,845 meals in my life and maybe a few snacks. Always look on the bright side of life.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Hang on a second. The friend's house I've eaten at a million times (give or take) is someone for whom I've done countless favors. I've done demo during major remodeling, sanded his hardwood floors, helped him move, hung drywall, installed ceiling fans, rewired a three-way switch that never worked properly, kept his dog at my house several times while he was traveling, wired his phones, watched his kids, etc. His wife is my lawyer, who has given me good legal and business advice, not to mention referrals that turned into good jobs for me. She keeps me well fed.

The sister had nothing to do with any of this. I brought her in when I was looking to buy my house, but I see that as a favor to her rather than to me, since I found my house on my own and only needed her for the paperwork. I assume she got a full commission, since I never received a discount or a kickback.

And yeah, now that I think of it, it was pretty presumtuous to expect a discount from me, especially since it wasn't even for her own house.
 
Re: Unbelievable

So more time went by, and I never got the half last month like she said she was going to pay me. So last week I sat down with my friend (her brother) and his wife (my lawyer) and explained the situation to them. The lawyer was pissed that someone screwed over a friend of hers. She suggested that I send a signature confirmation envelope with a copy of the invoice, which I did on Saturday. According to the USPS, they attempted to deliver it on Monday, and as of today, it still has not been picked up. My lawyer says the sister is probably not going to pick it up since she knows who it's from.

My lawyer has advised me to make one more phone call to her to try to get paid, and if that fails, she's more than ready to guide me through the process of filing a lawsuit. The sister won't be able to blow me off when the sheriff serves her with a court summons.

Since I've been on my own, this is the first time I've had any trouble getting paid. I recently did work for another Realtor from a different company, and that experience has been nothing but positive. Not only did I get paid promptly, but the Realtor spread my name far and wide at work (without me asking her to), and that has already turned into several other jobs for me.

The ironic thing is that I conduct my business primarily via handshake, but the one time I have trouble getting paid is with someone who I should have been able to trust.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Sounds like the same friends sister I worked for. Her check for $450 bounced and I couldn't contact her because she was never home, so after months of trying I asked her brother to please tell her to pay me.
He told me that his father gave her the money to pay the bill and she must of spent it. My next move was to file small claims papers which got a quick response from her. The day she got the papers she called to say she would be at my office that Saturday morning with $200 cash which she did and the following Saturday with the remaining balance which she didn't.
So I left a message telling her if the money wasn't in my hand in 2 business days I was going to proceed with court which was scheduled for 5 days later, well in two days she showed up at 9 am with the remaining cash dressed to kill so I thanked her for the payment and asked her where she worked? Her response "The State Auditors Office."
God I hope I'm never audited.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Jeff,

It sounds like she got a pretty good deal, considering all the work you did, you pulled a permit, but did she sign a contract?, every job we do there is a contract, no exceptions, and payment is day of completion not day of inspection, Do you think she would walk out of a store without paying ?
 
Re: Unbelievable

I didn't sign a contract with her. I rarely ever do contracts, and it's worked out perfectly well, except in this case. But my lawyer said that since the amount in dispute is under $1000, no written contract is necessary. I did indeed pull a permit, and we verbally agreed on the price in front of the new homeowner, who called me after I finished the job and told me how good he thought my work was. The amount I charged for the job is perfectly reasonable for the work I did. There's no way she can argue that the amount is out of line or anything like that.

I called her again this morning, and she started saying something about how she's waiting for something or another (I assume she's waiting for someone else to pay her), then she said she would call me back in a bit because she was busy at the moment. Sure enough, she never called me back. So I called her again about 10 minutes later, and of course I got her voice mail.

At this point, I'd say it's very likely I'm going to sue her. My lawyer is advising me on how to proceed.
 
Re: Unbelievable

Jeff,

Sorry to hear that you got stiffed. I understand what you're sayig about not using a contract, BUT, not having something in writing makes it easier for someone to cheat you. In California, it's illegal to do home improvement work without one (supposedly for the consumer's protection).

I created and use a form called a "work order" that has the company logo and adress, etc, a block for the client name and address, jobsite address, description of work, and estimated cost. I fill it in, and have the client read and sign it. Very simple and quick, and non-threatening.

What it really is, is a contract, but I don't call it that. The message it sends to my first- time clients is that I run my operation in a businesslike manner--there can be no confusion about what I'm going to do and what they're going to pay me.

For long-established clients, I often do a small job (one day, or less then $1,000) w/o having a signed work order. Even then, I fill one out and mark "verbal authorization" in the client signature bolck. When I give them the invoice, they get the top copy of the work order. I keep the yellow (bottom) copy.

It was amazingly cheap to have carbonless, two part forms printed up by a local printer.

If I have to special order any parts, I get a signed work order first, an I include on it a note about the parts special order and return charges.

It's worked for me, the only time I've had a problem getting paid is a second-time client who I did some work for w/o a work order. When I handed her the invoice, she acted like the cost was a big suprise. I got the money, but not before threatening to lein her house.

Cliff
 
Re: Unbelievable

Up here in the land of 10,000 frozen lakes, contracts aren't required, and I generally don't bother with them. I make sure the customer and I are clear on what the work is and how much it will cost (I do give out written estimates most of the time), and it really hasn't been a problem. I do the work, and people pay me what they owe me.

But you do have a good point about how writing something up makes things look more professional than just having a verbal agreement. I did think about doing something along those lines when I first started out, but since things have gone so smoothly without them (until now), I never got around to it.

I have a feeling I'll probably start at some point in the near future, though.
 
Re: Unbelievable

hey Jeff,
are you kiddin me?she has'nt paid you yet?
your first post was on Oct. 17th,
if she has'nt given you any $$$ yet,chances are pretty good she's not gonna,its been well over a month,
i hate to hear of a fellow brother getting blown off,
i had to take my best friends sister to small cliams court,one of the 2 times it came to that,,and it only cost about 18.00$ to file the paper work,witch she has to pay for when you win,
don't call her any more,you look like your begging,,
TAKE HER TO COURT!!
keep us posted,,
 
Re: Unbelievable

I still have not received a single cent from her.

She left me a message last night saying that she can pay me $350 after she receives money on December 1st at a closing, and she has another closing sometime in January, after which she will theoretically be able to pay me the other $410. Her message also said that the January closing was new construction, and apparently that means that the closing might not go as planned (i.e., I might not get my money).

My attitude is that I've waited long enough, and if I agree to her payment schedule, there's a very good chance it will be months before I see my money, if I do at all. I relayed all this information to my lawyer and am waiting for a response/advice as to how to proceed. I'm inclined to stick to my original deadline of the end of this month to be paid in full, or I go forward with the lawsuit.
 
Re: Unbelievable

taking some one to small claims court cost about 20.00$ to file the paper work,,
go for it,,,
arnt you glad you pulled a permit,good job!!
 
Re: Unbelievable

Yes, I'm quite glad I pulled a permit. In the back of my mind, I've always had the idea that having pulled a permit would make any potential lawsuits have more merit since the permit is an official record of the work.

My lawyer is advising me to reject the latest offer and demand to be paid in full by the end of the month. I agree with her. I've already waited for two months, and under the new proposal I'd have to wait for two more months for the majority of what is owed me, assuming all goes as planned. Considering her track record of blowing me off repeatedly, I suspect that two months from now I'd have to chase after her again, only to hear excuses or have her blow me off. That strategy isn't going to fly if she tries it in court.
 
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