What Would You Do When They Refuse To Pay ?

MnAllstarsTech

MnAllstarsTech

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Hey Guys, a friend of mine just told me about something that happened to him at work. i will make this story short.while my friend was at work (he works for one of the big chain stores) he had a customer. who came in the store.customer dropped the computer and they did diagnostic on the computer. then customer gave the o.k to replace the keyboard.after all work was done customer came in to pick up the laptop. while they was helping the customer the associate walked away for a second to do something and the customer took the computer and left the store without paying for any services or parts.now the customer need to pay for the keyboard and installation.they tried calling the guy but he don't answer the phone.they left messages asking the customer to call back or come in the store.

now my question is , how would you handle this. how can you get someone like this to actually pay.i suggested calling and leaving messages saying they will hand in all info to a collection agency but that's just my idea. all they got is his name,phone number and an address which hopefully is all real. i don't know what is gonna be done since he works for a big company well known. i have no clue as to what is they do in cases like this if the do anything at all.
 
That is a clear shoplifting case, cut and dry. I work in a small store and we have the same procedure... theft is theft. Report it.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
 
Ccomp5950 said:
Call the police. They've been shoplifted.
Click to expand...

Not all big box stores, will prosecute or do anything to shoplifters, depending on what was stolen. When I was at Vons people would steal from them all the time and the manager said unless the LP guy or the District MGR was there we couldn't do anything but call and tell them and wait for a decision.

Now there are places or have trained people to hold people, and will go after them.

This is why its always important to get name address and telephone, from all customers. Luckily I'm mobile so I know where people live and where to send the invoice certified post if needed. I also know my local law and the fact I can pass the invoice off to a collection agency or attorney before they take them to court. But it depends on how much money and time I put into a job if it was less then 2 hours of my time and I loss less then $120 I'm not gonna go after it. it's just not worth my time chasing people most people will call and work stuff out once you send them a piece of mail they need to sign for. I have only had one guy that cost me $240 to get to the point of taking him to court when he paid me.
 
Without documented proof or reasonable proof, it would be pretty hard to actually prove that your customer actually hasn't payed for their services. However, before going through the law and possibly doing more damage to your business than good (Hey, did you hear about that computer guy who called the cops on Jim?) you can try calling (you've already done that though), you can send certified letters threatening legal action if the bill is not payed, and finally if all else fails, you get the law involved.
 
This is why it's always a good idea to have proper documentation. You will never know when you will use it.
 
I would report it to the police..

However, I wouldn't walk away from a customer to give them chance, although I won't be working in a store like that either.
 
@Corbin,

When doing onsite work, don't you ask for payment right then and there? It's so much more work to bill them, follow up, etc...
 
If someone flat out takes their computer and basically runs out of my office when I turn my back or step away, I'm calling the police. Certified letters my rear. Guy we have to start running our businesses like real businesses and quit acting like a bunch of pansies worried about loosing a customer or two, which will probably never happen. (I'm guilty!)

Try going into a nice restaurant, ordering a $100 meal and then sneaking out the back door while the waiter goes and gets your ticket. Go up to the gas station and fill your truck up with $75 worth of fuel and just driving off. Go to the local bakery and custom order a double layer birthday cake for your kid's party and just walk out when the baker turns their back. See how many certified letters and phone calls you get. You might get a phone call (if they have it) as you are in your get-away car (LOL) but after that, they aren't going to call and try to kindly negotiate a payment. The police will be called and will be charged with theft. Plain and simple. It's theft. They are a criminal.

I'm sorry I just have no use for this sort of thing. I can't worry if a thief is going to bad mouth me or not. I'm right, he's wrong, he stole and I'm getting paid or he's going to pay in court.

I'm so mean.:D
 
Appleby said:
If someone flat out takes their computer and basically runs out of my office when I turn my back or step away, I'm calling the police. Certified letters my rear. Guy we have to start running our businesses like real businesses and quit acting like a bunch of pansies worried about loosing a customer or two, which will probably never happen. (I'm guilty!)

Try going into a nice restaurant, ordering a $100 meal and then sneaking out the back door while the waiter goes and gets your ticket. Go up to the gas station and fill your truck up with $75 worth of fuel and just driving off. Go to the local bakery and custom order a double layer birthday cake for your kid's party and just walk out when the baker turns their back. See how many certified letters and phone calls you get. You might get a phone call (if they have it) as you are in your get-away car (LOL) but after that, they aren't going to call and try to kindly negotiate a payment. The police will be called and will be charged with theft. Plain and simple. It's theft. They are a criminal.

I'm sorry I just have no use for this sort of thing. I can't worry if a thief is going to bad mouth me or not. I'm right, he's wrong, he stole and I'm getting paid or he's going to pay in court.

I'm so mean.:D
Click to expand...

+1 I believe this as well
 
I'll tell you a story my dad experienced when he first got started. This might have been 15 or 20 years ago, but he had a customer come in and after diagnosis did not want to go forward with the repair. Those days, we did not collect diagnostic fee up front. Anyway, the guy basically took the laptop off the counter and ran away. Luckily we had his info and my dad called the police. We live in a small town, so maybe the cops have nothing better to do, so they said that if he wanted to that he could press charges against the fellow. So my dad said go ahead.

To make a long story short, the cop contacted the individual and said that if he did not pay he would be booked for theft. This caused the guy to come back and pay the bill. However, back then there was no Yelp or online review sites, but soon after the guy wrote letters to the city council, better business bureau, the police saying we sold stolen goods, etc. Nothing came of the letters since as I said, it's a small town and my dad knew everyone and they knew him. But to use this example for your friends story, the easiest thing to do is just call the cops. They might be able to apply some pressure on the guy to either pay or not to pay. If he refuses to pay and you want to press charges, then that is your prerogative. If you did not want to press charges or the state won't prosecute, you take him to small claims court--you might still have to goto small claims court if you don't recover your money.

One you win, if the guy still does not want to pay, you can then use the judgement to get a lien put on his house. Or down the road, if this guy ever wants to buy a car or anything with credit, he is basically boned until he pays off the lien. There was this blog about a guy who used to do this to people who failed to return videos at his store.

The only downside I can see is if the guy gets nasty and either gives you crap reviews or is petty and tries to vandalize your shop. We had a guy once slash four tires on our van. We couldn't prove it was him, but it happened literally the day after we had a confrontation with the guy.
 
In Michigan, at least as far as computer repair goes, here's how I'm able to handle non-paying customers: I keep your computer if you don't pay for the repair. Legally, I can hold on to a customer's computer if they fail to pay for services rendered. After 90 days and three separate, documented phone calls, their computer is legally mine. My computer repair slips specifically state this and they are always signed by the customer.

Your law mileage may vary, but at least in Michigan there's some protection for computer repair people.
 
That works both ways though... if they're ballsy enough, they also know where you are and sometimes where you live.

Im all for old school, however in a world of litigation, the long term consequesences normally dont pay off.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
 
Lefty said:
@Corbin,

When doing onsite work, don't you ask for payment right then and there? It's so much more work to bill them, follow up, etc...
Click to expand...

I do take payment right then and there, but I do have the people who think since they see my prices that its going to be a quick $70 job, but when you set there and ask me about how to do things on facebook and how to print pictures, and so on and take up another hour or so of my time I will charge you a extra 45-60$ a hour depending what it is. Some people don't expect that, even tho they are told and see my prices up front.

And depending on the customer like the guy in my deal it was a business owner. I sometimes if its a issue for then and there will bill them a invoice rather its from a paypal account or a piece of paper, I always send a physical paper in the mail with the bill and if the customer chooses the option I send them a paypal request. But see when I sent the paypal info to him his card kept getting "declined".
 
If you know the company he works for, why not try contacting him there? A little embarrassment can go a long way.
 
Professor Laptop said:
If you know the company he works for, why not try contacting him there? A little embarrassment can go a long way.
Click to expand...

Well thats the thing hes the owner of the place, its a pet store. I did contact him a few to many times and I kept getting excuse after excuse, and I'm not about slandering him to the people he works with its very un-professional. I mean it was bad enough i had my attorney call and do the whole collection speal to his associates. So I can only imagine what the people who stayed on the phone thought.
 
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