People who can't be arsed to pay

[MX5_Nuts]

I run a small gardening business and I'm finding it quite common now people who think it's acceptable to get work completed and then ignore paying the invoice afterwards. Even for TINY amounts for £30-£40. What's fking wrong with people? Despite it clearing stating "payment due upon receipt of invoice" they think it's ok just to ignore it for months and ignore all contact made reminding them payment is due?

[MX5_Nuts]

13m said:

I am sure he has the correct tool for lawn sausage insertion.

It's got to that stage with 1 or 2. It's hardly worth taking legal action but to be honest I'd get more satisfaction returning their grass cuttings along with a few frozen sausages...

Surprisingly one in particular can afford a brand new Jag AND Range Rover but can't pay a 30 quid invoice.

The credit card machine won't work with me unfortunately as a lot of them are out when visiting hence leaving an invoice.

[MX5_Nuts]

VEIGHT said:

Can't pay a £30 invoice or maybe forgotten to pay?

What do they say when you ask for it?

I've forgotten to leave out money for my gardener 2 weeks running now (however have called him to ask if i can pay by bacs).

They've had more than enough reminders so there's no excuses really. Agree most will pay via BACS without a reminder but there's always a few who clearly take the piss.

[ST_Nuts]

Still dealing with low life's who won't pay!! Invoice a job completed last Friday and nothing. Sent 3 emails during the week and it's obvious they're completely ignoring me.

Time to start the phone calls..

Q - I took away a full pickup full of green garden waste which I had to pay to deposit. Am I breaking the law if I deposit a full load of same type of waste on their driveway if I have no joy after 4 weeks?

[ST_Nuts]

surveyor said:

I have always found it important to make it as easy as possible to pay my invoices.

Sent by email, with link to paypal and card payment, and regular reminders. My invoices would always include:

As a small business we rely on our customers paying their bills on time. Please help us to continue to offer credit terms by paying your bill on-time.

The inclusion of that paragraph was amazingly effective.

Yeah that's something I could add. However this particular customer sent me an email almost straight away questioning the total amount requesting the breakdown of costs - hourly rate, number of hours etc despite stating I charge per job not hourly! It's not like I'm taking the piss either - Total came to £160 for 5 hours work including the waste disposal!

I even knocked £20 quid off the 160 and nothing, they're not replying to any emails I send at all and I know full well they aren't away.

I'll just return the waste to their driveway if no joy. I'm sure they'll love that.