company withold money from job

[hutchinsons]

Hi there
sorry i have not been here for some time.
anyway
have a problem
took on a job for a kitchen/bathroom company in sunderland
wont name them..yet.
agreed a price started the job, took longer than anticipated but did it anyway
customer totally delighted. took my number to pass on to friends. great stuff
told the kitchen company i was just finishing and he said hes on his way around to pay.
didn't show
text message. be around about 5. didn't show.
message at 6.30. my partner has to se the work tomorrow pay you then.
didn't go. will go on Monday. message we are not in until tuesday
Tuesday 5pm.
went to get paid.
they said we are withholding £175 because it took you longer.
i wasn't impressed.
told him i would pass the remaining debt onto a collector.
what do i do.......
i later find out they have done this to other north east tilers.
feel like naming and shaming.
oh and to top it all
on Wednesday i get a phone call from the police. saying did i have a dispute with **** kitchens
i said yes and she said they have made a complaint that you have threatened them
mined she did find it funny.lol
i have never know the likes.
any help would be great thanks.
cheers guys and girls.

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

sounds like a job for the small claims court you can do it all on line for a small fee,but send them a letter asking for full and final payment first, telling them your intentions give them the allotted time to pay then proceed , good luck you need to teach them a lesson

 

[hutchinsons]

Cheers diamond
in all 22 years of being a tiler i have never had this.
it amazes me sometimes how people get away with things like that.
great advice. will do it tomorrow.

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

good on you mate, there are some nasty pieces of work out there ,thats why they say there is no sentiment in business , unfortunately they spoil it for everyone that are decent ,you just can.t trust anyone. its a shame

 

[hutchinsons]

totally !!
but on a lighter note.
had a nice job confirmed last night . great people cant wait to start.
and also today
an estimate from a recomendation from a customer and from the website
woop!!:hurray:

 

[peteablard]

Send them a letter saying they have 7 days to pay or you'll be taking legal action, and a copy of your invoice but make sure you send it recorded delivery so they can't deny they received. Worked for me last time, good luck

 

[CDS]

Definately recommend the 'small claims' option but as Diamond suggests you have to follow procedure and issue a 'Notice of intended action' first and send it registered post.

Had a non payer earlier in the year and they couldn't get in contact fast enough to agree repayment terms when they were issued with court paperwork.

There are a couple of threads on the forum with more details of letter wording and procedure.

Good luck mate, been there and it sucks

 

[martin1c]

I would threaten them with the small claims court too. I'd also add that for the £175 you're also going to blog about them and leave google reviews on their service. Might even name them personally as well as their business trading names so they'll have to ask themselves if it is worth having their names all over the internet for £175. It may seem petty but a lot of larger companies now have procedures in place where if a customer threatens to blog about them on the internet, their complaint instantly moves to a specialist dept who will resolve quickly at all costs. Once it's on the internet, it's there for all time.

 

[Gazzer]

Oli wrote a good thread on something similar.

 

[aphilp]

Sorry to hear that you have not been paid. If you need help with your claim, please contact me.

You want to send them the following letter:


Dear …

Site Address:
Invoice No.

We note that the above invoice, dated …, has not been settled in full despite the stipulated 14-day payment term.

Kindly settle the amount of … by return.

Should we not receive the said payment, we regret that we will have to take action to recover the debt, together with the statutory interest from (15[SUP]th[/SUP] day – the day after the invoice due date) … at the rate of 8%.

Yours​

​

 

[hutchinsons]

thank you for all the advice guys.
i am going to get the letter sorted today and will keep you posted.
i do want to name and shame but i don't think its appropriate on this forum..

 

[hutchinsons]

We a recorded delivered letter is on the way..

 

[nybor62]

you could name them, but if there not members of the forum , then they cant defend there actions, as wrong as they are
hope you get it sorted out

 

[hutchinsons]

yeah true.
and to tell you the truth, im bigger than that..

 

[stusgsx]

That is harsh! So the company would rather you had rushed it and not done a good job and had an unhappy customer! What a joke.

 

[John Benton]

Where did it state in the contract, written or verbal, that you would be penalised financially if you you took longer than the specified time given to complete the job.

I'm assuming you were given a price for doing the job and you have completed it to the required standard and should be paid accordingly.

IMO they are just trying it on with you. As the guys have said, give them the opportunity to pay you, and if they do not, then legal action would be the next step.

Good luck.

 

[hutchinsons]

i might get a reply tomorrow as i posted it today.
the post office is right next door to the said shop in question
and even the post mistress knows of his reputation with people
he will not get away with it.
thanks for the support guys

 

[Dan]

Small claims court, always send letters never call and certainly don't do business by text message! I reply with "Error 500: Message not delivered, please try to call this number instead" or something similar. I hate dealing with business via text it should be banned IMO lol.

Hold them to reply times to your letters, then you have records of things being discussed.

Keep things professional, never threaten them that WILL backfire.

Don't just warm them that you're taking them to small claims, do it. And if you win, and only then, should you name and shame them. Doing so before hand could affect your case.

I wish you all the best. Never like hearing of a trader not getting paid but I've been stung before backing a guy up and it turned out he was in the wrong so I'll not take sides until you've won via small claims.

Good luck.

 

[hutchinsons]

cheers Dan :smilewinkgrin:

 

[enduro]

This is what my mate does if he does not get payed. Go onto dougandrewswheelwright.co.uk and click on Debtors Hall of Shame.

 

[hutchinsons]

will keep that in mind Enduro
i think just the tile fixers and distributors in Sunderland i have told and may add they have heard other stories too about this company.i think they will have lost thousands in possible sales.
also i must say with having a girlfriend who uses facebook alot well word soon gets around.

 

[paul flight]

mate i know it hurts but as you said they are doing it to every one. you are now loosing sleep over £175 . move on and trust no one that you dont know well..
forget about the 175 you will use up to much time and energy trying to get it back as well as beauty sleep. but at evey opportunity you have make sure that all tradsman and suppliers know what there at and not to be trusted . word will soon get round , just try and sod them right up .

 

[Spud]

is there a lower limit that the small claim court doesnt act upon ,i know there is an upper limit of around 5-6k and thought the lower limit may be £200 which is why these jokers may have stopped you this amount ,not sure though so I would check it out good luck with it I hope you get your money

 

[jonnyc]

you said you had agreed terms for the job.
i really dont think you should go down any route like small claims if you dont have a written quote from yourself and written agreement from other side to your quote, or a deposit already which would be evidence that they have agreed terms on your estimate.
if agreed verbally it will be very difficult for you to get anywhere.
people who act like this normally like to not have evidence written evidence.

 

[tobins tiling]

Nm d