What to do about customer not paying?

Texas Engraving · Feb 28, 2017

Hi everyone! ok so I got a customer that I cant find? have tried calling texting smoke signals you get the pisture? So I did a Colt commander for him full coverage with the agreement he would pay me when done. He lives 500 miles away so I cant go knock on his door? I still have Colt in my possession. What else can I do? Thanks for any suggestions! Texas Engraver

Brian Marshall · Feb 28, 2017

Hold the gun until you get the cash. There may be a myriad of possibilities/explanations...

I've had people have to leave the state or country for various family related reasons, one went to jail for a while, another (in Mexico) actually got kidnapped, some are just broke or going through a financial disaster, emotional disasters of all kinds, people get sick and hospitalized and yes, they die.

It could be something as simple as having changed all or part of his contact info?

Keep trying to make contact and hope for the best outcome is about all you can do...

Brian

Crossbolt · Feb 28, 2017

Well your question implies it's too late for my advice but in the future consider a contract clearly laying out the timeframe and consequences for non-payment. Contracts exist, in part, to minimize confusion and the consequences of unintented conditions such as this. 'worth getting one written up next time as a boilerplate. I agree with Brian's post with the obvious caveat that you have to earn a living and can't wait forever before "lien saling" the item. Given time and resources it's nice to be able to take a more generous approach but that's not always possible. Check your local / state laws regarding non-payment in the absence of a contract. There are likely specific steps you will be required to take if you proceeed down the road of recovering your costs. The wheels of justice grind slowly and sometimes go backwards but at times can lead to results.
Jeremy

JJ Roberts · Feb 28, 2017

Tex,You have the gun that a plus write or phone the client and if you don't hear from him the gun is yours after a certain amount of time you can keep it or sell it. J.J.

Texas Engraving · Feb 28, 2017

Thanks for all the help guys. Just sent him a message again today hopefully he will reply soon? This wont happen again I know better now. In the future I will definetly have a contract written up and signed before I begin any work. This Colt sure is nice it is stainless,engraved and is chambered for 38 super. I know it would sell fast if I had to sell it? I will play fair and send certified letters and go thru all the channels to try and get paid. I will even give him more time or take payments until hes paid up. Thanks again.

FANCYGUN · Feb 28, 2017

From this point on with this client and firearm, make sure you document everything you are doing to contact him which include phone logs and copies of all written correspondence. This way there is no legal question as your efforts to contact him and doing the right thing
Good luck. Its a crappy set of cicumstances

Sam · Feb 28, 2017

A similar thing happened to me last year. I did an expensive engraving job on a ring, and the customer didn't reply to emails for payment. I finally reached the customer by mobile phone and said in 30 days I would sell it for scrap to recover some of my expenses and that they would still owe me for the rest. I got a sob story and payment in a week. You can always send a certified letter demanding payment, and you can always hire an attorney to send a scary letter. Hopefully there's just a miscommunication and all will be well, but if not, there are a couple of options for you.

Riflesmith · Feb 28, 2017

A hard lesson learned for sure! I don't start a job unless I have 50% down payment, that way the owner is invested in the work on the piece, and on top of that, I have the same posted in my studio and that final payment is due within 30 days of finishing the piece or I reserve the right to dispose of the piece to settle the bill. I also tell them I contact them once the piece is done, and only once, and it is their responsibility to uphold their end of the contract. This leaves nothing to question.
Set your boundaries and stick to them!

dogcatcher · Feb 28, 2017

Send a certified letter with the amount due to the last known address. Be sure to write "Address Correction Requested and Forwarding Postage Guaranteed" on the envelope. Include a deadline and that daily X dollars storage fees will accrue starting as of "-------" date. If it comes back to you, save the letter intact, it is your proof that you made a good faith effort to contact him. If he has moved the address correction will get you his new address.

I would also contact my local Justice of the Peace and see what the local laws are about abandoned personal property.

DKanger · Feb 28, 2017

So I did a Colt commander for him full coverage with the agreement he would pay me when done.

Did he know when the gun would be finished? Every time a question like this is posted, everyone always immediately jumps on the bandwagon that the guy is a deadbeat. There are any number of reasons why he isn't responding if he wasn't expecting the gun to be finished already. If he's out of town or in the hospital, he can hardly respond to a certified letter mailed to his home, can he?

Flashmo · Feb 28, 2017

2 years ago, I took in a restoratioon project, 50% down, 2-3 month lead time.

All I had was the customer's work email. He was a bank president.

At completion, emailed a few times with no response. It sat for a couple months. Not the first time, stuff happens but eventually everyone picks up their stuff.

Turned out, the customer died...in his early 50's. Work was too busy playing "catch up" to worry about his personal matters, but eventually forwarded the emails to his family.

It was picked up within a couple days. I wrote off the balance to pay forward a similar debt.

Have faith...life gets in the way of plans for all of us.

Flashmo · Feb 28, 2017

Another...

Project came in last August, 50% down. Completed in early September. Customer emailed he would pick it up the following Monday...something came up and he had to cancel.

This occurred a number of times, and he repeatedly offered to give me a card number over the phone for the balance. I repeatedly told him not to worry about it and he could pay when he picked it up.

Mid January he picked it up and was able to stay and talk for about an hour.

He is a medical researcher whose team has made a breakthrough in Autism research, and has (and still is) flying around the country and world giving presentations to other researchers so they can both confirm and build upon what they have found.

Can't fault a guy for that...

jerrywh · Mar 1, 2017

In order to make it legal you need send him a certified letter signature return required. You will get a return from the post office telling you that he received the letter. Even if he did not receive it your obligation is fulfilled provided that it was sent to his last legal residence. You must keep a copy of the letter.
This will hold up in court and is required in most states in order to make a repo. legal. There is a time requirement that is the law and can very by state. Look that up. You must give him a period to pay in full after he is notified. In most states it is 30 to 90 days. During this period you are allowed to charge storage and interest on the amount of money he owes you. How do I know? I repossessed cars for 20 years off and on. Also you can put a labor lean on the gun. Labor leans are the strongest kind of lean and take residence over all others except tax leans. Sometimes you just need to be hard.
If the gun is worth a lot of money you may be required to refund any excess to him after your charges are deducted from the sale of the gun. Also some states require that the repossessed object be sold at auction to the highest bidder. Usually these sale requirements are not enforced at least in Oregon.

What to do about customer not paying?

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