Thread: How to get my money....

Hello,
I performed an inspection for a client a bit ago. Well due to his trustworthy personality I believed him when he said he would cut me a check and mail it to me. I trusted him and sent him my report. Now a month or so later he is not answering my calls and such.
Is there anything I can do to get or try to get this money besides showing up at his house (I did that one time. LOL. He wasn't home).
And yes, I am no longer going to send reports before payment.

thanks guys.

Originally Posted by TcDuhon

Hello,
I performed an inspection for a client a bit ago. Well due to his trustworthy personality I believed him when he said he would cut me a check and mail it to me. I trusted him and sent him my report. Now a month or so later he is not answering my calls and such.
Is there anything I can do to get or try to get this money besides showing up at his house (I did that one time. LOL. He wasn't home).
And yes, I am no longer going to send reports before payment.

thanks guys.

I've never had to resort to this collecting fees, but I once had an accountant/lawyer refuse to return my calls. The first time I left a message I waited two weeks and did not get a callback. I called again and a week later still no callback. This went on and at on point I called once an hour... all day long and all night long. I filled his message capacity. I once called from a different phone and guess what? Yep he answered the phone, made up an ******* excuse and swore he complete the information and call me back. Well the same **** happened and I drove to his home (45 miles away). He was very surprised when he answered the door and was looking at my mug. He was also embarrassed because he had clients there.

To make the long story short, I collected my box of paperwork and he immediately wrote me a check refunding every cent I paid him for 1-1/2 years.

As a caveat, my new accountant/lawyer was able to resolve the issue within 3 months and get me a $10,600.00 refund.

Now I don't recommend going to such extremes in the Home Inspection process, as you may scare the crap out of people.

Did he buy the home you inspected? You could lien the home if he did. If not, attribute it towards training and make sure you learned a lesson.

Originally Posted by Steven Turetsky

I've never had to resort to this collecting fees, but I once had an accountant/lawyer refuse to return my calls. The first time I left a message I waited two weeks and did not get a callback. I called again and a week later still no callback. This went on and at on point I called once an hour... all day long and all night long. I filled his message capacity. I once called from a different phone and guess what? Yep he answered the phone, made up an ******* excuse and swore he complete the information and call me back. Well the same **** happened and I drove to his home (45 miles away). He was very surprised when he answered the door and was looking at my mug. He was also embarrassed because he had clients there.

To make the long story short, I collected my box of paperwork and he immediately wrote me a check refunding every cent I paid him for 1-1/2 years.

As a caveat, my new accountant/lawyer was able to resolve the issue within 3 months and get me a $10,600.00 refund.

Now I don't recommend going to such extremes in the Home Inspection process, as you may scare the crap out of people.

Did he buy the home you inspected? You could lien the home if he did. If not, attribute it towards training and make sure you learned a lesson.

Yes, I am basically learning a lesson from it.
How do you go about liening a home?

I'd start by calling the Realtor who worked on his behalf if there was one and let him/her know.

Or send a registered letter with invoice enclosed asking for payment within so many days or you will file suit in small claims court.

Alternatively, show up at his office and let it be known you have an invoice you would like to serve on him for unpaid services, or call and ask for him, failing which ask to speak to human resources letting them know they have a dead beat amongst their ranks.

Or leave a horse head on his front steps, which is easier than leaving it his bed.

Originally Posted by TcDuhon

Hello,
I performed an inspection for a client a bit ago. Well due to his trustworthy personality I believed him when he said he would cut me a check and mail it to me. I trusted him and sent him my report. Now a month or so later he is not answering my calls and such.
Is there anything I can do to get or try to get this money besides showing up at his house (I did that one time. LOL. He wasn't home).
And yes, I am no longer going to send reports before payment.

thanks guys.

Be very persistent with calls/emails. Also a certified letter threatening small claims court. I even once filed in small claims court. It usually works. Knowing where the person lives is a big help.

Sounds like he won't pay. Hire a good collection agency. Call a few and talk about their fees, etc. The older the debt the more they will charge you. They can make life miserable for your deadbeat.

First problem is you let it go too long. Has he moved into the house? If not, send an invoice to the title company and get it included in the closing documents (contact the realtor).
If he has closed, you are going to have a tougher time. Assuming you have a signed contract, you can go to small claims court. Send him a certified letter that unless you get a check within 5 days, you are filing a claim with small claims court, and will include court costs as well. I have a clause in my contract that payments due are charged 24%/year interest.

Depending on the amount, you may want to just write it off as a "stupid tax" and learn from it.

Or have a couple of signs made about the size of a 'for sale' sign and put on it that this dead beat owes you money for an inspection and put it on his lawn. If he takes it down put another one up.

Better still put the signs up outside his business.

The Realtor doesn't care if we get paid or not. My advise from experience is to hold the inspection report "hostage" until payment is made. Many times the Realtor will pay me to get the inspection report released. I don't care who cuts me a check BTW.

Originally Posted by TcDuhon

Hello,
I performed an inspection for a client a bit ago. Well due to his trustworthy personality I believed him when he said he would cut me a check and mail it to me. I trusted him and sent him my report. Now a month or so later he is not answering my calls and such.
Is there anything I can do to get or try to get this money besides showing up at his house (I did that one time. LOL. He wasn't home).
And yes, I am no longer going to send reports before payment.

thanks guys.

When you tendered/sent 'him' the report, it was accompanied by an invoice/demand letter with a clear statement regarding due upon receipt or some such, yes?

Got a signed contract? Hmmm. Followed all the Texas rules (Houston, right?) for licensed home inspection?

Send him a demand letter Certified mail, return receipt requested. At the same time send one regular first class mail present at the post office clerk and pay the extra for a "certificate of mailing". Have the clerk hand cancel or print out the canceling for both the Certified Mail receipt and the certificate of mailing.

Prior to composing your demand letter review the Texas Penal Code regarding Theft of Services. You might want to check with the local police district, sheriff, or states' attorney's office's division on same or their web sites - may be some sample language and/or a brochure regarding the process required before it can be charged/prosecuted.

Depending on the price you contracted for the inspection it could be dicey for the 'client'.

Unless and until you issue the demand for payment via (at the same time) regular first class mail (with certificate of mailing) and first class mail certified, return receipt, (or is there even a telegram in-person delivery service available these days??) , I wouldn't recommend phone calls or personal visits. I wouldn't advice the other forms of self-help suggested by some other posters. Certainly not without issuing a demand letter first.

Not sure of the current status - I had this from 2004-ish (hope it helps):

§ 31.04. THEFT OF SERVICE. (a) A person commits theft of service if, with intent to avoid payment for service that he knows is provided only for compensation:

(1) he intentionally or knowingly secures performance of the service by deception, threat, or false token;
(2) having control over the disposition of services of another to which he is not entitled, he intentionally or knowingly diverts the other's services to his own benefit or to the benefit of another not entitled to them;
(3) having control of personal property under a written rental agreement, he holds the property beyond the expiration of the rental period without the effective consent of the owner of the property, thereby depriving the owner of the property of its use in further rentals; or
(4) he intentionally or knowingly secures the performance of the service by agreeing to provide compensation and, after the service is rendered, fails to make payment after receiving notice demanding payment.


(b) For purposes of this section, intent to avoid payment is presumed if:

(1) the actor absconded without paying for the service or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks, restaurants, and comparable establishments;
(2) the actor failed to make payment under a service agreement within 10 days after receiving notice demanding payment;
(3) the actor returns property held under a rental agreement after the expiration of the rental agreement and fails to pay the applicable rental charge for the property within 10 days after the date on which the actor received notice demanding payment; or
(4) the actor failed to return the property held under a rental agreement: (A) within five days after receiving notice demanding return, if the property is valued at less than $1,500; or (B) within three days after receiving notice demanding return, if the property is valued at $1,500 or more.

(c) For purposes of Subsections (a)(4), (b)(2), and (b)(4), notice shall be notice in writing, sent by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested or by telegram with report of delivery requested, and addressed to the actor at his address shown on the rental agreement or service agreement.

(d) If written notice is given in accordance with Subsection (c), it is presumed that the notice was received no later than five days after it was sent.

(e) An offense under this section is:

(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the service stolen is less than $20;
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the value of the service stolen is $20 or more but less than $500;
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the service stolen is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
(4) a state jail felony if the value of the service stolen is $1,500 or more but less than $20,000;
(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the service stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000;
(6) a felony of the second degree if the value of the service stolen is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or
(7) a felony of the first degree if the value of the service stolen is $200,000 or more.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, any police or other report of stolen vehicles by a political subdivision of this state shall include on the report any rental vehicles whose renters have been shown to such reporting agency to be in violation of Subsection (b)(2) and shall indicate that the renting agency has complied with the notice requirements demanding return as provided in this section.

(g) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that: (1) the defendant secured the performance of the service by giving a post-dated check or similar sight order to the person performing the service; and (2) the person performing the service or any other person presented the check or sight order for payment before the date on the check or sight order.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1138, ch. 429, § 1, eff. Aug. 29, 1977; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 2920, ch. 497, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 565, § 15, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 479, § 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 843, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1245, § 1, 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 419, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Originally Posted by H.G. Watson, Sr.

Prior to composing your demand letter review the Texas Penal Code regarding Theft of Services. You might want to check with the local police district, sheriff, or states' attorney's office's division on same or their web sites - may be some sample language and/or a brochure regarding the process required before it can be charged/prosecuted.

{head slap} After the demand letter(s) is/are sent, you would want to contact the police entity and/or the city attorney's office, county attorney's office, or district attorney's office (not States' Attorney!). You can go to the prosecutor of the appropriate court and see if they will allow you to file a criminal complaint and present it to the court, based on your evidence.

IIRC:
Class-C misdemeanors are jurisdiction of municipal court or Justice of the Peace court.

Class-B and Class-A misdemeanors are handled in county court.

Felonies are handled in District court.


I wouldn't advice the other forms of self-help suggested by some other posters. Tresspassing and messing with another fella's horse or mutulating your own can bring some serious consequences in TX. ;}

Certainly not without issuing and certifying the sending of a postage-paid demand letter first.

HG,

I think your going overboard by going the Theft of Services route. I agree with Jack Feldman. By simply filing with small claims court you can get paid plus your costs of filling etc. It will work. It has worked with inspectors around here. If the guy is a no show the judge will rule in your favor atomically.

//Rick

Originally Posted by Rick Bunzel

HG,

I think your going overboard by going the Theft of Services route. I agree with Jack Feldman. By simply filing with small claims court you can get paid plus your costs of filling etc. It will work. It has worked with inspectors around here. If the guy is a no show the judge will rule in your favor atomically.

//Rick

From ALL the posts you chose to respond to mine, and as such? OP is from Houston, not Washington.
Going to the guy's house and posting signs...a horse head, and the other stupendous suggestions, including just forgetting about it...the OP asked how to actually GET PAID, not how to get an unenforceable judgement and not get paid.

ROTFLMAO

Demand letter for payment.

Get money, if not - prosecute theft of services.

Its a crime in Texas. Restitution is enforced.

Good luck getting a judgement paid by a deadbeat you've won a default from small claims, a major waste of time and effort.

Jail is a great incentive.

While others may have different results, I have collected using small claims court.

In over 20 years of inspecting I have never been stiffed. I have had a couple of bounced cheques which the writers quickly corrected.

I accept cheques and cash and interact only.

The odd time a client will ask that I not cash the cheque for a few days. In which case I honour their request and thank them for being up front.

Have done home inspections without any contract based simply on a phone call from european clients and have done home inspections simply on a handshake.

Needless to say I have been lucky and touch wood I hope I never have problems with payments as some of you who have been unfortunate to experience.

I have a friend who has a friend that has a collection service, I think it is called Kneecaper-R-Us. They work out of Hackensack NJ.

Small claims is unenforceable here. HG is correct. After all the court time and the judge makes his judgement, maybe 3 years after the fact, the claimant may still have to chase down the money on his own.

I had one guy do that to me years ago. He didn't buy. He moved a couple of times. I pestered him by emails and phone for a while, then realized it was more grief for me than it was for him. C'est la vie.

John,

Thats not true, there are remedies in the Criminal Code -

The Criminal Code of Canada provides that in criminal court either a judge of the Ontario Court ofJustice or Superior Court of Justice can order an offender to pay money to a person under:

• - a restitution order under section 739
• - a condition of probation under section 732. or
• - a condition of a conditional sentence under section 742.3
  
  Also you can be found to be in contempt of court and you can read all about it here. (link below)
  
  I would think the same rules govern BC which after all - the criminal code is valid across Canada.
  
  http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...Results_EN.pdf
  
  Also from BC
  Court Decisions: Collecting on Judgment | Small Claims BC
  
  HG is not in Canada so his comments about collection are invalid as far as Canada goes.
  

In Texas you can go online and I forget the address but to the district attorneys office and get the paper work by down loading it. Follow instructions. No one can get a service and cancel a check after the fact. They must go through the legal hoops. Now banks are another story. In Texas someone can go directly to their bank and cancel a check for what ever reason. Even though it is illegal to cancel a check for services rendered.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

John,

Thats not true, there are remedies in the Criminal Code -

The Criminal Code of Canada provides that in criminal court either a judge of the Ontario Court ofJustice or Superior Court of Justice can order an offender to pay money to a person under:

• - a restitution order under section 739
• - a condition of probation under section 732. or
• - a condition of a conditional sentence under section 742.3
  
  Also you can be found to be in contempt of court and you can read all about it here. (link below)
  
  I would think the same rules govern BC which after all - the criminal code is valid across Canada.
  
  http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...Results_EN.pdf
  
  Also from BC
  Court Decisions: Collecting on Judgment | Small Claims BC
  
  HG is not in Canada so his comments about collection are invalid as far as Canada goes.
  

Well since the OP is from Texas, and not Canada your comments are invalid as far as Texas or the United States for that matter "goes".

We have LAWS that prohibit announcement of a debt without a judgement at ones workplace, to the general public, etc. Federal Laws in fact. So your workplace, publication by signage, tresspassing, etc. is "way outta whack".

Mention NOT small claims court in your demand, nor any other action it will NEGATE your position, OP.

Forget about a lien, an inspection is not an improvement to real property. Anyway if the principal didn't own the property at the time of inspection you have no standing so "fugget 'bout dat".

Without a demand letter you're screwed. Do as advised. P.S. without a contract (even via email) you're dicey. In the demand if within time frames and the Theft of Services avenue is 'bout you're only. If you've waited too long or engaged in "self help" you're chipped away at your chances.

HTH.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

John,

Thats not true, there are remedies in the Criminal Code -

The Criminal Code of Canada provides that in criminal court either a judge of the Ontario Court ofJustice or Superior Court of Justice can order an offender to pay money to a person under:

• - a restitution order under section 739
• - a condition of probation under section 732. or
• - a condition of a conditional sentence under section 742.3
  
  Also you can be found to be in contempt of court and you can read all about it here. (link below)
  
  I would think the same rules govern BC which after all - the criminal code is valid across Canada.
  
  http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...Results_EN.pdf
  
  Also from BC
  Court Decisions: Collecting on Judgment | Small Claims BC
  
  HG is not in Canada so his comments about collection are invalid as far as Canada goes.
  

Raymond, I can't argue the law with you as I know you have studied this. However, this is copied from the link you supplied. To collect, you must do this that and the other. There is no guarantee the debtor will pay. That is how I read it before and that is what is stated here. No guarantee, after many wasted hours and dollars.

"Court orders
Once a trial is over and you have a court order, there is usually more you will have to do to get whatever the judge decided you were entitled to.

The order – or judgment decision – needs to be put in writing and then filed with the court before you can take any steps to enforce or collect on the order. The court does not collect the money for you but the judge can set a schedule of payments. Once filed, an order expires after 10 years. For best results, action should be taken right away; however there is no guarantee that the debtor will pay.

The Ministry of Attorney General has prepared a guide to help you collect on a judgment – it’s called Getting Results."

Call or email their real estate agent. Let them know of the non-payment and tell them that if payment isn't received within the next 24 hours that you'll be turning the client over to your collection agency. Tell them you are sorry for the inconvenience and you understand the client will not be able to get a mortgage with a open collection claim on their credit report, but you've tried to contact the client and they will not return your calls, leaving you no choice.

At this point the agent will start to worry about the thousands of dollars in commission they'll be loosing. (good luck getting a mortgage when a collection agency files a new claim on their client's credit report). The agent will either pay you themselves or contact the client and make them pay you.

You'll never need to actually file with a collection agency.

Watson

Well since the OP is from Texas, and not Canada your comments are invalid as far as Texas or the United States for that matter "goes".

We have LAWS that prohibit announcement of a debt without a judgement at ones workplace, to the general public, etc. Federal Laws in fact. So your workplace, publication by signage, tresspassing, etc. is "way outta whack".

And where did I imply otherwise, other than what John was trying to imply that in Canada the court cannot collect money on plaintiffs behalf, which is a given. So don't come here and imply I was addressing your bloody opinion about Texas/US law.

As to my signage comment it was my opinion and has been done. As to the horse head it was a comment made in humour, something you have very little of. Its readily apparent you can't accept anyones view other then your own over inflated higher than thou.

I really don't understand how you are permitted to continue to post here and readily put down people.

- - - Updated - - -

John

There are no guarantees in life, and I realize the court cannot collect money on ones behalf that is the responsibility of the plaintiff to pursue other avenues with the courts backing. I was not trying to imply otherwise.

I usually have one bad debt every one or two years, sometimes less, sometimes more.
In the past, I had resorted to collection agencies but discovered they were next to useless.
Now I sue them. It works most of the time. I usually get paid right away. I've had to attend
three or four settlement conferences. It's amazing how cooperative people get when they're in front of a judge.
I usually double the amount and call it punitive damages. Judges don't like that.
As I recall, I have two outstanding default orders. Overall, my bad debts are far less
than credit card charges.

Steve,
If you are having that many bad debt clients, you are doing something wrong. Thinking that going to court 3 or 4 times is less than credit card fees makes me think you don't value your time very much.

My credit card processing fees are quite low, and I consider it a cost of doing business. I have many out of town / state buyers, and trying to get a check from them would be a nightmare. Just the other day my client gave their last check to the termite inspector and didn't realize it until they tore it out of the checkbook. No problem, I just took their credit card.

One lost day going to court is much more than my credit card processing.

Originally Posted by Jack Feldmann

Steve,
If you are having that many bad debt clients, you are doing something wrong. Thinking that going to court 3 or 4 times is less than credit card fees makes me think you don't value your time very much.

My credit card processing fees are quite low, and I consider it a cost of doing business. I have many out of town / state buyers, and trying to get a check from them would be a nightmare. Just the other day my client gave their last check to the termite inspector and didn't realize it until they tore it out of the checkbook. No problem, I just took their credit card.

One lost day going to court is much more than my credit card processing.

I agree with Jack..... A good example was my morning inspection from yesterday. My client was out of checks so she paid by credit card. It cost me $9.60 for a $350 inspection fee. For this $9.60 I did not have to drive to bank to make a deposit, the money is already in my account this morning and I don't have to chase anyone around for my money! The cost of accepting credit cards is priceless!

Do you folks state side have Interac? I have had success using it up here as I do not accept credit cards.

Interac - A Leader in Debit & Electronic Payment Services

Interac Association is a Canadian organization linking enterprises that have proprietary networks so that they may communicate with each other for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions.

It can cost as little as a dollar for the client to use to transfer money from their account to my account. And it may cost nothing for the client dependent on their banking features they pay for monthly.

Much cheaper than a credit card service.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

Do you folks state side have Interac? I have had success using it up here as I do not accept credit cards.

Interac - A Leader in Debit & Electronic Payment Services

Interac Association is a Canadian organization linking enterprises that have proprietary networks so that they may communicate with each other for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions.

It can cost as little as a dollar for the client to use to transfer money from their account to my account. And it may cost nothing for the client dependent on their banking features they pay for monthly.

Much cheaper than a credit card service.

I have not heard of this.. On the other hand any charges related to accepting credit cards are 100% deductible as an expense off of our federal income tax, so it is basically a wash when you get down to it.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I have not heard of this.. On the other hand any charges related to accepting credit cards are 100% deductible as an expense off of our federal income tax, so it is basically a wash when you get down to it.

I don't think the Feds take the full $9.60 off of your taxes.

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

I don't think the Feds take the full $9.60 off of your taxes.

Not off your taxes, sheesh, its fully deductable expense from income, which reduces the taxable income, and therefore the tax due upon same.

Originally Posted by H.G. Watson, Sr.

Not off your taxes, sheesh, its fully deductable expense from income, which reduces the taxable income, and therefore the tax due upon same.

So if I have say $70,000.00 gross income for the year, and I get to deduct $9.60 from the gross making my net $69,991.40, I will pay $9.60 less in tax? I think my accountant needs a new tax table to work from.

H.G. I just re-read your post, and I think you are saying the same as I am. The tax relief seen from the deductable expense is only a small percentage of the total expense i.e. 20% of the $9.60. So the CC charge cost is about $7.68 to me.

Yes, business expense reduce your taxable income.... Less taxable income equals less tax paid.. I agree it is not a 100% wash but those expense deductions sure do help.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Yes, business expense reduce your taxable income.... Less taxable income equals less tax paid.. I agree it is not a 100% wash but those expense deductions sure do help.

That was my point from my first post, but some people want to point out that I am not very bright. No need for that; my wife points it out every day. 20 cents on the dollar is not much of a wash!

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

I am not very bright...

my wife points it out every day!

Sorry Vern,
*too easy to pass up!!