Bad debt and your business

[tec0]

Something to tell all those people, "pay all your debts as they become due, then gamble for fun." You may actually enjoy it.

No you just want an argument Jinxster...

However I do love arguments gambling for fun? So you are honestly telling me that on pay weekend people come and gamble for fun.

I spotted xyz at the roulette table in the casino...

So only the rich may gamble, and may enjoy the silent hope of getting even more out of life then. And don’t tell me that is not what you said because it is exactly what you said... “Looking down on these people may be fun for you but if the tables were turned then I think your point of view may change.

Simple case and point: The majority Lotto players in South Africa are very desperate people. But if you can’t play the rich-persons game you end up being the rich-persons toy....

Gambling is sometimes bad YES... But that being said, a wager on freedom is always money well spend. Just ask the slaves of old world American times: where they had to put their lives against the role of a dice.

[Chatmaster]

the problem with debt collecting the hard core way is you need to be very carefull...one of my mates got a 9mm in the chest at point blank range from a little guy...so if you do decided to collect this way beware of the unexpected...and rather go for his family they are much easier targets and get better results.

I avoid personal confrontations as far as possible, but to be very honest you need think carefully before doing that to me, very carefully...

[tec0]

I see more debt collectors are using police escorts if they feel the person in question is dangerous.

[murdock]

i agree i always try avoid confrontations...the problem with my bussiness is i still believe in the hand shake...the think called a mans word...i meet every sigle customer in person and hand delivered invoices until recently...the first question i always ask if payment is late...is there a problem with the work carried out...if not then there is no excuse for non payment...the kind of people i do debt collecting personally are the ones who for example...went and bought a motorbike with the money he was suppose to pay myself the builder and the plumber...i have no pity on these type of people.

but on the other hand a recent example was a lady whos husband passed away and she is left with a whole lot of problems...i only invoiced her for the quoted work and not all the extras and i am prepared to wait till she gets money to pay because i understand her situation.

unfortunatley my bussiness and the little income i make puts food on the table for my family...you dont pay my family suffers.

[Chatmaster]

I spoke to the Sheriff that handles some of my cases. He also uses some off-duty policemen to assist with some cases. He has been shot, stabbed and assaulted at numerous occasions. Not the kind of job I would like to do.

Don't get me wrong, I have a heart and I have a number of customers that I am assisting in their own problems, if I have the time off-course. But those that do not play with me I go full on to recover my money legally.

[SilverNodashi]

We see this trend as well, but in our case we have a lot of control over the client's IP. since we're generally a hosting company, when someone doesn't pay and doesn't tell us why (we send out payment reminders, then SMS, and phone-calls), then we simply cut-off their websites

Some see it as cruel, but it's effective. If you want to stay in business and have your website up and running, then the least you can do is to pay your hosting bill as well. It's only fair to pay your debtors when you expect your client's to pay you

But, with physical labor (i.e. web development, or network installations) this is somewhat of a different ball-game. Even with a 50% upfront deposit we still get clients who don't pay the final bill and simply disappear afterwards

[Dave Morrison]

I am caught up in a terrible situation in terms of bad debt seriously effecting one of my businesses.

Since June last year I have had an average of R74,000 per month of non-payments and it shows an increase monthly. The main excuse I have received was that the clients themselves were battling with bad payers.

Now I am trying to figure out if anyone else is picking up the same trend.

I control myself and have never been in such situation! Good luck!