over charging customers

[daveob]

Why would that be Dave ?

With the suppliers that I use, if you don't have an account, you have to pay up front, especially where something is going to be produced or supplied that can't simply be put back into stock - like printing manuals, services supplied, etc.

I think that some small operators are too desperate for work that they will allow others to take advantage of them by getting work done and then delaying payment for long periods.

You should never extend credit to someone without first processing a proper credit application form, checking account references, etc. Yes, I know that every small operator wants to look like a 'big company' but remember that large organisations have full time account clerks to process credit applications, financial managers with experience in credit rules / laws / red tape, etc. And they can absorb a certain number of non-paying clients. In the small business area, if you get 1 or 2 client not paying, you could end up going hungry for the month, especially if you've spent many hours in the month on that job.

If the client does not have an account - they pay up front. If they won't pay up front, then they probably won't pay you after the works done ( at least not until you've been stuffed around and spent more energy chasing the money than it took to do the work in the first place ). At least if you insist on up front payment, and you don't get the payment / work, you haven't wasted your time doing the work for nothing.

[Dave A]

Why would that be Dave ?

Yeah. Thinking about it, maybe not. Hellopeter.com is not a credit bureau.

[murdock]

i have had this company for 17 years now and have heard all the excuse for non payment...my best one so far is the fella i did work for and all...i replaced a geyser element and when i enquired about payment he told me that the stove element had gone faulty since i repaired the geyser.

tony haynes who worked for shell as an oil rep. was one of my worste customers i have had to deal with...i went through 2 years in court trying to get my money...the builder the plumber and i all took him to court...because he took a second bond on his flat to pay us and instead spent the money on a brand new yz 125 motor cycle...i also found out that this tony haynes was a monster apparently he use to beat his girl friend all the time on parts of he body that you could not see like her breasts until she fianally commited suicide...i met another women who went out with him for a while and said the same...he is a monster...its a pity i cant get a half a hour behind closed doors with him...one on one let him use me as a punch bag problem with people like this is they dont feel anything...he makes me think of the silence of the lambs.

then there are the likes of granite and marble industries who i worked for 6 years never had a problem with payments...i built the factory from the 250 amp ct panel right thru to the new offfice block...i was dealing with thomas keller...we agreed on a price because they didnt know what they wanted in the building so i gave them an hourly rate which they agreed on and when it came to paying me well lets just say i am down the tube for R75000.00

powerflow exhaust was another really bad debt...i was promised payment on the monday...my staff and i worked non stop from the friday afternoon right thru till the monday mornin without stopping to make sure the factory would be up and running so that they didnt loose any production time...my cousin mike banks was the auditor for benhaum and ass. who where doing powerflows books at the time... told me i would get my money...well i sit years later still waiting...and by the way mike banks became a director at power flow which then changed the name to primaforce exhausts ...apparently him and the people who paid R5000 for the name powerflow took juan pierre for everything he had...absolutely ruthless bussiness men well you know what happens the wheel always turns...lots of money brings lots of unhappiness unfortunatley...i dont even think primaforce are around anymore.

i could write a book on all the bad paying customers...unfortunatley i take my bussiness very personally and i am very passionate about my work i enjoy what i do and get a sense of satisfaction every time i take a step back and look at the end product... i have got a small hand full of good paying customers...i make just enough money to come out every month and cannot afford bad debts.

there is one thing i have learnt over the years about running a bussiness...rule number one cash is king...no money in the bank...no company its that simple.

you can have million rand contracts...thousands of customers...but if you dont have the capital to keep the projects you are going down the tube with all the other companies i have seen come and go over the years...apparently the stats are for every 100 companies which start within 5 years 50 of them would have closed down and after 10 years only 5 will still be operating...what i have seen happen tooo often are people who start companies register them as cc or pty and run up so much debt them close them and change names.

the joke of this thread is that apparently the person who owes me the R100 is now being sued by another company for a couple hundred thousand for bad and faulty workmaship.

[Dave A]

i make just enough money to come out every month and cannot afford bad debts.

It goes beyond that. If the work has been done, payment is due. Period.

One of the big problems I'm finding is when a client is sitting without power, it's a case of "do whatever it takes to get the power back on." When the bill arrives, suddenly there are chequebook problems.