re: bilking
There are two scenarios -
leaving the restaurant without paying a cent = Bilking and a criminal charge
paying something towards the bill = Civil procedure - contractual issue. no criminal offence, per se.
Anthony Sterne
www.acumenholdings.co.za
DISCLAIMER The above is merely a comment in discussion form and an open public arena. It does not constitute a legal opinion or professional advice in any manner or form.
Hello Quinn,
Who ever posted "see a need and fill it" was right on the money (pun intended)
I too have recently added debt collecting (or as I prefer to call it, debt management) to my portfolio.
I have used a combination of things.
I send the letter of demand as a courtesy. Being on an attorney letterhead has more effect than a debt collection agency. I offer them an opportunity to present a payment plan, or pay. Failing which we issue summons immediately.
I let the client handle the so called management of payments, to save them the costs and me the bother, a difference fromthe debt collection agency, although it does mean i am reliant on the client to communicate effeciently and be sharp.
I concentrate on building repeat business. Most clients hand over anything that reaches a set day, eg 90 days overdue.
As to charges - If I issue summons, the charges are claimable from the non payer, so client has no cost. From my perspective I charge the standard rate as set down by legislation for summons, average R400 depending on amount. Seeing as all I need to do is change the address, and minor details (I am dealing with provisional summons here) my time and effort is well rewarded.
Being provisional summons, there is no ground to challenge at initial stage (they need to pay and then challenge the obligation afterwards) Provisional summons becomes a writ and execution all in one process, it is designed to favour the person owed money, and their are no delaying tactics available like ordinary summons (requireing summary judgment and/or default judgment procedures)
As to other charges, I have not set in stone any parameters. I do not charge for every letter and every phone call etc. As a rule I say 10% but generally if the payment is made quickly, charge a flat rate of R150. Because I go to summons straight away, I do not waste time with phone calls and letters etc, ect. If summons is issued tehn I charge the summons rate, which the client reclaims in a cost order..
Importantly I try and preserve the clients business relationship with their client where possible.
Anthony Sterne
www.acumenholdings.co.za
DISCLAIMER The above is merely a comment in discussion form and an open public arena. It does not constitute a legal opinion or professional advice in any manner or form.
Quinn, can you please tell me more?
As a hosting / IT company, we seem to rack-up many bad debtors very quickly. Clients order a hosting package + domain today, and next year when it's time for renewal they simply don't pay, nor do they let us know what todo with it. And they also don't even have the decency to let us know they want to cancel. Not a big deal, so we just cancel their domain & hosting. Job done.
But, when we do web development for clients, they would normally pay 50% deposit upfront, and we do the job, and they pay upon job completion. The problem is, some don't. The job is done, time & resources are wasted and no invoices paid.
How can your services help me in this case to either get paid, or have them blacklisted?
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It appears all is not so well. I made my previous post out of genuine interest. I needed clarification before commiting. The delay in a simple answer is starting to develope an odour. A pity, I can do with this type of service.
People think they can just advertise on here once off and the business will coming rolling in. If you cannot even reply to a thread on a forum, how can you expect to deliver good service?
Quinn was quite active on TFSA for a while and shared some good insights along the way. And then she simply disappeared.
I suspect there was a change in her personal situation.
Participation is voluntary.
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Yes, she was quite informative for a while. I really believed something could come of it. I lose way too much through defaulters.
What is your opinion? On this issue of non payment, there are the traditional methods as mentioned above. There is however another option starting to rear its head. At this stage I am very uncomfortable with it, but it does speak to my natural tendency to transparency and accountability on the other hand..
Supplier is owed for goods and services rendered.
Debtor defaults
Supplier tries all traditional routes short of legal action then goes to their own facebook fan page with it.
Debtor responds but in private.
Supplier responds on fb fan page.
Supplier gets newspapers and others involved (because it is a "breaking news" high profile supplier and debtor) and whilst naming and shaming debtor, offers that debtor as matter of principle can donate the money to a worthy charity.
Debtor remains mum.
Do you think this is unprofessional? Would you do it? Does it speak to your transparency and "righteousness"?
I really am quite torn..
Check it out for yourself. Charley's Bakery CT is the supplier and Fonerina or something like that the debtor.
Regards
Debbie
debbie@stafftraining.co.za
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Debtor should have paid before the publicity storm broke.
The folk that pay on summons as opposed to on time deserve some adverse publicity IMO. I've got a couple of 'em that deserve it, and at times I've been tempted to name and shame.
Unfortunately, I suspect the potential legal consequences outweigh the personal gratification - because that's all I think you're going to get. I'm pretty sure it's not going to result in you getting paid.
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Alcocks Electrical Services | Alcocks Pest Control & Entomological Services | Alcocks Hygiene Services
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