AIBU to ask for payment now?

[Hoople]

I look after people's dogs when they go away. Only now and again and I have a few regulars who always come back to me because they have total peace of mind that their dog will be treated like one of the family. I only have one dog at any one time

One of my regulars has just left their dog with me for over a fortnight at a total cost of £224. He picked him up on Saturday evening at 7pm and said he'd 'try and send payment through in the morning.' It's now 36 hours past Sunday morning and he hasn't paid

Now I wouldn't usually be too worried about this but this regular has form for taking a while to pay and I usually have to send an awkward reminder text. Sometimes two or three. This isn't an issue when the money owed is 30 odd quid but this has been a long chunk of time that I had his dog and the money owed is over £200.

Do I leave it longer? How long? It's been 48 hours since he collected his dog. Or do I send a text now?

God I find this stuff so awkward. All my other regulars pay immediately or within an hour or two. It's only pressing a few buttons to make a transfer isn't it?

WWYD?

[Linzilou1985]

How rude is he! I'm very much like you op; cringing inside even sending a text when you're perfectly within your rights to do so! Hope he pays soon

[ShesNoNormanPace]

Do uou have his address? Ask for it. Write him an invoice. Address it to him and his wife. Drop it through the door.

You have nothing to be embarrassed about - he does. He owes you money.

Next time get payment in advance.

[Ginkypig]

I think your right not to have his dog again for no other reason than you won't directly ask for payment so it's better just to not be in that position again.

That aside though he's an arsehole!

[CurbsideProphet]

He's clearly stalling in the hope you'll be too embarrassed to chase him for payment. He's the one who should be embarrassed. I would send an unemotional and to the point "I'm still awaiting payment" via text and follow up with a more official email, plus post an invoice through the door if you have their address.

[MyOtherProfile]

What a rude man. Please don't feel awkward OP. You have every right to badger him now.

[Hoople]

No reply to my text and no payment.

Yes I know where he lives. I'm not texting anymore as it's clearly not working. I like the idea of an invoice through his door so I shall do that on Friday as that's when I next have the time to do it.

So pissed off. Not actually at not being paid weirdly enough .. more that A I clearly need to woman up in my dealings with this sort of thing and B that he's got the nerve to do this

[Ceto]

If you have to wait till Friday anyway, you may as well send a further and much tougher text. Tell him that, as he knows, your terms are payment within 24 hours and he is now well beyond that, despite promising to organise payment last night, and ask him to ensure that payment is made by noon tomorrow at the latest.

[Shankarankalina]

I would text 'hi, 11pm still not in my account. I will check again at 7am and let you know if it has been safely received.'

And repeat on a two-hourly basis during the day.

[EskiVodkaCranberry]

Ring him and ask.
No point threatening with future ifs and what's, deal with the issue as it is now.
If you're not desperate for the money give it till Friday, phone him and say you still haven't got it, is there a problem? It'll be harder for him to lie on the phone than via text and you're not sat waiting for a response. Good luck!

[eddielizzard]

write clearly on the invoice that he's x many days overdue.

i wonder if he has any intention of paying at all? in which case he knows he's going to have to find another dog sitter.

i hate people like this.

[ShesNoNormanPace]

He cant just not pay and think of the non-payment of two free weeks of care as a finder's fee for the new dogsitter. He pays, and he finds a new sitter.

[TealStar]

Oh OP. I'm self employed and hate chasing money but I've become better at it now. I'm quite bloody minded in fact. However as is normal in the type of business I run I stipulate 30 days on my invoices.

I've often found that wealthy people are the worst, especially those from old money as they just haven't a clue how mere mortals who, you know, NEED money and have to budget cope. Their off handed insouciance to money drives me mad. You'll have to have stricter terms in future i.e. 50% upfront for long stays.

Just get angry and be direct. Don't be shy; this is YOUR money now, not his, and he's withholding it from you.

[WitchDancer]

There are people out there that never pay a bill until they get a final reminder. If you never send a final reminder then you are never going to get paid.

I know it's more a hobby than a business, but I really think you need to be standardising the reminders of payment - give an invoice when the dog is collected, reminder 24 hours after, chase letter 1,2,& 3 24 hours after (i.e. 1 a day) and then put it in small claims court. If you do that you'll get prompt payment - the squeaky wheel always gets paid first!

[PastaOfMuppets]

"... I clearly need to woman up in my dealings..."

Ok, OP, so what will this 'womaning up' entail?

You keep saying things like "normally I'm really assertive!" - does this dog scammer think you're assertive or a pushover?

You say "it's so embarrassing /awkward" - for whom is this embarrassing or awkward, because dog scammer isn't embarrassed by this as you're begging pathetically and beating around the push in case you see him at the shop!

This guy is ripping you off, and you are too scared and polite to tell him to just transfer you the money he owes you.

Stop giving him an apology or excuse when you mentally ask him again for payment. It doesn't matter if you are or aren't checking and balancing your books. It doesn't matter if you need or don't need the money. He owes you payment so call him, fgs, and say "you have failed to make payment and I require it immediately". Why are you acting like a nervous little girl? Honestly I am more frustrated that a grown woman would act this way than I am to read that someone is trying to get away with avoiding payment. You've allowed him in the past to scam you and delay payment, so why would he think this time is any different?

Just call him and clearly tell him he has failed to pay and that he must rectify this in cash immediately or by electronic funds transfer by 5pm/9am/whatever or you'll seek funds collection. Don't be a wimp!!

[LeninaCrowne]

I don't get why you don't ask for 50% upfront and balance on collection of pet as a standard unless this is a "cash-in-hand" enterprise because you don't pay any tax or claim benefits etc.

[SteppingOnToes]

I don't get why you don't ask for 50% upfront

I ask for all upfront - you don't pay your hotel the balance on checkout, it should be the same for the dog. I didn't used to but got bitten a couple of times with people not picking their dogs up at all dumping them basically

[Hoople]

Piss off Lenina and read the thread. I'm totally above board. You're obviously particularly hard of reading too

[Hoople]

Pasta - I think I needed that! You're absolutely right

[ScrumpyBetty]

I am fuming on your behalf OP. And aghast that anyone can be so rude and entitled. We treat our dog sitters and dog walkers with so much respect, I would never dream to be late paying them because I so appreciate them and am thankful for their care of my dog.

I really really hope he pays you soon. Please don't look after his dog again- and do make it clear to him that the reason you cant look after hus dog again is because of late payments and that he can't treat people that way.

[Ginlovinglady]

Think you need an official looking letter with lots of red and LATE PAYMENT OVERDUE stamped on the front posted through the door to "mr & mrs"
Saying you'll be charging them late payment fees of £20 per day. Might not be inforcable, but hopefully the wife will read it and be ashamed of her husbands behaviour and cough up

[LeninaCrowne]

You tell me to piss off but you're too polite (yea right) to ask him to pay up as he owes you money and then bleat about it here because he's done it to you a few times before.

If you're above board and have standards terms and conditions on a contract which is signed, then you can ask for payment as per that contract. If it's all casual then maybe he thinks he can piss you about.

[goldensyrupisshit]

Leninia even people who sign contracts can still take the piss. My business I only take payments up front although I do annualise payments for some clients so have been left being owed money. It's horrible having to chase payments and is always better to gently nudge to start before bringing the big guns out.

[Motoko]

I don't understand why you haven't sent him a stronger worded text. You're not saying it to his face (in which case I could understand why you would feel awkward about it) and you've been given lots of ways of wording it.

You keep saying you're too soft. You're not soft. Soft would be if he told you he was unable to pay until pay day because his boiler's just blown up and would you mind waiting until then.
Instead, you're being a limp lettuce, a doormat.

Just send him a strongly worded text or letter, giving him until 5pm tomorrow. Stop pussyfooting around.

And I agree, don't take his dog again, tell him why, don't make excuses. He needs to be told his late payments are unacceptable.
I fear if you did take the dog again, even if you told him it was payment up front, he would turn up with the dog and spin you a line about not having the money just yet, and you would still accept the dog because you'd feel too awkward to say no, because they wouldn't be able to go on holiday.

[Wheatfield]

I think the trouble is, unless he's specifically signed an agreement stating he'll pay within 24 hours (which I don't think he has) saying he has until 5pm until tonight to pay and then....and then what? It hasn't even been 7 days yet so I doubt the small claims court would want to know. Basically, what is the repercussion for him not paying promptly?!

OP, I am 100% like you and run a similar business. I do state in my invoices (which are always a fortnight in arrears anyway) payment within 7 days and the number of people who just ignore that and I have to chase them still after 10-14 days, by which time I'm invoicing them again. I often see these people daily too and they chat away, knowing they owe me money. Just so rude. So I totally feel your pain but am not really sure what the solution is. I would wait until it's been 7 days and then send him a hard(et) message. I wouldn't be too worried about pissing him off if you don't intend to take his dog again, if he fails to pay, take him to the small claims court.

[PastaOfMuppets]

Hoople, I had a terrible guilty conscience after posting such a mean telling-off ... I'm hugely relieved that you didn't take offence as I really meant none. Just that this guy is clearly a dickhead and is taking advantage of you, and we as women so often fall back on being polite and sweet to arsehole men instead of being as forthright as men are to us. I think a phone call would be good, especially if you write one simple clear non-apologetic sentence and just stick with that.

It must be tough not being a formal business like a kennel, where you could just take cash or card payment at time of handover. But this guy isn't polite and isn't in any way concerned with you or your situation, so you just gotta toughen up and be the assertive woman you pride yourself on being in your regular work environment.

And good luck, cos it sounds like you need it with this doofus.