Being hounded for payment

[JJPP1234]

I've had a guy in decorating my lounge. The job took a couple of days and he finished today at 4.30. When he was leaving he asked how I wanted to pay so I asked if bank transfer would be ok. He said fine and emailed his details immediately.
An hour later I've looked at my phone and I've had 5 text messages and a missed call plus voicemail asking where his money is.
AIBU to have not paid him (I've done it now - was going to wait for DH to get home and i was making dinner) within an hour of him leaving my house?

[Aridane]

Maybe his rent is due tomorrow, or it’s his kids birthday this weekend or other people that should have paid promptly have let him down, or decided like those on here that 3 days is perfectly acceptable to wait before they pay

So you chase six times in an hour?

[petbear]

As I said earlier, and quite a few others have said, if he was THAT DESPERATE for the money, then why did he not ask for cash on completion of the job?

Very odd behaviour, very intimidating, and totally unacceptable.

I know the OP said she wanted to use him again, but I would have sent payment, and then blocked his number, and NEVER used him again.


No matter what ANYone says, there is no excuse for his behaviour. 'Maybe he needed the money to feed his children/for rent/for new socks/for a bag of fucking chips!' Load of bollocks. He was quite capable of saying he needed the cash on completion of the job.

I am willing to bet that he would not have treated a man in the same manner as he treated the OP.

[JJPP1234]

See Nancy, it's interesting you say that because my only recent experience of a small job is when my gas hob sprung a leak before christmas. It took 2 weeks before we were asked for money and that was after we chased!

[nancy75]

He shouldn’t have to chase at all, payment should have been made when he finished the job, before he left the house. If people do work for you it’s not a surprise that you have to pay them.
He was probably expecting the op would have the cash ready, which is what people normally do in these circumstances

[nancy75]

I had my oven repaired just before Christmas, I asked how much it would cost & had the cash ready to pay - why would you not have the money ready to pay when the job is done?

[kitchensinkmum]

I always pay before they leave. Usually Agree a price before they begin the job so have an idea of how much. He's probably had to chance people for money before. If it was me I'd want to be paid as I finished the job. He's most likely had to pay out in advance for paint etc.

[JJPP1234]

Well with the hob job I had literally no idea how much it would cost

[MrsKoala]

This really pisses me off. Probably because i grew up in a trade family and they left the job and then sent an invoice which was expected within 30 days. Also thru work i have had invoices with a 30 day expectation. Then suddenly I had tradesman texting every 5 mins saying they still hadn't been paid within 10 mins of leaving the property.

We had a photographer from DS2 preschool email me every 30 mins for a day saying 'PAYMENT' and nothing else. i was so pissed off i was tempted to cancel the order but the pics were so good.

I think it's rude. I would expect a 24 hour grace period. Sometimes my internet banking is down and i just can't transfer the money. My parents (dad is a tradesman) don't have internet or telephone banking (neither does dh) and go into the bank to do a transfer.

[GnotherGnu]

Incredibly bad business sense. OP has already said that she would have wanted to use him for another job, so all those texts have potentially lost him several hundred pounds. To say nothing of what he loses potentially given that she may be reluctant to recommend him to anyone else.

If he's on any trade directories, I'd be tempted to leave some honest feedback.

[KnobZombie7]

I always pay before they leave - if the job is well done. Never thought of not paying then. They usually access to their bank details and then check to see if the money has gone in before leaving. Quite a normal transaction.

[SilenceIsBroken]

"We had a photographer from DS2 preschool email me every 30 mins for a day saying 'PAYMENT' and nothing else. i was so pissed off i was tempted to cancel the order but the pics were so good."

That is breathtakingly rude!

I am also self employed and appreciate prompt payment. But there are ways of dealing with people to ensure you're paid in a timely fashion without pissing them off. I've been paid instantly and have also waited four or five months for payment. It is (unfortunately) part and parcel of working for yourself.

[MrsKoala]

When did this start? Was it in the last 10 years? Because 80s/90s/00s ime people did the work, sent an invoice, then waited 30 days to be paid.

[JJPP1234]

I'll certainly do things differently in future. It's apparent that what I thought was a reasonable time frame, and what has been accepted as a reasonable timeframe in the past, isn't always reasonable!

[Jenny17]

He should have made his business terms clearer I.e. he wanted to be paid immediately. However I do empathise whilst OP would have paid quickly many won’t and it is a real hassle getting invoices paid.

[MrsKoala]

Silence - i was tempted to email him and say that from a business perspective he really hadn't done himself any favours. But dh said just ignore him and transfer the money the following morning when i could get to a branch because my online banking was down (which it often is - cheers HSBC!). We were going to ask him to do some private pics of the dc but after that i just think 'you berk'.

[SilenceIsBroken]

MrsKoala that would've sent my hackles rising. It's so easy to write "I'd appreciate being paid by the end of the day", no need to be aggressive about it. I wonder who else he pissed off that day!

[Ginslinger]

that sounds like hounding to me - I pay a deposit and then pay on receipt of invoice which could be up to 3 weeks later depending on how efficient their admin is

[Bigfatchips]

Yanbu.

I would want an invoice for that sort of job. Up to a week to pay should be absolutely fine unless they are some sort of tax-dodging amateur.

[MrsKoala]

Now I always say to people i can't do transfers between 3 and 8pm because i aim too busy. I say once the kids are in bed i will get to it. We had a floorer who still kept texting. It was a shame because he was really good floorer. But i wouldn't use him again because he couldn't wait just a few hours.

[Spartaca]

If he needed it urgently he should have made tat clear at the time, as otherwise having to wait an hour or two is perfectly reasonable.

I don't think I have ever paid a tradesperson cash as they leave, they've always invoiced or at least texted a total with parts or whatever.

[Spartaca]

And for a new payee it would take more than a minute to do a bank transfer. Would need to get on main pc, find little key card thing and go from there. At 1645 I wouldn't be doing that unless he told me it was urgent, as I would be sorting dinner etc etc. I would wait until the evening.

[PavlovianLunge]

That amount of chasing is unprofessional, and would absolutely put me off using his services again.

[Sassychiccy]

Of course you’re not being unreasonable.

Why would she have cash? Presuming it’s several hundred pounds?

[thecatsarecrazy]

He was a bit ott but when we had carpets fitted I asked price beforehand and paid as he was leaving.