To think they just dont have the money

[Clappingforjoy]

Dp tradesman carried out a 2 week job for somebody and is still waiting to be paid the homeowner concerned said he would sort money for this week but none came.
So dp asked him if he was going to transfer and homeowner claimed he had already sent it but nothing had arrived in dp account.
Homeowner is saying he doesnt understand why and claims he has been trying to get in touch with his bank but they are engaged etc etc.
He sent part of the money not even half from another account that he said wasnt much money in.
He is not updating dp on the situation and we are still waiting.
Aibu to think he doesnt currently have the money and how to deal with this.

I hate hounding him but we really need the money.

I don't understand why you need advice on how to deal with it. If your husband is self employed does he not have procedures for clients who do not pay?

Dp has procedures in place but we have to give at least 60 days

Is this the digital version of 'the cheque is in the post'? They say they have sent the money.

They could have accidentally sent it to the wrong account - they need to talk to their bank.

If your DH sent the details by email or possibly text, the invoice could have been hacked and changed by criminals. Sounds far fetched, but this is a thing now.

Or they could be fibbing because they either have no money or are just chancers. If that is the case, he needs to make his payment terms clear - amount and due date, and if that doesn't work, he needs to take formal action. If this ends up being the case, he also needs to think about his procedures - does he have written evidence that he was asked to do the job, how much it would cost, and what his payment terms are, so if he does end up taking them to court, they can't claim that the work wasn't done, or they never agreed to pay his bill. DP nearly learnt this the hard way as in his industry a lot of work is done by word of mouth and even by volunteers and one big project didn't pay for 3 months and we were thinking of going to the small claims court and realised he didn't have much concrete evidence that they were actually planning to pay him. Luckily they paid up just in time.

The polite thing is to send a letter before action - ie pay up within 14 days or else I'll take you to the small claims court. And if they don't pay, do it. It's fairly cheap and easy to do online.

Cross posted.

If you don't have the credit facility in place to allow 60 days credit, don't do it. 30 days is more than reasonable and it's going to be more than that once you've moved to the next step. He needs to really keep on top of invoicing and payment chasing.

Well do did work before for him and he paid no trouble.
He said he used the same details as before.

Not good enough is it? Most people expect to pay trades on completion of the job. Bank transfer as soon as finished.
You need to be assertive and professional. Payment has not been received. 14 days then legal action.

I know a self employed carpenter who was cheated out of £43,000 by a really friendly person he had done jobs for before.

The work has been done, you need payment be friendly but firm, offer to accompany client to his bank in order to “help” ensure the transfer goes through.

There are some horrible people out there.

I think it's fair in future to ask for some money half way through the job to avoid this. And explain this is how your dh works in the beginning. Unfortunately there are chancers out there on both sides and I have experienced both ends of it. The more you set clear boundaries at the beginning, the less people are likely to take the micky out of you.

If it's a big job, get the clients to pay 1/3 deposit up front. If it's a long term job, get them to make interim payments as well.

If it looks like they aren't going to pay, send them a letter before action giving a payment deadline and if they don't meet it he will take them to court, and also charge interest and costs.

Then he could take them to small claims and get a quick judgment. However, even if he gets a judgment, enforcing it is another matter. Especially if they really don't have the money.

60 days?! That seems loads. Is that what his terms say?

Well latest text he is saying he told dp it would be Monday or Tuesday next week but he claimed he claimed on Monday he had sent it.

Sorry on Tuesday just gone he claimed he had sent Monday before today he is saying he had told dp Monday tueaday next week

So he’s lying in that case and cant keep his story straight. He’s chancing it. Go down the legal route and make sure people in the industry know to avoid him.

My plumber says its always those people you’d least expect who do this type of con (well-off, flash types).

Those inconstancies sound a bit suspicious to me

Gosh nightsof I wouldnt have expected this.
Now he is saying he told dp he would only be able to part of the money this week but do says he didnt say that.
So why didn't he say this monday and instead claimed he had sent and he was going to investigate with his bank,then he sends money from another account until he sorts it.
It doesnt make sense to me also he has not long come back from a 8 week holiday.
He also comes across has having plenty of money with several cars and personalised number plates, lovely big house etc.

I think as someone else has said ,.in future for larger jobs to expect some payments along the way .The fact that he has several cars and has come back from a long holiday ,only points to the fact that he has got the money but doesnt want to part with it!

I am self-employed and occasionally have trouble getting clients to pay the invoices. Many years ago, I had a good tip from a doctor I was working for (it is something he used on solicitors who didn't want to pay for medicolegal reports for months). On your invoice, you should include a statement that if they don't pay within (21 days in my case) interest will be charged. You need not put at what rate (you can invent a rate of your own choosing if it comes to it as it is up to you). After 21 days, you then represent the invoice with the added amount for late payment. 9 times out of 10 they are horrified and immediately pay you the new total. With clients I like (I have one who is always a late payer), I just point the statement out to them and they pay quickly to avoid the increase.
Apart from that, if all else fails, can he go back and "undo" all the work he did as they won't pay (or look as though he is about to)?

What do your terms actually say? It's no good people telling you to give him 14 days and then start legal action if the terms that your customer agreed to is to pay within 60 days.