Advice Required - Customer will not pay for labor, though has paid for parts

zeegy

zeegy

zeegy

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7 Oct 2003
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674
Location
Bournemouth
I am having a few little issues at the moment, and I’m unsure where I can really go from here on in.

To give you a little insight, I was asked to perform a screen replacement for someone and I gave them a very reasonable quote for the repair, This was broken down into two sections. Parts and Labour.
It was agreed that the parts would be paid for upfront (to ensure I am not out of pocket) so that I can order the part, replace it and then the balance (the labour) would be available once the repair was done, and the laptop would be handed back once paid.

The customer paid for the parts up front quite happily (and promptly), and the laptop since has been repaired. The customer was happy and keen to get the item back.

I made numerous attempts to deliver the item and collect the outstanding balance, to which I have either been ignored, left standing or told that they could not pay. The ordeal has been going on for in excess of two months.

I then tried to put my foot down, stating that they had 28 days to pay, though taken on board this deadline has been and gone with no attempt to pay the outstanding monies. I then tried to be firmer, by stating that if no attempt to make payment was made I see no other option than to sell the laptop to redeem the lost funds (hoping this would light a fire up ones butt)
To an extent it did, they got very irate, told me that it is not my laptop to sell and that I should hold onto it. I then fairly offered to setup a payment plan so that they could pay me back in instalments, once all payments were cleared the laptop would be returned.

I again, have heard nothing in a month, all agreed instalments were missed, phone calls are being ignored, but emails etc. are being collected and read.
I am amazed by all of this, as the outstanding balance to this whole ordeal is a whopping £30, though I really don’t want their laptop festering around in my house any more considering it has been here for FOUR MONTHS!

What should I do guys? I just seem to be stuck in a vicious circle at the moment, should I (and can I legally) sell this laptop considering these strange circumstances?
I was hoping to sell it, deduct the monies owed, and them pop the rest of the cash through the letterbox of the original customer.
 
Not an expert in these matters, but if your a business, talk to the Federation of Small Businesses they can help you out with legal advice.

We used to have this sort of problem all the time at work, except that we don't normally ask for money upfront. We now have terms and conditions, which every customer gets when they drop off a machine, that if they don't pay and collect within 3 months of completion of work, that the machine may be sold or scrapped for parts.

Legally I'm not sure where you stand if terms and conditions weren't stated at the beginning of the job.
 
Write a letter, sending it recorded delivery to them.

Put in the header and footer in bold capitals 'final notice before action'

Stick to the absolute facts and points in the letter:

Mr Smith,

On (date) you asked me to do (stuff) on (laptop description including serial number)

(Insert bullet points of what was agreed, when it was completed, when you chased for payment)

Following numerous failed attempts to gain payment for work completed I find myself with no alternative but to take this action.

You have 28 days to pay in full, after which point I will sell the laptop to recoup costs.

Yours faithfully





Etc. or, you can do small claims court, but I doubt it's worth the hassle. Are you a mate doing this for cash money, or a business by the way?
 
sell it for more than £30 and get on with your life.

tell your mum to fix her own laptop next time
 
Send them back pieces of the laptop bit by bit.

Seriously, this sounds like a real pain, I feel for you. Seems like you've done all the things I would, suggested alternatives and compromises. Hard to believe they can't afford to tirty quid to get it back, maybe they bought another in the meantime and are now overdrawn.

Sugguestions:

1. Send them a stern letter threatening some sort of legal action, if you threaten small claims court then the fee would be more thant the outstanding amount, i.e. you say "if you don't pay me the £30 then I'll take you to small claims court (attach a breakdown of fees), I think it's about £60 for a cheap claim. They'd lose and then owe £90, so really not worth their hassle to not pay.

2. You could send them a letter pretending to be a bayliff you've hired. :) Or just leave the a voicemail to that effect.

3. You could list the laptop on ebay on a 10 day auction with a 99p starting bid and send them a link. You'd think that would get your money within the 10 days.

4. Probably the most sensible suggestion, talk to CAB.

5. Keep holding onto laptop, but tell them you've sold it but you can get it back in the next day or so if they pay you.

6. Sell a part from the laptop to cover the cost, i.e. sell some of the RAM, downgrade the hard drive.

7. Put the broken screen back on and give it back to them. Obviously this isn't a great suggestion, cos it wastes more of your time, but it's quite fun.
 
You've probably spent more time pursuing the £30 than it would have taken you to earn it by doing other repairs. You fail at debt collection and for that reason I am out.
 
I once repaired a drill for a friend with a new trigger and all i asked was £18 for the new part. I fixed the drill and asked him for the monies but 1 month+ later i still had nothing from him!. I was so frustrated with been mucked around i decided after work i would go into his drill box and take the drill home.

I desoldered the trigger and next morning put it back into his drill box. We always used our drills for work so it was a beautiful sight when he went to drill a 3 inch screw in.

His face was a picture and it was all worth the £18, My work colleague also got a great laugh.

I would depending on the total loss give them it back broken and sell the new parts. I would not refund them anything for the new parts that is your cost returned.
 
I'm not absolutely sure about this, but I think you can sell the laptop, but you must get market price and give the customer the outstanding amount after your fees. You may also want to add administration and storage fees to cover the costs you've incurred (such as letters/time/storage spent).
 
Are you an actual business or was this a cash on the side job? Most businesses won't ask for payment for parts up front so they are not 'left out of pocket'.
 
[TW]Fox;24788818 said:
Are you an actual business or was this a cash on the side job? Most businesses won't ask for payment for parts up front so they are not 'left out of pocket'.
Click to expand...

My business does, mainly because of jerks like the OP's customer. So far every single customer has had no problem with paying up front for the cost of parts.... In a small shop like ours we simply will not take chances with customers never returning for items we have repaired and paid out for.

When you are talking £100+ on laptop and iphone screens on a regular basis you can soon rack up over a grands worth of cash outlay on a dozen jobs, and if customers decide to wait weeks before picking things up it can cause a cash flow problem for a small outfit such as ourselves. If its explained up front 99% of people are happy to pay a deposit upfront ( this is usually the cost of the part only or maybe 70% of it ) and the rest on completion.
 
Cheers for all the replies peeps, some very helpfull indeed, some just made me smile.

At the end of the day, I for one am really not fussed about the £30 - that said though, I sure as hell dont want to return it the customer with their unagreed discount! :)
 
Don't take anyone to court unless you are registered as a business with HMRC, or things will go really sour very quickly

Edit, op hasn't replied to others regarding the status of the business, I conclude it is illegal ;-)

Edit edit, just hope the customer doesn't dob you in, one quick call and your ass is grass
 
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Just tell him if he doesn't pay within 7 days or so he'll have to fit the screen himself and return it to him in the state it was in originally with the screen he has payed for separate, it already sounds like you've waste too much time chasing him and he doesn't seem in any hurry to get it back. Might as well cut your losses.
 
Flukester said:
Don't take anyone to court unless you are registered as a business with HMRC, or things will go really sour very quickly

Edit, op hasn't replied to others regarding the status of the business, I conclude it is illegal ;-)

Edit edit, just hope the customer doesn't dob you in, one quick call and your ass is grass
Click to expand...

In the eyes of the law probably (yes), I would like to point out that I am using the term customer loosely with an attempt to make things more understanding. I'm not going to fully explain the situation trying to worm out what was said.

That said, A strong lesson learnt, don't do favors/work for friends of friends, This is (and probably will continue) to get messy!

Edit, Ironically I've just had a call from the original laptop owner. Very threatening, what a charming person!
 
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