# Who skiped out of town?



## Grizzly (Nov 26, 2006)

Even though so some of us; were new to the tree industry and have bee ripped off by either our clients, workers or people passing by. I have had a couple clients that skipped town to avoid paying the bill. I had to remove a rubber tree from the back yard and by the time I finished, he went on "VACATION" and was never seen again. Haw should I go about collecting from this crook. It was verbal.


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## Ekka (Nov 26, 2006)

Was he the property owner or a tenant?

Like if he was the owner and hasn't sold the house then it shouldn't be to hard to get your money. Maybe they'll be back and are on holidays or something?

A rubber tree? You mean a big sap dripping ficus elastica?

Have a discreet chat to the neibs and see what they know ... but dont be specific about how much he owes etc or he could get you for privacy breaches.

Many times neibs know of forwarding addresses and phone numbers.

If he owns the house you guys over there put some leins or something on them ... that means he's got to settle up with you before selling out.

Good luck.


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## treeman82 (Nov 26, 2006)

I had a customer a few years ago leave the country even though she owed me money... no forwarding address. Sold the house before I could collect. I was only lucky in one sense. I knew where her mother lived and got some contact info out of her. I got the bulk of the money... but it took some harsh words on my part.


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## Manco (Nov 26, 2006)

I've never had that happen. Just been lucky I guess. I do have a keen suspicious nature about me though. Come to think of it, there are a few jobs that I didn't feel comfortable with the responses of the client and I did not do. If you have to do a lot of convincing, it would seem likely those are the ones that might try to stiff you. If I feel that a client is haggling too much over price or starting date or anything, I recommend them to the yellow pages and leave. In a polite way though.


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## jonseredbred (Nov 26, 2006)

Payment upon Completion. only way to survive


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## Grizzly (Nov 29, 2006)

Ekka said:


> Was he the property owner or a tenant?
> 
> Like if he was the owner and hasn't sold the house then it shouldn't be to hard to get your money. Maybe they'll be back and are on holidays or something?
> 
> ...



He left in the summer time and the place is vacant. the folks nextdoor are keeping tight liped about it.

Since were on that subject, what about renters or lesses?


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## Grizzly (Nov 29, 2006)

I that a contract is good but I really haven't had any troubal getting paid. even the people that took 2 to pay in payments paid. 
I know that theres some cliente that beat arround the bush and are suposidly hard to get to, but whats the best way to deal with them besides a contract?


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## Frank Boyer (Nov 29, 2006)

*Who skipped out of town*

Find out what you have to do to file a mechanics lien on the property. Stationery stores usually carry the forms. I ran heavy equipment for 20 years and had to file a mechanics lien a few times. It usually took a while to get the money. The local county recorders office will have the name and address of the property owner.
Frank


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## Sunrise Guy (Nov 30, 2006)

I get payment in full, in advance, from any client I feel weird about. I always ask if the person hiring me is a tenant or the owner of the property I'm going to work on. Down here you can run a search from your home computer to verify who owns the place. If everything checks out, they can pay me 1/2 & 1/2. If anything looks fishy, it's full payment in advance. I just did a commercial gig in town for an out of town LLP owner. The LL stands for limited liability. Yeah, I'm really going to trust them to pay me---NOT. I got the full $2500 up front and cashed the check before I threw my first line up. These days, I think you need to CYA even more than in days gone by.


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## Treecareconcept (Nov 30, 2006)

*Dead beat customers*

Use a collection agency. A collection agency will give you a little leverage. They keep a certain percentage of the bill as payment. Most people, when they see that the bill has gone to collections will at least make the attempt to clear the debt because the collection agency will report them to credit reporting agencies. They might not care about you but they care about their credit report!
Also, make sure your invoices clearly show how late the bill is, such as 30, 60, or 90 days past due (with appropriate interest and late fees) and mail it to the dead beat. Keep sending them a bill monthly. This shows the dead beat that you're serious and are'nt going to go away. 
Try it, it works. 
Good luck!


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