[Johnny B]

So how much per year on average are we all having to write off as bad debt? ( on a mainly residential round). ive been doing wc for 12yrs now and only lose an average of £25 per year. Not much but i cant tell you how much it pees me off.

roughly £50-100 a year i write off usually but it was £6 last year!

£22 this year already and probably another £50 imminent.

even though im owed nearly £500 at present ive got paid MORE money this year than ive earned due to "rolling debt" from last year.

i really cant be bothered chasing people up after a few months.i just concentrate on cleaning the customers that do pay.its a very miniscule percentage in the overall scheme of things.i dont forget those who owe money if they ever want their windows cleaned again though!

i dont even get annoyed these days and expect a very small amount of non payers.it easily balances out over the course of the year with xmas tips etc anyway.

Not sure how much I have let go (I wouldn't say written off, because although I don't chase it, I still consider it as a debt)

My thoughts are very much in line with yours Dazmond.

John

[martin hulstone]

My Dad used to go round in the dark and catapult Bad customers(debts, one clean then cancel etc) windows with cambells soup!
He reckons it was a bugger to get off once it had dried 

[keyser soze]

tell their neighbours at least they get to know what type of people they are

[The Jester of Wibbly]

You know them stickers that gets placed on untaxed vehicles?

Would be great to slap an unpaid debt sign on their windows

[slap bash]

Good on you mate for standing up to these thieves. AS someone said you have a reputation to uphold. Yous reputation is if you don`t pay you will get nothing for free.  Don`t listen to the soft squeezes on here. I never write off a debt. I go paid the other day for glass cleaned last year this time.   I find the best way is to nag them ragged.Well done if more done something about bad payers we would solve this none payment attitude soon. Try paying not paying you mobile account and see how they will chase you to the end of the earth. Chasing debt is business like and doing what you need to do is a consequence of that.Well done again.

[dazmond]

Good on you mate for standing up to these thieves. AS someone said you have a reputation to uphold. Yous reputation is if you don`t pay you will get nothing for free.  Don`t listen to the soft squeezes on here. I never write off a debt. I go paid the other day for glass cleaned last year this time.   I find the best way is to nag them ragged.Well done if more done something about bad payers we would solve this none payment attitude soon. Try paying not paying you mobile account and see how they will chase you to the end of the earth. Chasing debt is business like and doing what you need to do is a consequence of that.Well done again.

i havent the time,energy or inclination to chase them after a few months like i said.luckily its relatively rare occurrence!

[johnny bravo]

id do this on a gutter clean,   if they didnt pay,     maybe put more back up there,  more annoying to the eye.
i dont go to more than 2 cleans now.
usually they do pay up.       just keep knocking .

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Good on you mate for standing up to these thieves. AS someone said you have a reputation to uphold. Yous reputation is if you don`t pay you will get nothing for free.  Don`t listen to the soft squeezes on here. I never write off a debt. I go paid the other day for glass cleaned last year this time.   I find the best way is to nag them ragged.Well done if more done something about bad payers we would solve this none payment attitude soon. Try paying not paying you mobile account and see how they will chase you to the end of the earth. Chasing debt is business like and doing what you need to do is a consequence of that.Well done again.

i havent the time,energy or inclination to chase them after a few months like i said.luckily its relatively rare occurrence!

I'm with Dazmond on this one. I just don't see the point of spending more time trying to collect the money than I did cleaning the windows in the first place. I just blacklist em and if they ever want my services again I deal with it the way I said earlier. I've been paid for work I did years earlier on more than one occasion by some who owed me and asked me to clean their windows again. There are some who don't like it when they think you have forgotten the debt and you remind them of it. But that's their problem. They shouldn't have stolen from me in the first place.

[nathankaye]

Its not necessarily the amount which people owe me  Its the principle of the matter.  People look down on the majority of window cleaning jobs (thankfully they dont kno how we earn good money on it!), but its there all the same! So for majority it is the principle of paying for a job done. I'ld like to see how they would react if their pay slip was minus X amount and see them keep quiet, hardly!
I really like the experian avenue and certainly following that one up, as that will stick for quite some time! I also kno their facebook profile is open to public and public can write on wall. So im also going to post on that, stating as she has ignored all other forms of contact (phone, txt n whatsapp. Avoided £32 debt in cash, online or PayPal and so im asking on facebook if she can clear the debt.
As open to public im free to let public know.

[Stoots]

Telling there neighbour can be satisfying.

I got a new custys last week next to one that never paid. When I told her she was disgusted, she knows her quite well. Turns out the non payer was a solicitor as well so not short of a few quid. Why do they do it?

[Og]

Keep the annual loss in your head when your putting quotes for new work in. I lose about £50 a year, that's a pound week, stick another quid or two on your next quote.
I'd rather spend time canvassing some quality new customers than trying to prise £20 out of someone. Write them off.

[SeanK]

Its not necessarily the amount which people owe me  Its the principle of the matter.  People look down on the majority of window cleaning jobs (thankfully they dont kno how we earn good money on it!), but its there all the same! So for majority it is the principle of paying for a job done. I'ld like to see how they would react if their pay slip was minus X amount and see them keep quiet, hardly!
I really like the experian avenue and certainly following that one up, as that will stick for quite some time! I also kno their facebook profile is open to public and public can write on wall. So im also going to post on that, stating as she has ignored all other forms of contact (phone, txt n whatsapp. Avoided £32 debt in cash, online or PayPal and so im asking on facebook if she can clear the debt.
As open to public im free to let public know.

As with all forms of action you need to be careful what you put onto the public domain, remember they can also bad mouth you
and tell others things that might not help your business, at the end of the day you have more to lose than somebody knowing
they owe a bit of money.
Personally its better to let it go and get on with looking after the decent customers out there which thankfully are the majority.
As for looking down their noses at window cleaners I can tell you that has nothing to do with how these scumbags think, I can guarantee that you will not be the only person they owe money to.

[AuRavelling79]

Say Mrs Jones at No. 24 owes you £30 for two cleans and hasn't paid and isn't willing to pay up.

You could drop an un-addressed, unsealed letter in (don't knock) to No. 22 by "mistake" but the letter inside has No. 24's name an address on it.

The people at No. 22 open the envelope to see:-

Dear Mrs Jones,

No. 24 Letsbee Avenue - WINDOW CLEANING DEBT

Despite several reminders you have not settled this bill in the sum of £30.00 for the cleaning carried out on (date) and (date). Please would you attend to this to avoid further legal action.

Yours sincerely,



Granny Gold

That'll wind them up. If challenged just say "OOPS, my canvasser must have dropped it into the wrong house! Now pay up!"

[Marc Stock]

Thats a good idea. Fortunately i dont have a huge problem with late payers since go cardless came on the scene. If they forget to pay i suggest going onto direct debit. If they forget again i insist direct debit or cancellation. Also i nevet do more than one clean with prev debt. Its just not worth the hassle.