Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Cleaner Windows on October 01, 2008, 08:43:32 pm
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I started cleaning an £8 on a new estate three months ago, to be honest I didnt like the look of the bloke when I was there quoting his house and should have gone by my first instincs which was to f him off and quote somewhere else.
Anyway, I kept him on the list, cleaned his house but they were out, left my usual little invoice through the door to say I'd be back wednesday to collect. Went back on wednesday and knocked on the door to find his pregnant dole scrounging looking woman at the door who told me her fella is out and could I come back tomorrow eve and they would have the money, came back again the next day to get the same story, thought oh well, Ill leave it for now and collect double next time round. Cleaned it again the following month and basically the same thing happened again and again with different stories why they couldn't pay me etc. Printed out a letter (copied from cleanitup) changed the words to suit and went round tonight to try and collect the money for the last time. I rang the doorbell and this time HE answered the door, I was already angry but trying not to start swearing or whatever and I just said, hi, can I have that money thats outstanding for your windows, and he goes, if you'd have come round last wednesday when you said you would you could have had it!
I told him I'd been round many times when I said I would and got no money but he was talking over me (shouting) and basically said he wasnt going to pay, so I handed him the letter and said this is for you then, he took it and said oh for me is it, then ripped it up and threw it on the path, shouted something else that I couldnt even make out and slammed the door!!!
I couldnt belive this arrogant f ing idiot had just been like that, I didnt know what to do lol, I wanted to ring on the door again, drag him outside and kick his balding head in, its not about him owing me £16 anymore cos its not a lot, its more about the principal of it and the fact he was shouting at me etc. Sorry for going into one here but this happened about half an hour ago now and Im still fuming >:(
What can I do about it though? apart from get the £16 he owes me changed into 50 pence pieces and make him eat the lot :o
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Stop and think over the situation for 24hrs to give you time to calm down and relax. Think with a clear head and don't make spontaneous decisions on the spot.
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you get em everywhere, on estates, at big houses, at shops and at offices. don't take it personally. the fellow sounds an oaf and you're better out of that 1. you've lost the time it took to clean his house. he'll be stuck after xmas when his windows are filthy and he can't ask you. you can't tell beforehand who's going to be a nightmare; some of em look like butter wouldn't melt and they'd run you ragged for a quid. you'll pick up another house on the same estate who appreciates you and pays you up and makes you a cuppa (hopefully in sight of the dickhead) and you'll have the last laugh. :D
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Put a debt collection agency onto him,( if you want to be nasty), but let him know before hand in writting stating that he will have to pay the additional cost of the collection. ;D
Dont know how this is legal wise as you are suposed to give notices and final wornings etc.
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dont worry about it do as i do report him to every window cleaner in the area he will soon run out of guys willing to do his windows keep it as a debt on your books let your accountant write it off and next time go with your gut instincts
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tell all the other window cleaners in the area so that it doesnt happen to them! its such a wind up, iv had this happen to me....i waited till they were out and put a big sign on the door saying "PAY YOUR BILLS , SHAME ON YOU" it was a posh area and all the neighours saw it :D
he phoned ranting to come to my house etc... i advised him not to as i would send the police around and then his neighbours would see this aswell, "how embarresing lol"
anyhow a cheque arrived a few days later with a letter saying that if i went on his property again he would be taking legal action....
the cheque went in the bin, as i wanted him to see that it wasnt about the money :P
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Put a debt collection agency onto him,( if you want to be nasty), but let him know before hand in writting stating that he will have to pay the additional cost of the collection. ;D
Dont know how this is legal wise as you are suposed to give notices and final wornings etc.
I think so as well. Bu you will need a name for them. Do you have 1?
Also, you are better posting registered letters rather than by hand, cos there is proof of delivery.
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I agree with Wayne Thomas and Simon Fox.
It's no good 'beating youself up' about it. Even if you'd got paid this time (eventually) it was always going to be a hassle.
To try and take it further is more trouble than its worth!
Mike
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tell all the other window cleaners in the area so that it doesnt happen to them! its such a wind up, iv had this happen to me....i waited till they were out and put a big sign on the door saying "PAY YOUR BILLS , SHAME ON YOU" it was a posh area and all the neighours saw it :D
he phoned ranting to come to my house etc... i advised him not to as i would send the police around and then his neighbours would see this aswell, "how embarresing lol"
anyhow a cheque arrived a few days later with a letter saying that if i went on his property again he would be taking legal action....
the cheque went in the bin, as i wanted him to see that it wasnt about the money :P
my advice just let it go and learn from :(it
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Get yourself some pav 1, which is quick drying powdered type cement which can be got from any reputable block paving company/layer. Go back suck his his baldy head and when he and nobody else is looking pour some of this down his drain that the gutter down pipes lead into. Try and pick a day when you know its not going to rain for a couple while. This will cost him a fortune and cause him to buy a wig to cover his embarresed baldy nappa. lolololol ;D ;D ;D
Ive never done it myself, but i do know someone it has been done to and it caused them a nightmare.
New drains etc....
He will never be able to prove it unless you are seen. This is what the pikey block pavers do when you bump them.
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Besides the ethics of Roger Slater's fine suggestion ( ;D) if he lives in CHAV land then won't the council do the repair and council tax payers foot the bill?
I like the sign idea - does he know where you live?
And... I've returned a small cheque with a "pithy" note saying "that obviously money is so important to you then you'd better keep it - and find another window cleaner!"
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How do we stand if we put the names and/or addresses of these bad/non payers on here, for the benefit of other 'cleaners in the area?
In case the moderators advise that this is not permitted, is there another place on the Internet where this information can be deposited?
Or, would anyone like to start such a site? [Don't look here, I'm not that good with the PC!]
Baldeagle
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This got mentioned a few months ago about a blokes daughter setting up a site for bad payers and customers and it got absolutely slated so i think the answer is no
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I started cleaning an £8 on a new estate three months ago, to be honest I didnt like the look of the bloke when I was there quoting his house and should have gone by my first instincs which was to f him off and quote somewhere else.
Anyway, I kept him on the list, cleaned his house but they were out, left my usual little invoice through the door to say I'd be back wednesday to collect. Went back on wednesday and knocked on the door to find his pregnant dole scrounging looking woman at the door who told me her fella is out and could I come back tomorrow eve and they would have the money, came back again the next day to get the same story, thought oh well, Ill leave it for now and collect double next time round. Cleaned it again the following month and basically the same thing happened again and again with different stories why they couldn't pay me etc. Printed out a letter (copied from cleanitup) changed the words to suit and went round tonight to try and collect the money for the last time. I rang the doorbell and this time HE answered the door, I was already angry but trying not to start swearing or whatever and I just said, hi, can I have that money thats outstanding for your windows, and he goes, if you'd have come round last wednesday when you said you would you could have had it!
I told him I'd been round many times when I said I would and got no money but he was talking over me (shouting) and basically said he wasnt going to pay, so I handed him the letter and said this is for you then, he took it and said oh for me is it, then ripped it up and threw it on the path, shouted something else that I couldnt even make out and slammed the door!!!
I couldnt belive this arrogant f ing idiot had just been like that, I didnt know what to do lol, I wanted to ring on the door again, drag him outside and kick his balding head in, its not about him owing me £16 anymore cos its not a lot, its more about the principal of it and the fact he was shouting at me etc. Sorry for going into one here but this happened about half an hour ago now and Im still fuming >:(
What can I do about it though? apart from get the £16 he owes me changed into 50 pence pieces and make him eat the lot :o
I think that's a bargain myself.
£16 to get rid of a diabolical customer like that. I wish I'd got rid of all mine that cheaply.
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I started cleaning an £8 on a new estate three months ago, to be honest I didnt like the look of the bloke when I was there quoting his house and should have gone by my first instincs which was to f him off and quote somewhere else.
Anyway, I kept him on the list, cleaned his house but they were out, left my usual little invoice through the door to say I'd be back wednesday to collect. Went back on wednesday and knocked on the door to find his pregnant dole scrounging looking woman at the door who told me her fella is out and could I come back tomorrow eve and they would have the money, came back again the next day to get the same story, thought oh well, Ill leave it for now and collect double next time round. Cleaned it again the following month and basically the same thing happened again and again with different stories why they couldn't pay me etc. Printed out a letter (copied from cleanitup) changed the words to suit and went round tonight to try and collect the money for the last time. I rang the doorbell and this time HE answered the door, I was already angry but trying not to start swearing or whatever and I just said, hi, can I have that money thats outstanding for your windows, and he goes, if you'd have come round last wednesday when you said you would you could have had it!
I told him I'd been round many times when I said I would and got no money but he was talking over me (shouting) and basically said he wasnt going to pay, so I handed him the letter and said this is for you then, he took it and said oh for me is it, then ripped it up and threw it on the path, shouted something else that I couldnt even make out and slammed the door!!!
I couldnt belive this arrogant f ing idiot had just been like that, I didnt know what to do lol, I wanted to ring on the door again, drag him outside and kick his balding head in, its not about him owing me £16 anymore cos its not a lot, its more about the principal of it and the fact he was shouting at me etc. Sorry for going into one here but this happened about half an hour ago now and Im still fuming >:(
What can I do about it though? apart from get the £16 he owes me changed into 50 pence pieces and make him eat the lot :o
I think that's a bargain myself.
£16 to get rid of a diabolical customer like that. I wish I'd got rid of all mine that cheaply.
That's soooo true......a cheap price to play for losing a T**t...........we must all learn to learn a bit sooner....2 cleans is a bargain,lol
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window cleaners here would of went back when they where out and soaped up all the windows without sgeggieing
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I have had a number of customers do something similar to me and I have ended up loosing money as a result. It is very annoying when it happens. Other than take them off the round and warn any other window cleaners in the area there is not much you can do. Maybe go back a few months later and damage the property in some way but I suppose that would then put you on the same level as them.
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Besides the ethics of Roger Slater's fine suggestion ( ;D) if he lives in CHAV land then won't the council do the repair and council tax payers foot the bill?
I like the sign idea - does he know where you live?
And... I've returned a small cheque with a "pithy" note saying "that obviously money is so important to you then you'd better keep it - and find another window cleaner!"
lol yup he knows where i live, all my customers do because i give them the info in a welcome letter when they accept the quote. I do like rogers drain clogging idea though lol, only problem is he'll know who did it and the police will be involved :'(
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Put a debt collection agency onto him,( if you want to be nasty), but let him know before hand in writting stating that he will have to pay the additional cost of the collection. ;D
Dont know how this is legal wise as you are suposed to give notices and final wornings etc.
apparently he doesnt open his letters ;D ;)
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only problem is he'll know who did it and the police will be involved :'(
Well if your scared of the long arm of the law then just take it on the chin and get a reputation for being bumped.
The police (dont make me lololololol) there hands are so tied with nanny, buerocrasy and a red tape state they wouldnt give a dog feces.
But where i come from: if anybody bumps business; everybody gets to know about it and your name is dog poo.
and you wont get any services from the local tradesman, i suppose its down to how well liked and connected you are in your home town.
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I had allot of this over time, but now I will do the first clean no probs without payment, but they must pay up before there next booking, I pop in letters and call, inviting them to call me and make arrangements for collection, if they dont pay the first clean after 28 days, they get black listed, if I have a customer who I have done a couple of times and I will maybe do 2 cleans, again if I get any inclings or they are a nucance they will be dropped and black listed, but I wont do any more that two cleans without payment.
Black list, is something I have started on my database of customer who I have done work for but not been payed. At the momment its for my eyes only, for obvious data protection act, however I did study abit on that in college and aparently if its a list or records and not a record then it isn't covered by the data protection act as it is not personal to any one person.
It is a nucence though, I have about £50 owed to me at the minute from a number of custies, but they are good customers, wont have any probs getting it off them.
Gerard :)
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that reminds me, there was an american family in a village near me in a big posh house with georgian windows, the job was £48 and never had a problem with collecting from them, the last clean I did however, I went back to collect as usual, and apparently they had moved back to Boston usa with no forwarding address, thats another £48 I'm down :(
really not much I can do about that one though lol ::)
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wont get yu your £48 back, but post a letter to the new tenant letting them know, that you have cleaned the windows for x length and for £48 if they would like them done.
Goes good for you over any other WC showing interest if you let them know the last home owner had no probs with you.
Gerard :)
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what i usually do is wait till i know their out then buy some black paint and go round the back of the house and paint their windows it gives you a great deal of satisfaction ive done it to 2 of my customers both owed over £20 serves them right we should all do it with bad customers
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dont worry about it.walk away .its only buisness and you get the odd idiot now and then .its only 16 quid .
forget it chill .
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i would just walk away look on the bright side no more hassle,should they ever pay do them again,also if a new customer messes me about on the first clean like that i wouldnt do them again untill i was paid then you only lose £8
You're havin' a laff! "Do them again if they pay"? After the way he got treated by that custie? Why not bend over as well and ask for a size 12 boot up the jacksie!?
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Even more reason not to do them Stan!
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Write it off and move on, just call one more time and push a tiny sliver of bamboo into his Yale lock as your knocking.
I did this to one guy who refused to pay, he had a pane boarded up next time I passed.