ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Gimme my money, somebody.

OK.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
A "friend" GC has, on several occasions, not paid me my final payment because he "hasn't gotten paid yet".
After a year or so, and "writing off" the money he owed me, I decide to do a job for him again, with the understanding that I get paid BY HIM when I finish.
Needless to say, he noe tells me that when he "settles up" with the customer, I'll get my final payment.

All lectures aside ...

I have about 4 hours worth of work left, which includes extras which the homeowner has been promptly paying me for. Along with their final "options" bill, I am considering giving them a final bill for the basic wiring and telling them to deduct it from their final payment to the GC.

Any thoughts?

[This message has been edited by Redsy (edited 03-02-2006).]

Sounds like a plan Redsy. Good luck.

It may not be too late to send a threatening letter to the homeowners of the previous projects. The threat is to lien their property, a legitamate threat. Sometimes the threat is enough to get them to lean on the GC.

...and why do you continue to work for this guy? In the future you might consider an advance and rough payment equal to what you want for the whole project & a minimal final payment that you know you won't collect.

Dave

I have a guy who pulled that stunt on me...once! Since then, he's called several times, and my answer is the same:

"Sure, I'd love to do the work....just as soon as you pay me for the last job!"

It doesn't make sense to me when I hear these GC's say that the customer didn't pay them yet. What does that have to do with me, I worked for you not the customer, I'm finished the job, now pay me. When I hire guys for jobs, I pay them at the end of the day, not when I get paid. I would never say that to someone. What do these guy's have in their accounts, zero, until they get paid? Like I said in a previous post "Is it me"?

No it's definitely not just you! I've been given the same excuse for non-payment more than once. I don't accept it as a reason for not paying me. If they haven't been paid that's their problem, not mine.

Twenty years ago my first lawyer told me that GCs are the most personable people around, but they're all liars. They will lie to the bank to get the funding they need and they will lie to us about paying our invoices.

In twenty years I haven't found an exception.

The lowest-class thing I ever heard from a GC was on a Habitat For Humanity house. The GC's talking with a volunteer mechanical tradesman & says "Am I going to have to get somebody else to take care of this?"

He also told a wonderful story. I told him I liked that my business was a corporation rather than a sole propriotorship because I didn't need my wife's permission to make large tool purchases. He said he saw an old for sale sign laying on a property, called on it & bought it immediately for $40,000 (without his wife's permission).

You can be sure the GC has your money, but he makes his money by talking you out of yours. The next time a GC talks you out of $500 in five minutes, think about how you just paid $100/minute to listen to his lies.

I've met some good carpenter-contractors over the years, but I'm still looking for a good GC, if they exist.

Dave