In Tennessee, the only person that can file a lien is the GC - and that is only for new construction. No one can file a lien for service work. To me, when a customer refuses to pay it amounts to robbery - they have robbed me of my time and they have robbed me of my materials. But with Tennessee law I can't remove the materials, I can't file a lien, and I can't call the police. My only two choices are to file suit or turn it over to a collection agency.
