heni30 Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) I have a client who I was doing a job for right before the housing crash. A LOT of projects in the area in general were stopped in mid planning/construction because of a lack of funding. Well ours was one of those. Anyway that was 7 years ago and I just did a new project for him this week. He still owes me $600 from the crashed project. I know he lost money on it. Should I bring up the owed amount? He always paid on time and I enjoyed working with him. Ahem, by the way...................... Edited March 15, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I would do a Google search to see if there are statute of limitations to the contract you had with your client. A quick search turned up this though I don't know what type of contract it is referring to: Written contract: 6 years from when it becomes due and payable and the six (6) year period runs from the date of last payment. (OCGA 9-3-24) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) I asked the question from a personal point of view, not necessarily a legal one. The guy had a small operation and he took a hit at the same time. His office closed down and he let his people go. I'm sure he doesn't recall the owed money. I was thinking more in terms of a moral perspective. But I don't know; maybe in the interim he's inherited a millions dollars or something. It gets kinda tricky. I like the guy and I don't want to create an awkward situation as our working relationship goes forward once again. Edited March 15, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Personally I would let it go, better to clear your head of it so you can move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) The work we're doing is for this really crazy church in Brazil - The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God - 12 million strong. Here's a pic of one of their churches that's under construction in Sao Paulo right now. Wow! It's like the Vertical Assembly space building in Florida! They bought some property in Manhattan and they wanted some block-out ideas for a proposed church with apts on top building. I don't know how serious they are about using my client but they flew him to NYC this morning to give a presentation. I just lit one of those large religious Properity candles. Edited March 15, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 thats horrific....! bloody religious nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdravko Barisic Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Forgive or forget, whatever you like more...He could ask someone else for the current job, but he called you and that means something. ..... Rising from the crashed ones is always good news!!! Also if you wish to see what is REALLY FORGIVING THE DEBTS, please check this link... http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/in-1897-nikola-tesla-tore-up-a-contract-that-would-have-made-him-the-worlds-first-billionaire/ Unfortunately, the War of Currents took a big financial toll on Westinghouse. Edison could weather the storm because he was backed by the millionaire financier J.P. Morgan. By 1907, after nearly 20 years of fighting with Edison, Westinghouse was more than $10 million in debt and teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Out of desperation, George Westinghouse approached Tesla with a proposition. Westinghouse begged Tesla to lower or temporarily rescind his royalty in order to allow the company to survive. Westinghouse further explained that if the company went bankrupt, Tesla would be faced with the nearly impossible task of retrieving his royalties from a stingy bank creditor. To Westinghouse's amazement, Tesla tore up the original contract on the spot. Tesla was grateful to Westinghouse for believing in him when no one else would. By tearing up the contract and relinquishing his royalties, Tesla single-handedly saved the Westinghouse Electric company. In return, Westinghouse paid Tesla a $216,000 lump sum for the right to use his AC patents in perpetuity (that's worth roughly $5.4 million today). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I would not have taken on the new job without closing the previous issue. That may have been a forgive and forget conversation, it may have been a 'well, I will bill $600 extra on this one' conversation, but the the air should have been cleared before you agreed to the job. Youre just being a doormat otherwise. Grow a spine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marius e Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Tom, its easy to say that....Money out the pocket is money out the pocket, if George insists on the money, he might never get work from the client again, at this point they can carry on and possibly forget the past. Not fair, totally agree, and its not George's problem either, I agree, he is owed the money, agree.....but it either, or. Either $600 now and possibly never again or forget and $600 three times a year............maybe just work out an agreement if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Tom, its easy to say that....Money out the pocket is money out the pocket, if George insists on the money, he might never get work from the client again, at this point they can carry on and possibly forget the past. Not fair, totally agree, and its not George's problem either, I agree, he is owed the money, agree.....but it either, or. Either $600 now and possibly never again or forget and $600 three times a year............maybe just work out an agreement if possible. Thats not what I said at all, I just said that the debt should have been acknowledged, not necessarily paid, so that the issue is resolved. By that I mean either paid or forgiven, but not just ignored. Otherwise the OP is just setting bad precedent with the client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 How many invoices and reminder emails / phone calls were made at the time of the invoice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) A few token emails because disaster was all around. We were a booming area of Atlanta and there were 4 condo projects that were going up in close proximity and they all came to a grinding halt. So I was not at all realistically expecting to get the money. It really would have been foolish to count on payment at the time. Edited March 16, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Thats not what I said at all, I just said that the debt should have been acknowledged, not necessarily paid, so that the issue is resolved. By that I mean either paid or forgiven, but not just ignored. Otherwise the OP is just setting bad precedent with the client. You're right. Creditors often negotiate and settle with companies on the brink of bankruptcy for, say, 50 cents on the dollar. So they don't lose out completely and the company has a chance to get back on it's feet. Probably communication, in theory, would be the best policy but I find a lot of the time you aren't dealing with rational creatures; like you have no idea what the response is going to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notamondayfan Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I think with a client as you describe, then I would either write off the debt as the circumstances were pretty extreme back then. I remember my employer then saying one day the phone just stopped ringing, and project got shelved. Also if he had to close his office, and make staff redundant then it's pretty obvious you werent the only one who didn't get paid. If you want to work with this guy again, then give it ago. I can see how a relationship can be smashed in the past, and I would be very wary about having a lot of money out-standing. Just talk to the guy, and explain you want the work, but you're wary of what happened in the past. Perhaps suggest staged payments, then at least it gives you some early warnings if they are unable to pay, and you can halt work so you don't lose more than you absolutely have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Schroeder Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'd take the work, but I would have put something in the initial talk about the project about payment to start and payment before final delivery. I wouldn't extend them a line of good faith payment until you are sure they are back on their feet. If your client is working on a good faith payment from their client, then I'm not sure I'd take it. You are 3rd in line on good faith and that's what got a lot of companies and individuals in trouble before the bust of 2008. Everyone was waiting on someone else to pay them so they, in turn, could pay out their debts. Where I worked back then in 2008/09, we had the same thing. Almost a year's worth of project backlog seemingly disappeared overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdravko Barisic Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 One more, maybe your client even almost forgot on that debt? 600$ is not so much to remember it, after 6 years, if his company was so big? ... Anyway, I understand, this makes you a stress, probably, even the money is not so huge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I haven't read all the replies, but you should send a bill to him even if years have gone buy. I was out *,000.00 of dollars on one job going back to 2009. By the end of 2013, I was repaid 100%. It took many years for my client to pay me back because they got hit hard as well. However, if your client is a good one, they will repay you. Otherwise you could report them to the BBB....by the way, that's always been a great threat. Reporting to the Better Business Bureau. Not that I've done that ever. I have not. I just know 2 people in the Arch industry that have done just that and it worked to get their clients attention. So, back to the issue...I think if you setup some sort of payment plan that would be great. You got hit also as well as your client. I'm sure he's surviving to some capacity. Send the bill first as an update with the note that this many years have gone by and see if you get a reply. If not, make the phone call or a letter/email update suggesting that a payment plan could be an option with monthly or quarterly payments for the bill total. I think that is highly reasonable. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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