Customers that dont want to pay their invoice!

alldoors

I'm hoping someone may have some good advice!

My business is the supply and fitting of garage doors. Back in December 2009 I quoted for a large 14ft garage door made of steel which I installed in January 2010. I had to remove a very old and unusable 30 year old garage door which was disposed of after fitting the new one. The cost was a big issue with the customer wanting the cheapest possible door on the market. I discovered during the installation that the door supplied by the manufacturer was not the usual standard and that instead if it being manufactured as one piece, it was in fact two doors joined together. I had previously shown my customer the same style door that I had fitted locally and it was not two 7ft doors joined together.

I have since discovered that the machine used to make these doors at the manufacturers had been sold off and that the company was in trouble. This then meant that I could not supply what the customer had ordered. I put in a warranty claim anyway with the manufacturer.

The company sorted itself out and after about 3 months, I received a call to say that they had a replacement door of the same style. Again, this was two doors joined together and not what the customer ordered.

I advised the customer that it she wanted to shop around and use a different supplier, I would refund her deposit. She did this, but didnt like the prices which were 50% more than my quotation. The door she really wanted is double the price I gave her.

Since April 2010 I had contacted this customer with different door makes and styles which I can supply for the original price. In January 2011, she finally decided that she would go for a plastic door rather then the steel. This was more expensive than what she originally ordered but I agreed to do it for the same price.

I fitted this door about 4 weeks ago and got her to check it over and she said she was really pleased with it. I still had a bit of finishing off to do the following day so I didn't ask for the payment. When I returned, she said she wasnt going to pay because the door was warped. What she was referring to was the slight bend you get in the door when it is raised which is caused by the sheer weight of the door. It is 14ft wide.

The manufacturer has been out again and said there is nothing wrong with the door but as a gesture of goodwill, they will supply a steel door in the same style.

I just know that if she has another door she will find fault with that also. What she really wants is a door that is double the price and she wants me to stand the cost!

I have been trading for over 25 years and have always been able to resolve any issues but it looks like I will be heading down the road of legal action.

I'm not sure that there is anything more I can do?

neilmcl

alldoors wrote: »

What she really wants is a door that is double the price and she wants me to stand the cost!

I think what she really wanted was the original door at the price agreed and not to hae to be persuaded to take an inferior model at the same price. It's not the customer's fault you can't supply what was originally agreed.

halibut2209

neilmcl, what a silly thing to say. It's not the OP's fault that the customer ordered some goods and paid for a service then decided to change her mind AFTER the work is complete

If she won't pay, then legal action it is. You provided a service which she agreed to. And you even gave her a discount!

squeaky

I'm reading this as the company that supplied the door to the OP failed to supply the correct door. Then the OP sourced an alternative for the customer.

The customer agreed the offered alternative, but is now unhappy.

Hmm...

alldoors

neilmcl wrote: »

I think what she really wanted was the original door at the price agreed and not to hae to be persuaded to take an inferior model at the same price. It's not the customer's fault you can't supply what was originally agreed.

The customer has paid a 5% deposit on a bill of £1500! The first option was that she keep the door until she finds another supplier and then I have it back. She made some enquiries and realised that she couldnt get an equivalent door for the same price. I then offered her a more expensive door for the same price. I've fitted this and the manufacturer has been out to it to look into her complaint and they have not been able to find fault with the fitting or the door. When I quoted back in December 2009, the door she wanted a price for started at £2800. She didnt want to pay this and asked me to quote the cheapest possible door.

Incidentally, the original door that I fitted I then resold to someone else and they were very pleased with it. This customer wants something for nothing. Bear in mind that the door she had on originally could not even be opened. She had not been able to use it since moving in a number of years before. She has had a fully working door since January 2010 and paid very little.

alldoors

squeaky wrote: »

I'm reading this as the company that supplied the door to the OP failed to supply the correct door. Then the OP sourced an alternative for the customer.

The customer agreed the offered alternative, but is now unhappy.

Hmm...

The style, size, make etc of the door were what the customer ordered apart from the fact that the manufacturer of the door had changed the way in which they are made. They are now two 7ft doors joined in the middle. The door I showed the customer was a one piece and this is what she complained about originally.

I took this complaint on board and offered an alternative door which was more expensive but offered to the door at the same price. She is happy with the style etc but doesnt understand that 14ft doors are very heavy and that it will look slightly bowed in the middle when raised because of this.

easy

halibut2209 wrote: »

neilmcl, what a silly thing to say. It's not the OP's fault that the customer ordered some goods and paid for a service then decided to change her mind AFTER the work is complete

If she won't pay, then legal action it is. You provided a service which she agreed to. And you even gave her a discount!

No that isn't what happened.

The OP showed the customer a door. She ordered that door, but that isn't what the manufacturer supplied (instead, they supplied an inferior model, 2 doors welded together. She was quite rightly not happy, and the OP agreed with her, gave her (or offered her) her deposit back.

So far, both sides have been reasonable.

Now, customer has decided to take a compromise to meet her budget. Unfortunately, she is having trouble accepting that compromise with the 'cosmetic effect' - that is my guess.


Alldoors - do I take it that you have offered to change the current door for steel? Or are you sticking with the plastic one, and wanting to be paid?

If you are able to change the plastic one for steel, I would go along to customer with that offer, but explain that you have gone to considerable trouble and expense so far to try to make her happy, hence you must have payment now (or at least on the day, before you move a muscle, by bank draft or cash) before you can exchange it again. Clearly put that in writing, and leave a copy with her.

If you don't want to do the exchange, ask her once more for payment. If she wishes to complain, ask her to put her complaint in writing, and see if you can get the manufacturer to put their verdict in writing too, and ask for their comments on her complaint.
If they and you agree that her complaint is groundless, then you have 3 options
1. Offer to take the new door away so that will be the end of the matter. That will leave her with no garage door, and she knows that gettiong another will cost her more
2. Tell her that you will take the matter to court, and then go thru the time consuming business of getting it dealt with.
3. Put the issue into the hands of a professional debt collector. You will pay them a small commission IF they successfully collect the debt, but while they deal with it you can get on with gaining more profitable business.

alldoors

easy wrote: »

No that isn't what happened.

The OP showed the customer a door. She ordered that door, but that isn't what the manufacturer supplied (instead, they supplied an inferior model, 2 doors welded together. She was quite rightly not happy, and the OP agreed with her, gave her (or offered her) her deposit back.

So far, both sides have been reasonable.

Spot on!

easy wrote: »

Now, customer has decided to take a compromise to meet her budget. Unfortunately, she is having trouble accepting that compromise with the 'cosmetic effect' - that is my guess.


Alldoors - do I take it that you have offered to change the current door for steel? Or are you sticking with the plastic one, and wanting to be paid?.

Yes, the door has been replaced twice and I am offering a third choice. I still need to discuss this with the customer though. I suspect she will not want to pay for what she currently has.

easy wrote: »

then you have 3 options
1. Offer to take the new door away so that will be the end of the matter. That will leave her with no garage door, and she knows that gettiong another will cost her more.
2. Tell her that you will take the matter to court, and then go thru the time consuming business of getting it dealt with.
3. Put the issue into the hands of a professional debt collector. You will pay them a small commission IF they successfully collect the debt, but while they deal with it you can get on with gaining more profitable business.

Thanks for that. It's given me some food for thought!