Every now and then we come across a small buisness who decides not to pay their bill or will deduct for driving time, etc. I try to keep my cool when talking to them, but its hard knowing that small amount they owe helps out in evry little way. Have you all came across situations like this before and what the easiest way to take care of it. When this happens I do call other pump companies notifying them of this and to pay attention to the name. I think if some of these buisnesses realized how much pumps and belts cost along with fuel and maintenance, well, would they even think twice?

Well, I've been 98% cod last 3 or 4 years, so I've haven't had many problems. It rerminds me of what my Mother in law did in the late 70's early 80's. The father in law is a pipeline welder and was owed a good chunk of change that was not being paid. The usual check is in the mail ,goes out next wek ,etc. MIL goes to the office  with  her two children ages 7 and 5. she enters the office and says that she is there to collect the monies owed and the secretary says that it may take a while, as the person who writes the checks is not there ,etc,MIL says " I can wait".  She then tells kids "now  children you will probably never hear me say this again, but  today, you can do whatever you want to in this office", and hands them a box of crayons. She had check in hand in less than 15 minutes. TRUE STORY.

    I like it, you know, that would probably work. Maybe I coul hand out spraypaint instead of crayons though.

Here is what I think we should all do. If someone doesn't pay his bill than we notify all the pumpco's in the area. If we all have a heart and brains then this person in question will not get a pump or even concrete before he payed his bill..

I know I'm a dreamer...

Maybe there should be blacklists..

I have seen these black lists before but they are called COD lists, the other company will pump for them but they want cash up front.

Its very simple guys, ive done it and it works.  We all drive BIG trucks, on the weekend, make a banner, "THIS PERSON DID NOT PAY THEIR BILL, WHEN I GET PAYMENT, THE TRUCK WILL MOVE" ... and park it in front of their driveway with the banner facing the neighbors.  You will get paid fast becuase a tow truck will require big bucks from them to move you :-) 

We insist on credit card pre-auths.  Wasted way too much time and money trying to collect $500.00 pump bills for patios etc.  If the customer snivels about it he probably  didn't want to pay in the first place.  Sure credit card service charges are expensive, but how much is your time worth trying to collect from guys who had no intention of paying you in the first place?

yep,the old COD list

Me and a mixerdriver have come to one customer who didn't pay.... I was the "god pumper" He was the "bad mixerdriver" and We had a HILTI demolition breaker with us and said that We should take our Concrete back because He didn't pay for the pump and mud . He was cocky and said "You can't do that , the concrete is hard" and We plug in the HILTI and he cried stop , I will pay and the next day the bill was paid .

i'm down to one guy that owes me around 4500. He a big shot around here and never pays on time. He gets the work from the local big busy contractors why? Because he's the best BSer. I want to keep his work so i let him slide sometimes. But next he'll get a letter from me saying i'm going to contact the contractors and home owners of a potential lien. There's penty of contractors that do good work and pay their bills.

the last  non paying customer  we ran into  went  long past  our agreed  upon  payment  time ,  so i showed up at the  residential  job,  told  the  job  forman  i needed  his  boss's  full name  to put  on the  warrent  for  THEFT  OF  SERVICES   the  sheriff  said  he  needed  a  correct  spelling.(no  sherrif  was  ever  spoken to)  i  explained  to  him  that  all though  it was just  a    misdemeanor  crime,  it  would  follow  him.  apoliges  and  begging  followed( by the owner, not  me)   next  day  i  was contacted to  pick  up  a check, cashed  it  and  at  least that  collection  is  behind  us.   it is  amazing the  folks that  think  we do  all that  hose  dragging  for  free.    that  job  was  a  4''   slab job   200  ft  of  system.........  you know  i wasn't  giving  up  on  that  one  easy.

OUCH

OUCH!! Brian that's a big enough bill for MN. in the middle of the winter. T

1

Only one costumer in all my year as a pumpcompanyowner has cheated my bill! (knock on wood).

He is running a fairly big concretepouringcompany, but when he engage me to do a pumpjob at he´s homeproperty, he engage me as a privatepersone....? Now afterwards i understand why. A privateperson in Sweden, who engage a company to do a job on he´s property is allways winning a case in a trail toward a company - no matter what. That´s why he engaged me as a privateperson.

I do not only pump concrete, my company do also carry and deliver the concrete we pump, and this costumer complained as a privateperson that the concrete was grey - concrete is as you know - grey.

 But he complained about the concretecolour first when he got the bill - 2 weeks later. Then he said that he ordered black-colored concrete to he´s wall - and it was him self who was pouring when i was pumping. He didn´t complain about the colour while pouring.... 

As the Swedish laws says: A privatepersone is allways right toward a company - no matter how many creapy ghost the privateperson has in he´s head.

It costed me 23.000 kr (about 3300 USD) and it was no use to give it a try in a trail....Swedish laws is not on the companys side.

But last December (4 years later), i was hired to pump for a concretedeliver-company and when they send me to pump at an adress, i noticed that it was he´s company that was the costumer. I drove my pump to the adress and he´s employees where there, but not him.

Then i called the plant to send all the 40 m3 and maximum 10 min/load. When the first mixertruck arrived, i called the idiot and toled him that he has 40 m3 concrete loaded on road to he´s buildingplace but he don´t has a pump to pump it up to the 3:rd floor - then i laugh in he´s face and droved my pump away toward my home. That laugh i had laying in my sofa that evening.....payless!

Of course i called the concretedeliver-company and said that my pump has an hydraulicfailure....what else?

They didn´t blame me for the totaly cathastrophic senario on the buildingplace - but they also tell me that i can´t send them a bill for no pumping....who cares in that case? It was worth it!

The idiot´s employees rescued 2m3 (bucketloss up to 3:rd floor) to the slab - the rest 38 m3 get to the dumpplace as a cream on top of he´s bill. It costed him 120.000 kr (about 17.200 USD) include dumpingfees.

The best "pumpday" i ever had! Don´t understate wickened happiness - that happiness is real and it come from the hart....