Had a client ghost me for 6 weeks after I sent the invoice for that kitchen remodel near Portland

I spent three days chasing them down and finally got paid $4,200 today but not after they tried to knock off $600 for a “delay” that was their fault, has anyone else had to deal with clients who just ignore the invoice until you call them out?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_ramirez3814d ago

My last client in Eugene tried the same thing. I did a full basement finish and they sat on the final payment for almost two months. Then they hit me with this list of tiny complaints - like one outlet cover was slightly crooked and a light switch was a half inch off from where they thought it should be. Tried to dock me $800. I told them I would come back and fix every single thing on their list but the payment was due in full first. They paid the same day. Funny how that works when you call their bluff.

margaretc4214d ago

Wait, they tried to knock off $600 for a "delay"? That is absolutely insane. Delays from material shortages are on the homeowner, end of story especially in Portland right now. Had one guy try to blame me for taking an extra day when his own HOA held up the permit for two weeks, straight up laughed when he brought a discount check.

angela72814d ago

Gotta push back a little on one thing you said there. A delay from material shortages isn't automatically on the homeowner, it depends on who picked and ordered the materials. If the contractor is the one who chose the specialty tile that's backordered for six weeks and didn't warn the client upfront, that's on them not the homeowner. But if the homeowner picked out something custom and the supplier dropped the ball, then yeah that's on them. It really comes down to who made the call on what to use and when they placed the order. I've seen a lot of contractors try to blame homeowners for delays that were actually their own fault for not keeping spare inventory or ordering ahead. So it's not always black and white like that.