What to do when customers wont pay what is owed

Even if you run a really good business and do really great work, you will occasionally find a customer that is never satisfied with what you do.Generally these customers will still pay what they owe you, despite their dissatisfaction. However, what do you do when customers won't pay what is owed?What are the next steps to take?Here are some things that you can do when customers won't pay what is owed:

• Run credit checks:You will find that some of your clients might not be able to pay you, and they are simply prolonging the paying process because they do not have the money.It is recommended that you run credit checks on all of your potential clients, so that you will not have the problem of them not paying what is owed.
• - Put it into writing:If customers won't pay what is owed, it is a good idea to put their bill into writing so that you will have a record of what was sent to them.This way, a customer will not have a legal excuse that he was unaware of the payment which he or she was supposed to make to you.In addition, you should also have in writing the expectations for payment and your rights and responsibilities, which you should show to your customers as soon as you accept their work.Your lawyer will be able to help you write up this statement, so that customers also will have a legal understanding of their responsibility to pay you.
• - Contact a collection agency:Another thing that you can do when customers won't pay what is owed is to contact a collection agency.You can let the collection agency deal with getting the money from the customer, especially if you don't want to deal with the customer any more.Before using a collection agency you should find out two things.First find out what the collection agency will charge you for their services.Next, check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure that there are not any unresolved complaints or problems with this collection agency.
• - Small Claims Court:One of the last resorts that you will want to take when a customer won't pay what is owed is to take the individual to small claims court.In small claims court, you are not required to have an attorney, and many people opt to do this so that they can save on attorney fees.However, be aware that you will need to hold the court session in the area where your customer is located. There are a lot of small claims courts that you can take the customer to, even including small claims courts that have turned into television shows!This way, a judge will hear your claim and how your customer won't pay what is owed, and hopefully (if the verdict is in your favor), then the customer will be ordered by a judge to pay the amount that is owed to you.
• - Hire an attorney:If you feel like the situation merits that of hiring an attorney, then this might be the best thing to do when customers won't pay what is owed.Attorneys generally will work in situations like this when the customer is supposed to pay a large amount of money.Your lawyer can help to solve out all of the legal issues, and hopefully you will get the customer to pay after the whole process.Sometimes, however, bringing an attorney into the picture can "scare" a customer into paying what is owed as well, which solves the problem rather quickly!