Gentlemen.......
Last November, I had a new customer to order four bass rods from me......time frame was the month of December.....
Down payment was met......and the rods were finished in a timely manner.....customer was notified, said he would pick them up in a week....
Well, a week went by... months went by....no customer !!.....I called his phone number, left messages, emailed him.....no response !!
Since he gave me a down payment , to cover supplies.....I am at a loss, how to contact this guy......or what to do with the rods...legally he ownes two of them...still has a balance on the other two rods....
I contacted one of his sponsors,and all he said was "Good Luck"....not very encouraging to say the least.....
Appreciate any input.......

MaryLou


MaryLou Van de Riet
Weatherford,Texas USA

Sorry to hear your story MaryLou,

But unfortunately it is not that rare.
I have been stuck with one rod repair for 5 years now. The young chap was going to come back but I believe he has left the area. Cannot chase him. In the case of new rods, after exhausting all other means of communication, I write a letter to the address I may have. I give the customer 30 days to pay up or I sell the rod (s). Register the letter as proof of delivery.

That is about as much as I do. As long as I show proof of my best efforts to contact the client, I don't feel guilty about selling the rod(s) to return my costs. We have to make aliving and cannot do so by losing money.

Hope you win.

Paul

Not that it will help in this case, but maybe you should consider a prominent posting in the counter area of your shop that any rod repairs and / or finished rods not claimed within 30 or 45 or 60 days are forfeited and will be placed out for sale to the general public. You should also consider adding this verbage to any invoices and / or claim tags as well. You may want to seek legal advice in your area to determine what if any ordinances may impact your ability ot do this.



MW

Hey MaryLou, how's the license plate collection going. When someone makes a down payment for goods or services, it is for the entire contract, legally he does not own anything. If you have made a reasonably good faith effort to notify him ( like Paul said, Register the letter as proof of delivery.) and let him know that his rods are ready, and he has not responded in a reasonable amount of time, then your off the hook and you can sell them to whom ever you want. I have had this happen many times, in the past both with my gun shop and computer store, any thing left over 30 days gets sold. My attorney has always said in Oregon and Washington 30 days is the legal limit for any kind of action any person can or will take. Also like Mark says POST a notice every where, store, on the counter, behind the counter, all invoices, claim checks, just every where!
I have found that, after 30 days if they haven't paid or contacted you, they probably won't.
Also if anybody asks you about him just tell the truth, (sounds like a deadbeat fisherman), if you tell the truth there can not be any action he can take, if he hasn't come back for his rods by now he probably won't start any legal action ether because that would cost him more than the rods.

I think most rod builders are very lax in setting good payment procedures. Never take a deposit for the materials cost - either get everything up front, or set the deposit for at least 50% of the rod's selling price. At some point, the customer can't afford to skate you on the rods - he's got too much invested. And if he does anyway, you're already covered for well over the materials cost and can resell the rods at a lower price and end up making more than you would have if the customer had held up his end of the bargain.

................

Tom makes agood point about us being lax in our business dealings.

I know I certainly get involved with some customers and talk for ages. Because of the personal nature of what we do, we do tend to take things a lot on trust.

Putting signs up is a good idea, as long as you can prove the customer has read them.

I like the idea of printing the 30 day limit on invoices and agreements.

Looks like the computer is in for some publisher time.

I bet I still get caught, it is just too easy to be set up by a fisherman. Don't we all exagerate just a little ????.

Paul



I fish therefore I am.
www.hookeduprods.com

Many Thanks Guys for all your good advice !!

Tim.....The license plate collection is growing and growing and growing !! Just traded my brother a eight wgt flyrod for a vintage Missouri plate....it's been fun !!



MaryLou





MaryLou Van de Riet
Weatherford,Texas USA