Hit $25,000 in unpaid invoices before I finally lawyered up

I do HVAC work around Edmonton and thought I could handle collections myself. Big mistake. Let things slide for 8 months and ended up with $25,000 owed from 3 different clients who kept giving excuses. Finally hired a lawyer last month who sent demand letters and got two of them to pay within 2 weeks. The third one is now in small claims court. If you're self employed around here do not wait that long. Anyone else deal with clients dodging payments in Edmonton?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_taylor1mo ago

Damn, that's rough. $25,000 is a lot of money to have hanging over your head for that long. I feel for you, I really do. It's one thing when it's a small amount and you can write it off, but that's a big chunk of change that probably put a real strain on your cash flow. I've been in a similar spot where I let things slide because I didn't want to be "that guy" who's always chasing payments, and it just gets worse the longer you wait. Glad you got most of it back though, that's a win. Hope the small claims one works out too, those deadbeats make it harder for everyone.

elliot_miller221mo ago

Respectfully gotta disagree here man. A lawyer is great for the big stuff but you should have had a system in place way before 8 months. 30 day net terms with a 1.5% monthly late fee written into every contract usually stops the excuses before they start. I do the same kind of work around St. Albert and I had one client try to dodge for 3 months but my lien rights got them paying fast. You let it slide too long without any consequences built in.