Quote:
Originally Posted by HuskyMan
I've seen the door swing both ways. In the case you quote, justice was served. In other cases I've seen, the victim filed suit and was awarded a five year court battle which ended with the judge ruling in favor of the cops. In addition, the victim was out major $$$$$$ in attorney and court filing fees in his pursuit of "justice". And, he still lost. So, it depends on how the wind blows on Monday or Wednesday. It is a literal roll of the dice.
One time I was standing in the hall outside of a courtroom and a gentlemen who was a local flooring contractor struck up a conversation with me. it seemed that on occasion, a customer either refused to pay him or did not have the ability to pay him for materials and labor in reference to flooring work. So, he sued them to try and recover his costs. he told me that if the right judge was assigned to his case he would win the case, but if his case were assigned to the wrong judge, he lost. He told me it was all a big CRAP SHOOT. He said he had come to the conclusion that in business he had a choice to make; either spend an entire day at the court house trying to squeeze money from people who didn't have any or go out and try and drum up new business. He said "I'm losing faith in the system".
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I think the guy should go into a new business since he clearly does not understand how this one works.
A Contractor should always get a downpayment up front, and it should be enough to cover materials and labor. That way if he is not paid at least he is in a break even situation. When he is paid he had received his profit.
I have hired a lot of contractors and they all do business like this. One Contractor I know even bids his jobs as three times his costs. If he gets paid he makes 200% profit and that covers his profit from the times he gets stiffed. And yes, he takes the non-payers to court, but he uses his Lawyer to do this so he does not have to hang around the Courthouse all day.