Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
customer won't pay
I have a small auto parts store and we sell to repair shop. We use charge account so every month we collect at the 10th. One of the account is past due and we ask when we could have the check but kept got the run around. So we decide to put the account on COD and the owner threat not to pay at all if we don't reopen the charge account. What can we do, please help.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: customer won't pay
Unless your agreement says otherwise, you can change the terms with notice. They can threaten not to pay, but if they agreed to pay and accepted the parts, they would lose. Sounds like they don't have the money and don't want to pay.
Re: customer won't pay
You might notice that the customer is not paying at all, which makes his threat seem somewhat redundant. I believe that COD is the only way to continue to do business with this customer, and if you want to collect your past due account, file a small claims action against him (maximum Five thousand dollar (5,000.00) jurisdictional limit. That will really upset him, but I wouldn't be too concerned about not injuring his feelings.It's more important that you establish your business as one that demands payment on time.
Re: customer won't pay
Be firm. One option may be to keep them on terms but shorten the time payment-maybe weekly-and have them pay an extra percentage over the previous weeks balance until the account is current. Of course if they do not pay, you can sue them for the balance due if you no longer value their business. You do not have to keep them on account. You may certainly put them on COD. Good luck-Martin
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