# Getting Paid....NOT



## Willy is (May 20, 2010)

Hey MadMomma, you got some good advice in this thread and if you hang with things you will continue to get help. I can see you are stressed out.

My feeling is that all subs will get paid, and paid in full. My guess is that final payments are not made until that is done, but I could be wrong. I would find out about that point. If your payment is guaranteed the only issue is being able to wait until the check is cut. (but who knows when that is?)

If you have a good relationship with the bank this may be the time to use it. You cannot afford to be put on a COD basis w/ your vendors.

Go to the bank, prove you have done the work but are not getting paid promptly but provide assurances and some sort of documentation that it *will *happen. Know how much $$ you need for money and the _duration_ and if the bank will cover you the problem is solved. 

You first need to fund out and understand if and when you are getting paid or are left holding the bag (I personally don't think it's the latter). You can probably do that by speaking w/ the people who are paying the company you contracted the work for. 

Hang in there.....
Willy


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Hey MadMomma, 
Since calling your suppliers hasn't worked go to plan B.
For each supplier, get the name of the specific individual who deals with accounts receivable & the owners & managers name. Send a personal letter to each, BRIEFLY explaining your predicament, the stage you are at in resolving it & that you intend to pay your account in full no matter the outcome. Send each letter Certified, return receipt. 

Not sure I would wait any longer to file the lien on the bond. Good luck.:thumbsup:


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

MadMomma said:


> wow guys, Thanks for all the back stabbing. I don't need *people I don't know being nasty*.


_Please don't go to the joke page._

:no:​


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## CJA (Jan 26, 2011)

Sounds to me like your mistake was that you continued to dig yourself deeper in debt in hopes that payment would come. If the GC had a deadline your best bet would have been to pull off the job until you were caught up. Not sure what your contract was with them but there is usually a clause in there along the lines that you will receive your draw within so many days of issueing it. If they don't pay you on said day, they broke the contract and you were within your rights to stop working until you were caught up. Why dig yourself deeper for pipe dreams?

My brother-in-law is going through the same thing right now. I told him what he needed to do and he kept the dream alive. Now he's over $40 g's in debt due to it.


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## Robert carozza (Jan 3, 2011)

That really sucks!!
Just stop working, let the people know what's going on, if you have material on the the job get it off!
You will have better and more profitable jobs coming your way just hang in there!


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

I haven't read all the posts, but unless Montana law is very different from any other state I have worked in, you lost your lien rights 45-60 days ago.

Your mistakes:

Not filing intent to lien at 30 days or what ever the minimum is for your state.

Not involving your suppliers in those liens.

Continuing to work once the contracted payment schedule was not met.


Basically you are screwed, tattooed, and in court, and you will be lucky if it doesn't put you out of business.


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## Willy is (May 20, 2010)

http://www.sio.org/news_room/products/payment_bonds.pdf

(and/or google protections for subcontractors, federal funded jobs)

I'm under the impression that state or federal funded jobs are a different animal. The vendor or subcontractor cannot file a mechanics lien on a turnpike, nor can they sue the government; state of federal. Therefore they are granted some additional rights to make sure they get their due payment.

You lose a lot subcontractor protections though, if you don't provide the demands for payment, file the liens when payments are not received as others have told you *and* the clock _may_ have started running. 

It sounds to me as though they are stringing you along trying to get you to wait long enough so that your protections run out.

I'm out of my depth on this, but wish you well.

Willy


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## DBBII (Aug 28, 2008)

There were a couple of earlier comments about the bonds. The statement that the bonding company doesn't pay until after a judgment is correct. You'll spend a fortune in legal fees to get there and you usually don't recover attorney fees.

One tactic I had some success with in the past is a letter to the bonding company. Bonding companies are not in business to pay claims. If they are aware of a problem, they will at least investigate it. They have been known to "take over" the finances on a project, and even front money to keep the GC in business to finish the job.

Believe me, GC's do not want any negative comments to the bonding company.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Madmomma, I hope I didn't sound offensive in my last post. I wasn't calling you a scumbag, and I hadn't read all the posts when I had replied. 

Latley every suplier and a lot of the subs I deal with have been burned, some really bad. I know your in a bad situation and trying to do the right thing. I don't have enough experience to advise you, but griz's idea to send the letters sounded pretty good. Good luck, let us know what happens. JAW


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

MadMomma said:


> Thanks Prestige, I appreciate you honest answers. We have already done some of what you have suggested. I have already talked to my attorney. He knows that we are ready to move on thier bond. We were all told last week that this company had received a check from someone or somewhere and they were just waiting for it to clear the bank and then payments would be going out. My attorney suggested we wait until this week to see if they actually send out checks. If not, then by the end of this week, we will start proceedings.
> 
> We continued to work on this project, because it was a big project and we signed on, saying we would do it, and.....we have never in 20 years of business (this is the first time) had anyone not pay us when we sent in draws. This company was so pushy, that we were going as hard as we could go. It's a federal job, funded by stimulous money, we never gave any thought to the fact that we wouldn't get paid. We are not the only subs getting the shaft here. There is a hand full of us, who bid on this job, got it, and now we can't get paid. We are all going after thier bonding. We have also been in contact with some of the other contractors.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear about the misfortune you are experiencing. Construction is a very difficult business to be in. Anytime big money is involved, the risks and tempers are always high. We joke about it here, mostly because we have all been through it in some way or another. Best to read between the lines and keep smiling. 
Hope it all works out for you.


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

*Hate to admit this, but....*

"The wheel that squeaks loudest gets greased first"

Sometimes, you have to forget the phone calls, emails, and threats. Sometimes, it is better to be more physical and go directly to the person who owes you money. Several years ago, when general contractors hid in their offices I blocked their cars and confronted them when they came out. I let them know I was not going to take any crap and they paid the money they owed.


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

I have visited homes and offices for money owed, and if it takes a personal visit, "tomorrow" is not an acceptable option.


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## Winchester (Jun 29, 2008)

MadMomma said:


> wow guys, Thanks for all the back stabbing.


It's not backstabbing it's been said plain and clear right in front of your eyes.



MadMomma said:


> I am deleting my account.....Thnaks for nothing and have fun talking about me when I'm gone.


Can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. Don't let the door hit you on the way out... :laughing:

or whatever cliche you'd prefer. :jester:

The ones that can't take a little jabbing never last very long.


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## AbsoluteBasements (Oct 7, 2009)

MadMomma said:


> wow guys, Thanks for all the back stabbing. Reel me in? Really? I am not evasive I am over whelmed, worried, scared....anyothers you care to hear? But wait, you don't care, you are just judgemental. You don't know the whole story and the whole situation we are in. I don't feel like I wanted to air ALL my dirty laudry. Just enough to See what you had to say. I am so glad I have provided some entertainment for you all. I don't need people I don't know being nasty. I am deleting my account.....Thnaks for nothing and have fun talking about me when I'm gone.




I didn't smell troll til here.

And why all the quick responses to help someone who "with 20 years in business" joins a forum only when they are up against a supposed wall?

If a person is in bidness 20 years and wants to turn off the phone....

oh, screw it, this person isn't worth the internet ink it takes to type a response.

I think if a person joins, and one of the first five posts is a desperate plea for help, they should be banned.

Just sayin.


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## JumboJack (Aug 14, 2007)

In Cali we can file a Stop Notice on a public works job if the need arises.The vendors can file one too.


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## larryb (May 23, 2008)

At this point in time, you should know, or at least your attorney should know and should have told you what the situation is with the GC who isn't paying you. Having had plenty of indicators telling you (no attorney needed for that) that the GC was in trouble/incompetent/crooked or whatever else due dillegence would have revealed to you before hand, it appears that your only substantive option is to take every possible legal action to CYA (Cover Your Assets) NOW and tie up the crooked GC before you are forced into bankruptcy, 11 or 7...

BTW, where was your attorney when all of this began to unravel??? If all is true and the attorney was qualified, he should have been doing what you pay him to do, keep you from getting into such a predicament in the first place! After twenty years in business...well...

and, keep your suppliers happy.

========================

True story of contractor from Minnesota. This guy would underbid everyone on every job. Every year, he would file BK (back in the days when Bnkrptcy laws were much more liberal) but he would always pay his suppliers - in cash. They all knew he would file annually but always kept his accounts open knowing they would always be paid.


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