Right invoice number. Wrong amount. Long time ago.
December 9, 2015 2:48 PM Subscribe
And now I'm missing a payment that for work that was performed months ago. Is there any way I can get that money now? (rather long details inside)
(In case someone is wondering -- I am sure I am missing this money. I keep track of payments and expenditures because hey, it's money.)
For the past couple of years I've been contracting with Company X. It's a very small company, basically a 2-person deal with a Boss and a Dispatcher (the person who contacts us and tells us what to do, where to go etc).
So here's what happened:
They notified me of an assignment for March 27. I conducted it and filled out and sent an invoice for that project. Invoice was $48.98.
They notified me of another assignment for June 1. I conducted that one too, and filled out and sent another invoice. The total on that one was $103.98
So...I received a check in the mail. The check was for the amount of $103.98, but they wrote the date of the previous invoice on it (032715). So I got paid for the later project instead of the first. I did not and have not received a check in the amount of $48.98. Unfortunately I did not think to take a picture of the check I received or otherwise have some record of incorrect payment. All the Boss does is send me a copy of the invoice along with the check, which is what we have to send in the first place.
I called the Boss up (again, it's a small operation, I've met the people before numerous times and never have suspected them of any foul play) and explained to him how the check was wrong. I've also emailed him to try to explain the problem in writing. We had a relatively short email exchange in which I stated
"Yes, I received a check for the amount of 103.98
However, the amount of 103.98 corresponds to the invoice for 20150601
The invoice of 032715 is the amount of 48.98 which I have not received yet.
As I tried to explain over the phone, you wrote a check for the LATEST invoice (20150601), but not yet for the invoice I sent for work performed EARLIER (0323715)."
The Boss said he would "look into it" in an email reply...but I have not heard from him again.
This is doubly frustrating considering that the Dispatcher contacted me with more work via text message since then, and I had to explain to him that "I am still waiting for payment for work that I did in March" and he said he would "talk to the Boss about it tomorrow" -- and yet I don't think he did, since I never heard from him again. I don't want to have to force them into anything, but I've already tried calling and emailing the Boss and also getting his assistant involved. What more can I do?
I don't know who else to contact or how else to go about getting my money, if indeed I can since it's been more than 6 months since that first assignment. Again it's not a big business at all so I doubt they're registered with the Chamber of Commerce or the BBB or something like that. It seems like directly contacting either of them again is useless, as for some reason they don't want to respond to me.
Any thoughts on how I can get payment for this work I did so long ago? Perhaps contact their accountant...but I don't know who that would be! I realize it was a while back and I should have been on their backs about this...but whose fault is it that the payment was wrong in the first place?
(In case someone is wondering -- I am sure I am missing this money. I keep track of payments and expenditures because hey, it's money.)
For the past couple of years I've been contracting with Company X. It's a very small company, basically a 2-person deal with a Boss and a Dispatcher (the person who contacts us and tells us what to do, where to go etc).
So here's what happened:
They notified me of an assignment for March 27. I conducted it and filled out and sent an invoice for that project. Invoice was $48.98.
They notified me of another assignment for June 1. I conducted that one too, and filled out and sent another invoice. The total on that one was $103.98
So...I received a check in the mail. The check was for the amount of $103.98, but they wrote the date of the previous invoice on it (032715). So I got paid for the later project instead of the first. I did not and have not received a check in the amount of $48.98. Unfortunately I did not think to take a picture of the check I received or otherwise have some record of incorrect payment. All the Boss does is send me a copy of the invoice along with the check, which is what we have to send in the first place.
I called the Boss up (again, it's a small operation, I've met the people before numerous times and never have suspected them of any foul play) and explained to him how the check was wrong. I've also emailed him to try to explain the problem in writing. We had a relatively short email exchange in which I stated
"Yes, I received a check for the amount of 103.98
However, the amount of 103.98 corresponds to the invoice for 20150601
The invoice of 032715 is the amount of 48.98 which I have not received yet.
As I tried to explain over the phone, you wrote a check for the LATEST invoice (20150601), but not yet for the invoice I sent for work performed EARLIER (0323715)."
The Boss said he would "look into it" in an email reply...but I have not heard from him again.
This is doubly frustrating considering that the Dispatcher contacted me with more work via text message since then, and I had to explain to him that "I am still waiting for payment for work that I did in March" and he said he would "talk to the Boss about it tomorrow" -- and yet I don't think he did, since I never heard from him again. I don't want to have to force them into anything, but I've already tried calling and emailing the Boss and also getting his assistant involved. What more can I do?
I don't know who else to contact or how else to go about getting my money, if indeed I can since it's been more than 6 months since that first assignment. Again it's not a big business at all so I doubt they're registered with the Chamber of Commerce or the BBB or something like that. It seems like directly contacting either of them again is useless, as for some reason they don't want to respond to me.
Any thoughts on how I can get payment for this work I did so long ago? Perhaps contact their accountant...but I don't know who that would be! I realize it was a while back and I should have been on their backs about this...but whose fault is it that the payment was wrong in the first place?
In this situation I list invoices and payments and send via email with copies of the invoices.
They have copies of their checks and your bank may well have a scan of your deposit as well. They usually do, I'd check with my bank for that back up.
posted by readery at 3:01 PM on December 9, 2015
They have copies of their checks and your bank may well have a scan of your deposit as well. They usually do, I'd check with my bank for that back up.
posted by readery at 3:01 PM on December 9, 2015
Stay simple and issue a revised copy of the second invoice.
Invoice #2 - revised.
Job X on Date Y. Total = $103.98
Less overpayment on Invoice #1 -$55.00
Balance owing: $48.98.
This invoice is overdue. Please pay promptly.
posted by Thella at 3:04 PM on December 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Invoice #2 - revised.
Job X on Date Y. Total = $103.98
Less overpayment on Invoice #1 -$55.00
Balance owing: $48.98.
This invoice is overdue. Please pay promptly.
posted by Thella at 3:04 PM on December 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
It's their fault that the payment was wrong - they're the ones making the payment.
I've been on the other end of a mixup like this, and while it was a nuisance to go back through our records and work out what had happened, we sorted it out and paid what we owed.
You were right to put it in an email so they have a clear record of it, and it is harder to fob off than a phone call. However, a hard copy letter is better still. Send it by registered post if you think they'll pretend not to have received it. If you have them, send them copies of the two invoices, pointing out they have a bill of $48.98 outstanding.
Give them another chance to fix it. If it's a very small business their record-keeping may not be great (and surely you can forgive them for that!) and they may not have had the time to try to work out where the mixup came from.
If they fob you off again, or insist they've made the payments correctly, you will need to decide whether to take them to a small claims tribunal.
Alternatively, just write off the $50 as a life lesson. At some point you'll have spent more than $50-worth of effort chasing the debt.
posted by robcorr at 3:04 PM on December 9, 2015
I've been on the other end of a mixup like this, and while it was a nuisance to go back through our records and work out what had happened, we sorted it out and paid what we owed.
You were right to put it in an email so they have a clear record of it, and it is harder to fob off than a phone call. However, a hard copy letter is better still. Send it by registered post if you think they'll pretend not to have received it. If you have them, send them copies of the two invoices, pointing out they have a bill of $48.98 outstanding.
Give them another chance to fix it. If it's a very small business their record-keeping may not be great (and surely you can forgive them for that!) and they may not have had the time to try to work out where the mixup came from.
If they fob you off again, or insist they've made the payments correctly, you will need to decide whether to take them to a small claims tribunal.
Alternatively, just write off the $50 as a life lesson. At some point you'll have spent more than $50-worth of effort chasing the debt.
posted by robcorr at 3:04 PM on December 9, 2015
Response by poster: readery -- we send in invoices via email anyway; they send us the paychecks along with a printed copy of the invoices
Thella -- that won't work since the paycheck I received is listed as payment for the first assignment and I actually did not receive any check for the second assignment. Put in other words, the payment I was supposed to receive for the first invoice was in the amount for the second invoice, and I have not received anything since then.
posted by ditto75 at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2015
Thella -- that won't work since the paycheck I received is listed as payment for the first assignment and I actually did not receive any check for the second assignment. Put in other words, the payment I was supposed to receive for the first invoice was in the amount for the second invoice, and I have not received anything since then.
posted by ditto75 at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2015
If having a copy of the check would help, have you asked your bank for it? Deposit items aren't on statements, but if you tell them the deposit date they should be able to give you a copy of the check.
posted by saffry at 3:19 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by saffry at 3:19 PM on December 9, 2015
Yes, I understand the process that happened, ditto75. But look at it this way, they have an account with you (sort of), they have overpaid one part of the account but underpaid or not paid on the other part. So they have paid you for inv#1, but they have overpaid you. So they get that credit on inv#2 that they haven't paid for yet. In the end, you come out with the same money, they have paid both invoices, and all is good. Don't concern yourself too much with their accounting problems. Just issue a revised invoice and see what happens.
posted by Thella at 4:25 PM on December 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Thella at 4:25 PM on December 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'm an office manager. Stuff like this happens. Thalia is correct. It is their problem. Send them the data for both invoices (and copies), noting the payment against the first and let them sort it out however their accounting methods allow.
posted by sarajane at 4:27 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by sarajane at 4:27 AM on December 10, 2015
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Anyway, your best chance to get paid at this point would be to send a LETTER, not a text or email or anything not-written, explaining the situation in detail. It should also be straightforward; I would write it out in paragraphs but even a set of bullet points would do. For example: "In March, I performed X work and sent you invoice #X for $49; in June I performed Y work and sent you invoice #Y for $104. I appreciate that you promptly paid $104, but the payment was labeled with invoice #X, and so I fear there has been some confusion; I never received the $49 due for invoice #X. Please promptly re-check your records and send $49 for job X. As I'm sure you understand it is desirable to close out these accounts before the end of the year. Happy Holidays!"
Whether you are comfortable doing more work with them before they pay is up to you. If you refuse, you may lose them as a client forever over what is ultimately a pretty small misunderstanding, but if it really sticks in your craw, then there you go. Don't bother trying to figure out who their accountant is; that person probably has no control over or accountability for this (though they might have the records that prove you've never been paid). Also reporting them to the BBB or whatever is only going to cause bad blood and not get what you want. Small claims court might be the way to go if you are prepared to take it that far.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]