Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

collecting a debt from a customer

A client signed a contract to purchase blinds for his new restaurant from my company for a total of 1800.00. He gave a 900.00 deposit and was to pay the balance upon installation. He accepted installation but did not pay the balance that day, telling me and the installer he could pay the following week. He has not paid after several voice mail requests and mailed requests. Six months have passed without client acknowledging the phone calls or the statements requesting payment. The restaurant never opened, the blinds are still in the window, and the builiding has a ''for lease'' sign outside. What are the next steps to take to receive payment?


Asked on 1/18/09, 1:22 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Matt Van Steen 248-398-7100 Garmo & Kiste PLC

Re: collecting a debt from a customer

We do a substantial amount of collections work, representing both the debtor and the collector. Assuming the debtor only owes you 900.00 you would want to simply file a small claims court action, but as you've already been told, tracking the debtor down maybe the hard part. we work with a lot of private investigators, should you be looking for someone to help track the debtor down. As always I would suggest you consult an attorney because what you write in a three sentence posting never completely tells the story and that might change the diagnosis. Contact us at www.garmokiste.com

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Answered on 1/19/09, 4:56 pm
Timothy Klisz Klisz Law Office, PLLC

Re: collecting a debt from a customer

assuming you dont have a provision for collecting attorneys fees in your contract, you would file in small claims court. Finding the person could be the tricky part. Visit www.kliszlaw.com to discuss the strategy. Tim Klisz

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Answered on 1/18/09, 2:49 pm


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