i won a case in small claims court...for 500 bucks, had to hire a process server...
and went back to court 3 times total...
they said he owed the money, but heres the kicker...they don't MAKE them pay....
so i was out fees for a process server, court costs and still didn't get any money off him.
small claims court is a big joke.....it's like they just agree these deadbeats owe you money....the judge basically told us to work out the payments ourselves.
i think it's VERY hard to get blood out of a stone.
I won a case in small claims court. They tried to get out of paying me too. You have to pursue your payment. I went back to court and did a "Discovery." That means the other person has to appear and give any info that you ask for like employer, physical address, etc. I got the info that I needed then had her wages garnished. She also had to reimburse all of my filing fees. You can collect from small claims court, but you have to pursue it. It is not always easy.
Because you went against your own policy, I'd probably just chalk it up as lesson learned and not to be repeated.
I know this is all annoying, but isn't it a lot of work to pursue payment for a cake she ordered, and unless I have somehow missed something in this thread, that she never picked up?
I can see dogging her to death if she somehow gained possession of the cake without paying, like by writing a hot check. But she cancelled the order, albeit late, after having never paid any portion of the amount owed. I would never have made a cake in those circumstances. No money, no cake. And the geeks at the office enjoyed/will enjoy the cake donation to their tummies, anyway. Let it go as a lesson learned. The stress will kill you otherwise.
All this makes me think of a prank kids used to pull back when I was in high school, long before caller ID...call a pizza place and order 12 pizzas for some ficticious name and then never pick them up. Some people are just idiots. Try to avoid them.
'heathen' is what I call my children when they are driving me bananas.......
My 9 year old considers that word to be a compliment.
When he drives me crazy I call him a monotheist and he gets terribly insulted. 
Love it!!!!
Let's see... High school kid... 7 years bad credit... not gunna look good on the ole' college application... Then again, if she's a juvenile, you'll be SOL anyways...
I think chock this one up to a lesson learned the hard way and start a list of people you cannot accept orders from in the future without payment for past cakes and of course, when you're in conference talking with other bakers in the area about horror stories... yea, she makes a good story to use...
Of course, it only takes one bad apple to spoil it for people who have legitimate excuses.. But, at least next time you know stick to your guns and DO NOT start that oven until you have cash in hand...
I think your time is valuable, and worth more than the $70 she didn't pay you.
Yes, I totally agree. I think it's smart to start a list of customers you won't bake for again- b/c as hard as it is to believe right now, you will forget names. I also wouldn't hesitate to tell professional baker friends her name. I would certainly appreciate that info from you. Actually, exchanging lists regularly seems like a good idea 
I'm sorry this happened... but lucky for dh and his buddies and her loss!!
You need to make certain your "no bake list" also includes phone numbers as the names may change but the phone numbers will probably stay the same. Occasionally, the underhanded competition may be trying to sabotage you by placing orders that they know will not be picked up.
Take your invoice to a collection agency, employ their services. They will drive her nuts, then they will file in small claims court on your behalf, hire the attorney, show up in court, do all the hard stuff for you.
Please do beware that collection agencies can be quite expensive, often charging a fee plus a percentage of the money collected. Some will only accept clients who have debts over a certain dollar amount to collect. $70 may not be attractive to many.
And, pleasepleasepleaseplease, don't work without a contract for custom work. It can be a hassle but it's there to protect you in cases like this (and a myriad of other things that could possibly go wrong).
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