Don't let it go, but handle it in person and professionally. You want her to treat you like a professional, so don't do something that puts you at an unprofessional level. Remind her, track her down and speak to her in person (privately). You can threaten legal action if appropriate or have an attorney write a letter like others have suggested.

I actually am an attorney and those who have posted that your legal options depend on the state in which you live are correct. Generally speaking, though, if you need a license to operate in your state and you do not have one, you have no standing to sue, whether in small claims or otherwise, on any contracts made through the operations of your illegal business. Laws may have an unfair effect, but that doesn't mean that judges don't have an obligation to follow the letter of the law.

I used to work for a practice that handled mostly small claims actions. I have also worked the majority of my career in litigation (larger non-small-claims suits). Consider carefully before filing a lawsuit, even in small claims. It's not just the money, but your time and stress level. Yes, you may be able to recover what you are owed and the costs of filing the suit, but it is a lot of time and at least the initial payment of money from your own pocket to go through the process. You will have to either fill out the paperwork yourself, which includes doing the research, finding the forms, and getting it to the court correctly on your own, or you will need to hire an attorney to do these things for you. There is also the stress of going through the process - going to court, handling the paperwork, seeing your coworker and having to continue working with her.

Once you get a judgment from the court, you have to file further paperwork to enforce that judgment and collect any money. For this, you must in most states go through several steps. First, letters saying that you are owed the money pursuant to the judgment. Then papers to discover her information - bank accounts, work, possibly other assets. She must answer these, but time is given for that. Notices are then sent for the information to be given and you go to court again. After that, more time for discovery and notices before you can file, for example, for her wages to be garnished. The whole process can take months at the very least.

The point of all of this is to say that even small claims issues are not necessarily quick and simple. It may seem so, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of stress to get through. Yes, your client should pay that $250, but before you take legal action with the court, consider whether your time and efforts (and the stress it will create) is worth getting that $250 back. I have found that it very seldom is worth it in the end, even if you do happen to get paid.

I understand what newcakestar is saying....you can't harass someone in the workplace (or anyplace else for that matter)
If the OP keeps going up to this woman at work asking her for payment, the woman could file a complaint with HR.


You have to be careful with this, there are limits.

Just as creditors have limits when they're trying to collect a debt. There are limits as to how many times they can call you a day or if you tell them to not call you at work and they do that's considered harassment.

I think you should contact her out of the workplace so you don't end up in a compromising position.

What I am trying to convey when I say "let it go" is that it is not worth her job. This is what it may cost her if her co-worker goes on the offensive and turns the table on her with her employer.
No cake is worth my livelihood which is what I consider my full time job to be.

Do you handle credit cards through a card reader, I think it is called The Square? Or Paypal? I would tell her her options are Credit Card, Paypal, or cash and that you are adding a late fee if she doesn't pay by the end of the week and you will also add a charge for the icing containers if they are not returned in the same condition that they were lent. If you do accept a check, take it to her bank and cash it immediately.

Give her a firm deadline and then tell her you will be taking legal action the day after her deadline.

I agree with the consensus to try and collect the monies owed. I would talk to her politely at work and ask for payment and if it does not come on the set date, the next payday I would file suit. Of couse that is if you can legally do so. I would do it no matter how much time it takes, mere principal of the whole ordeal. It may be just me but, I wonder if the other places did not meet with her liking because she had to pay in full prior to the wedding. I think this was her plan all along, to not pay you.
evelyn

Jason clearly she's dealing with a person with issues...when someone doesn't pay their bills they've got serious issues.

I have a SIL who is 51 yrs old and she's been running from creditors her entire life...she has a masters degree, so she's not "stupid" by any means but she has some serious serious issues.

But that's a whole other story.lol

It's too bad you can't send the bill to her husband's attention at their house. I'd bet dollars to donuts he's not been made aware of this non-payment issue.

*This is not legal advice* Although the contract may be void because you are not licensed, you could try to recover for unjust enrichment. What an uncomfortable situation for you! I hope all works out!

I hope we get an update on this! Very interesting discussion.

I'd post my cake pic on facebook with a note that I didn't get paid and make sure you tag her in the photo!!

When are we cake makers going to learn? I'm sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, it's often our family and friends who take advantage of us.

The best way to handle this in the future...have them sign a contract. We are business people and must conduct ourselves accordingly.

If she does not pay, I would take her to small claims court. Yeah it will be uncomfortable, but others might do the same thing to you in the future. It's your choice though how you want to handle this. Best of Luck!

I had to sue a contractor once. He didn't deliver or install the stainless steel hood for my commercial kitchen.

I won the judgement against him in small claims court. I then had to go back to the court building and file to collect the money.

Instead of paying for discovery, I did my own. I looked on the back of my first deposit check and got his account number to give to the court clerk who then trudged to the bank and seized the money.

Not so sure the account numbers still get listed on backs of checks though...judge warned me it might be hard to collect. Contractor was even in the next state.

I felt so good. Finally, the little, honest guy won. Wishing you all the best!

Hello CCers,

For those of you who are interested I FINALLY have a conclusion to this story and I will NEVER EVER make the mistake of not getting an entire payment up front EVER AGAIN.

After months of writing emails and making phone calls that went unanswered. I put the internet to use and dug a little deeper and found the contact information for the non-paying clients husband and father-in-law. The last email that I sent her was accompanied with an invoice and completed Small Claims Court Complaint. I cc'd her husband and father-in-law (who are both business owners) and she finally responded. The husband had no idea that she had not paid for their wedding cake...CA-RAZZY!! I did a little research and learned that in the state of MD spouses can be attached in debt collection matters (which I included in the email I sent) and she responded IMMEDIATELY. She of course asked me not to include him on any subsequent emails (which I ignored of course).

Long story short she agreed to meet me at a restaurant near our office to pay me in full (she wanted to mail it to me but I use my home address as my office and there was no way I was giving this criminal my home address). She met me and paid me $231 of the $271 dollars she owed me. So I got the majority of the money but not all. The only thing she had to say was that her refusal to pay me was not personal and that she just didn't have the money and after a couple of months passed she didn't know how to rectify the situation and she thought I was going to "go off on her". All of this is complete BS of course the entire time I was very professional and the only thing I ever threatened was court. I really think she was going to keep ignoring my requests for payment and it was only the inclusion of her husband and father-in-law on my last emails that pushed her to pay me.

I learned some valuable lessons from this incident and will never be hoodwinked again.
Oh...one more thing I learned that I didn't know before is that if you want to collect interest in a lawsuit it has to be included on the original contract so I will be adding an interest clause to my contract. Thanks for reading.

Glad you finally got most of your money. This was an interesting thread filled with many "cake/life lessons". Sorry that it took you so many months to collect.

pastryqueen9, thank you for giving us the update. I love it when a thread's author comes in to give an update to the issue raised. Closure is a good thing.