Local DJ being taken to court

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The original multi-op I worked for used have the jock collect the final payment AT the event.
(I would not get paid by the company until the client's check arrived)
I occasionally had a client who "forgot the checkbook"...
so I have had to wait a week or so until the boss ironed it out.
But never went to court, or had any legal action.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
In 16 years I have never been to court. However, These are my stats after hundreds of booked events.

1. I had a couple bounce their check they gave to my sister at the gig in 2010. They said it would be in the mail on Monday. It never came in. Left 3 voice mails for the bride. No response. Finally got a hold of the Groom who is in the military after leaving him 2 voice mails. He apologized and said it will be in the mail. We finally got the balance payment paid a full 7 weeks after the wedding. This was the worst situation I have dealt with.

2. I had another couple bounce a check in 2010. They apologized, and did rectify the problem with an additional $100 added in with an apology. ...However, It took nearly 3 weeks to receive their payment after the wedding.
3. I had a couple forget their check book" back in 2010. They said it would be in the mail right away. They went on their honeymoon and forgot to mail it. They didn't put it in the mail until they came back from their honeymoon. It took just over 2 weeks to get payment after the wedding.

4. This one wasn't a booking I did, but another one of my DJs did a wedding where she "forgot her check book" ...Apparently, the bride/groom did this with every vendor at their wedding. They even ducked out on a $1300 remaining bill on the catering. All the vendors took the bride to court, and got judgements. However, my DJ was never able to collect the money from the bride. She still never paid him. She owes him $450 to this day and that was in 2012.


2010 was THE WORST year for collecting payments. I blame it on the effects of the recession at the time. It was pulling teeth to get brides/grooms to pay their deposits to book that year as well. I'm glad things are better since then. Totally prefer not to deal with a recession again as a Mobile DJ.

I will add that we had 2 other checks bounce back in 2010 that were deposit payments...That was pretty bad. ...That lead to adding the "$35 bounce check fee" clause on our agreements. We did not have that in the agreement back in 2010.


Outside of that, I've dealt with other companies who took forever to pay me after an event.
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Corporate clients paying after is common and not usually a problem

It was 2007 for me. I got stiffed completely by a Bride, she even managed to get out of the deposit. She also got the caterer, the hall, the Priest, the Decorator and the Florist. A couple of weeks late the groom tried to negotiate (and tried to pick a fist fight with me) the night of at the end of the event. I wound up being stiffed for $50 bucks on that one I just wrote it off

I had one last year that forgot the cheque book but paid by E-transfer on Monday and one this year that couldn't find the cheque book but managed to later in the evening. All in all I've been pretty lucky

Bob I can't imagine that you let Wedding couples pay after the event on a regular basis. If you do you are much more foolish that I would have ever assumed
 
I fall into this boat too - I've had one. The MOB wrote and distributed checks for all vendors on the night of - and they all bounced. She refused to answer her phone for a week but eventually squared up.
 
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rickryan.com said:
I don't live on the edge of every paycheck and I have been stiffed before. I've also had to chase clients before. You stated that you don't accept clients who haven't demonstrated the ability to pay. In other words, you're living in a different world than most of the rest of us here in this forum. Your condescending attitude is ignorant and spiteful of the realities that most of us deal with regularly. Shutup.
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:) This lesson in finance and ethics from the guy who prefers cash so he can evade income taxes? [recent post]

Yes, I think the world I've CHOSEN is clearly different than yours. My customers trust me, they WANT to pay me, and I trust them to do so. It just works because we're mutually cooperative. It works because I have confidence and a long history of getting the results people seek. I don't play games, run no gimmicks.

You tell a different story - a paranoid tale of fear, doubt, and suspicion where everyone is out to screw you, and so you preemptively strike first. IMHO you are the spark that ignites these drama flames you want to extinguish.

For one thing, phishing the internet for clients and using email as a way to hold everyone at arms length more often breeds mutual contempt. I'm not surprised that the same people who refuse to engage in real interpersonal communication are reporting these kinds of issues. If you're not on the phone or face to face with people - you don't have a relationship, you don't have trust. People believe us until they find reason not to, however that is faith - not trust. You can solicit faith (hope) online but, trust has to be earned in person.

Jeff,
Many wedding clients pay me in full in advance (they are not required to do so, nor do I request it - they just feel comfortable with it.) The contract terms are Net 10 with a due date 10 days prior - which means they are perfectly able to pay me on the day of the event, and many people do that as well. I also get frequently tipped. Yes, sometimes people forget their check - I invoice them and they pay it. Wow. Imagine that - integrity.
 
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Proformance said:
:) This lesson in finance and ethics from the guy who prefers cash so he can evade income taxes? [recent post]

Yes, I think the world I've CHOSEN is clearly different than yours. My customers trust me, they WANT to pay me, and I trust them to do so. It just works because we're mutually cooperative. It works because I have confidence and a long history of getting the results people seek. I don't play games, run no gimmicks.

You tell a different story - a paranoid tale of fear, doubt, and suspicion where everyone is out to screw you, and so you preemptively strike first. IMHO you are the spark that ignites these drama flames you want to extinguish.

For one thing, phishing the internet for clients and using email as a way to hold everyone at arms length more often breeds mutual contempt. I'm not surprised that the same people who refuse to engage in real interpersonal communication are reporting these kinds of issues. If you're not on the phone or face to face with people - you don't have a relationship, you don't have trust. People believe us until they find reason not to, however that is faith - not trust. You can solicit faith (hope) online but, trust has to be earned in person.

Jeff,
Many wedding clients pay me in full in advance (they are not required to do so, nor do I request it - they just feel comfortable with it.) The contract terms are Net 10 with a due date 10 days prior - which means they are perfectly able to pay me on the day of the event, and many people do that as well. I also get frequently tipped. Yes, sometimes people forget their check - I invoice them and they pay it. Wow. Imagine that - integrity.
Click to expand...
Let's be fair here. Answer this question pro. In all your years as a DJ have you ever had someone either not pay you at all or only part of the money? I can say for sure I've had it happen to me. I just learned from my lesson so it doesn't happen again. Most clients are good decent people. Yet there are a few bad apples in the bunch that makes us do what we have to do to be safe.

Just like there are DJs who also are low lifes as well keeping a clients money and don't show up. They make it bad for us DJs that take what we do very seriously and just wouldn't do such a thing. At least if it did happen it would be that the DJ had to be rushed to the hospital because they just had a heart attack or a stroke. Or for that matter they just fell the day of and broke their leg preventing them from making it.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
At least if it did happen it would be that the DJ had to be rushed to the hospital because they just had a heart attack or a stroke.
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I had a heart attack loading in for an event one night and stayed...To be fair had I known I was having a heart attack I likely wold have called someone else in
 
Jeff Romard said:
I had a heart attack loading in for an event one night and stayed...To be fair had I known I was having a heart attack I likely wold have called someone else in
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You stayed after having a heart attack ? That's real dedication . I'm glad I'm not that dedicated . No party is worth me dying over .
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
You stayed after having a heart attack ? That's real dedication . I'm glad I'm not that dedicated . No party is worth me dying over .
Click to expand...

Like I said had I known I may not have been that dedicated
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Let's be fair here. Answer this question pro. In all your years as a DJ have you ever had someone either not pay you at all or only part of the money?
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Certainly, several thousand dollars worth. NEVER from a wedding or other event, ALWAYS from other DJs, many of whom you'd be surprised to know can't or won't pay their bills.

This is consistent with the correlations in this thread - that DJs least worthy of your faith are also the ones most likely to be paranoid about their clients.
 
Proformance said:
Certainly, several thousand dollars worth. NEVER from a wedding or other event, ALWAYS from other DJs, many of whom you'd be surprised to know can't or won't pay their bills.

This is consistent with the correlations in this thread - that DJs least worthy of your faith are also the ones most likely to be paranoid about their clients.
Click to expand...

You've been lucky most can't say they haven't been stiffed at least once from a wedding client if they have been in the business long term. I got to agree with you on the other DJ's part I've had a harder time collecting from a couple than I ever have from any other client
 
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