I have a situation involving my small business that has me so upset I could cry!
We did some contract work a year and a half ago and billed & collected the agreed amount. However, another contractor created a huge problem and the quickest & cheapest solution was to have us remove our product, revamp our product, and reinstall our product. It took two days and two trips to the jobs site to do this.
About the same time this was happening, I was elbow deep in a legal situation with another contract. We're only a two-man show here and sometimes there's far more work than there are hours. On top of the big things, I had all the small projects, billings, etc. I had no idea at the time that my computer has a glitch and had begun not recording transactions.
Preparing for taxes at the end of last year, and receiving a large check from a customer that didn't match any invoices, I came to realize the problem. I wound up going through piles and piles of invoices, work orders, notes, etc. and reentering payments, deposits, sales receipts, and ultimately, invoices.
One of the invoices that hadn't recorded, and therefore hadn't been sent, was the invoice for all of the rework we did on the previously mentioned contract.
I sent out a letter with everyone of the invoices and never received and complaints; even giving extended terms, most of the invoices involved paid very quickly. I had one customer, however, that didn't pay and didn't respond. I sent an invoices, delayed finance charges, etc. and eventually started writing notes on the statements, "If there is a problem, please let me know." Nothing. Finally I called and the situation instantly became ugly.
First, he denied having EVER gotten any billing from me. Now it has gone to insinuating that I am somehow being fraudulent. I feel like he is trying to intimidate me because I am a very small, fairly young local business and he is a much bigger, longer established business.
He has told me his lawyer told him to offer half, then reverted to trying to scare & intimidate me. He just called me again and says that he went and talked to the property owner and had very interesting conversations about our business. That the property owner is now going to testify for him, says the property owner has records of his conversations with me (I have NEVER talked to the property owner!) and that since I'm "making things up," they will do the same.
I am supposed to file this for court in less than a week, but now I fear that the two of them lying will make it impossible for me to win. The businessman who owes me even has insinuated he will deny we did the work!
What recourse do I have? Can I record these conversations? Do I have to tell them that I am recording them?
We did some contract work a year and a half ago and billed & collected the agreed amount. However, another contractor created a huge problem and the quickest & cheapest solution was to have us remove our product, revamp our product, and reinstall our product. It took two days and two trips to the jobs site to do this.
About the same time this was happening, I was elbow deep in a legal situation with another contract. We're only a two-man show here and sometimes there's far more work than there are hours. On top of the big things, I had all the small projects, billings, etc. I had no idea at the time that my computer has a glitch and had begun not recording transactions.
Preparing for taxes at the end of last year, and receiving a large check from a customer that didn't match any invoices, I came to realize the problem. I wound up going through piles and piles of invoices, work orders, notes, etc. and reentering payments, deposits, sales receipts, and ultimately, invoices.
One of the invoices that hadn't recorded, and therefore hadn't been sent, was the invoice for all of the rework we did on the previously mentioned contract.
I sent out a letter with everyone of the invoices and never received and complaints; even giving extended terms, most of the invoices involved paid very quickly. I had one customer, however, that didn't pay and didn't respond. I sent an invoices, delayed finance charges, etc. and eventually started writing notes on the statements, "If there is a problem, please let me know." Nothing. Finally I called and the situation instantly became ugly.
First, he denied having EVER gotten any billing from me. Now it has gone to insinuating that I am somehow being fraudulent. I feel like he is trying to intimidate me because I am a very small, fairly young local business and he is a much bigger, longer established business.
He has told me his lawyer told him to offer half, then reverted to trying to scare & intimidate me. He just called me again and says that he went and talked to the property owner and had very interesting conversations about our business. That the property owner is now going to testify for him, says the property owner has records of his conversations with me (I have NEVER talked to the property owner!) and that since I'm "making things up," they will do the same.
I am supposed to file this for court in less than a week, but now I fear that the two of them lying will make it impossible for me to win. The businessman who owes me even has insinuated he will deny we did the work!
What recourse do I have? Can I record these conversations? Do I have to tell them that I am recording them?
