How would we go about collecting money that is owed to us by a corporate company?
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How would we go about collecting money that is owed to us by a corporate company?
We are a small heating and A/C installing company that was subcontracted by a corporate company to do their installs. They now owe us money either for complete jobs and short payments on other jobs. We have had a few meetings with their people who were in charge of paying us, have walked out of those meetings being promised we would see payments soon, still have not received anything.
Asked on October 25, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you can't work matters out voluntarily, you sue them. Assuming you can prove (1) you were hired to do work; (2) the terms under which you did the work (e.g. the contract), including what and when you should have been paid; and (3) that you did the work to spec or contract, you should be able to recover from them. Note that you can only sue when they are late to pay; e.g. if there is any job for which they still have time to make payment without violating terms, it's premature to sue on that job.
Depending on the amount owed, you may choose to sue in small claims court, representing yourself, or in county court, with an attorney. It is possible that getting the summons and complaint will motivate the company to pay, or at least offer a settlement; you should think, in advance, about what settlement or partial payment you would find acceptable to not continue the lawsuit. You might also think about whether you want too continue doing work for a company that is not paying you.
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