legally removing unpaid for goods

[Trivial1]

a customer has only paid part of his invoice on a landscaping job, we have installed custom built decking, can i give him so long to pay or we will remove the decking from his garden or do i take him to small claims court?

[PrinceRainie]

I'm not sure where you stand legally, however if he has already paid part of the amouny you charged, how would you quantify how much decking to take back??
Was there a time limit agreed at the time for when payment would be expected in full?

If you did go and take the decking away I suspect that you could be opening yourself wide open for theft or even worse burgulary!! not sure but could be on dodgy ground

I completely sympathise with you and if it were me I'd go round with a baseball bat and either demand payment in full (take him to the cash machine) or practice your swing!!!!

The most probable and legal course of action would be the small claims court.

good luck and keep us updated as to how you get on.

[Oneeyedvic]

You can only take back goods if you state on your invoice "Title to the goods only passes once paid for in full" or similar.

[bill preston]

i believe that if the goods are on his property and you try and retrieve them, it would only lead to you being charged for theft or tresspassing?

the law is an ass when it comes to this kind of thing? as zacsmaster has said, is there a reason they are withholding the money, because if the job you have done is poor then they may have a piont?

good luck with this!

[Creditsafe_Ltd]

If the decking has been fixed you **can not** now legally remove it, even if you have retention of title included in your T&C's.

You can either issue a small claim for the amount outstanding or try using a third party agency to collect your unpaid invoice.

Drop us a line at http://www.unpaid-invoice.com if you need any help :)

[Stuart-Elmes]

A customer hasn't paid me, can't I just go and take back the goods I supplied?

Turns out the answer is "It's complicated". See this article:

http://www.mycreditcontrollers.co.uk/Articles/customer-owes-me-money-can-I-recover-goods.html