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I have done and once in a while still have thoughts of doing things like you say "is on" when people are jerks about paying legitimate bills, and of course when said and done the way you suggest, it may make you feel better, but you just open another door in an already bad situation instead of creating closure which is what you really want. It's going to turn out badly, and whoever you are, you know this, you're just being pigheaded about it. But, if you are hell bent on doing it, that is great, hopefully it don't escalate into something you are not prepared to deal with, and judging by the amount of time you let pass, you won't be totally prepared for every possible scenario, remember, bullets travel very quickly with no conscience, sometimes without notice, and many times innocent people get in the way. But as I have always thought, if the day ever comes that I had no choice but to resort to last ditch efforts to right a terrible wrong, I'd make sure it made national and or global news, but honestly there ain't much in this world worth doing that for, unless someone did something to a child, family member or relative, and even then, you make yourself an unecessary martyr, because of stubborn and irrational actions, to obtain some satisfaction, which lasts about as long as the pleasure most people get from another favorite activity that keeps the human race kickin ! Oh yeah it's great at the time, but it'll fade quickly, unlike the consequences you might suffer, some of which can be very final. But by all means go ahead and let us know how it goes, that is if we don't read about it on the news 1st. The first mistake you made was posting a thread here, don't think there is no chance of someone finding this thread, it will most likely turn up and you will pay your defense atty. to refute it amongst other things you did foolishly, that is if things don't go completely awry. In essence you have telescoped your moves, with an electronic tag, that can be traced. Pardon my rash thoughts, but you asked pal ! If you are in a business providing a service or do this kind of work on occasion, regardless whether it be for people known to be of good character, even friends or complete unknowns, it is incumbent upon yourself to make sure you have taken all the steps possible to educate yourself on what can happen in the worst case scenario, ( like non-payment ) and all the ways to mitigate it from happening in the first place. I'd rather spend money on an atty. up front to create a document such as an agreement that outlines the terms of the service provided then have to resort to litigation or risk criminal prosecution for seeking satisfaction of an unpaid claim later, because I did not take the interest in reducing my financial risks up front. Up front legal service fees will never equal costs of going to court to resolve a dispute or for being prosecuted for seeking satisfaction vigilante style. It's when people don't do this up front legal work, then get screwed by a non paying customer, they resort to desperation like what you suggest. There is no guarantee that even with a fine tuned agreement that every customer will pay, but right from the beginning, prior to starting work or providing a service, terms are agreed to and dispute resolution is agreed to, UP FRONT, IN WRITING, not 7-8 months later. You have to stay on top of things like this when they occur, be diligent, use uniform documents, keep detailed records, and timeline all correspondence, and efforts to retrieve payment. You have to conclusively demonstrate in a court of law, with hard back up documentation to win, and to be honest, anyone with 1 oz. of smarts can create a very simple system to implement in their business that is user friendly and gets the job done for this purpose, it's common sense by today's standards, as people don't honor handshakes anymore. In business you must establish uniform documents, used specifically for the purpose of your business, service, or whatever it is that you do, especially if indulging in services that have risk of non-payment, what business does'nt ? When you have to file a claim, as said above, you best have your ducks in a row, your I's dotted and your T's crossed ! That is solely for your benefit and although it may be a little extra work, it is very satisfying when it works, case and point I settled a $350,000 claim at $150,000 because I took the time to keep good records, stayed up until 2:00 a.m. the night before the hearing preparing my documents, crunching the numbers, dotting my I's, crossing my T's,. My client was not seemingly defrauded of the excessive amount and the company representatives that filed the claim agreed that my records were better than their own, I am not an atty. and this was settled out of court, my client was a state agency, and had I not done the leg work they would have paid the full amount, people will test you and try to bluff you every chance they get, but if you stay on top of things with good records this is one example that proves my point, and it was no petty amount 12 years ago, nor is it today. This process does not start 8 months later after you finally decide enough is enough, and now you gonna straighten sh.t out you own way, using caveman tactics LOL !!!! If you are doing work off the books, well hey there is an associated risk with a lot of things then, and when there is no records, documents showing meeting of the minds, privity as called in the legal world of contracting, then you have to go into the job knowing you could get screwed easily, because although verbal agreements can be made, off the side, cash deals are risky, and what avenue can one pursue to obtain payment if the customer disputes the work or just fails to pay ? Either you have enough records to put together a claim or you don't, if you don't then what do you do differently the next time you do a job, the same lazy thing that caused this one to escalate into a bad scene ? Figure it out ! Weigh the legitimate cost of the claim you have now, against the stupidity you are about to pursue, now you are out whatever the claim is + the additional cost of your stupidity, and that my friend is carte blanche revolving door, you don't know how it's going to turn out, so it's a gamble, the odds are not in your favor by what you stated, common sense should tell you what to do here. Long time ago, a football coach always told us, "you win games with smarts not brawn" and he was right, your enemies are always best taken by outsmarting and suprising them.( that does not mean performing a vigilante repo. is the answer ! ) You got a wife, kids, people that care about you? If things go really wrong, consider the selfishness of it, especially when they have to suffer through your stupidity as well, all over what seemingly is a petty amount of money and or a piece of iron. You ought to consider these things prior to and move on, you wont't regret it. And uh, have a nice day, HAPPY NEW YEAR !
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