Sometimes 'repatriating' equipment is the only way to recover anything from a bad debt.
You should never be suprised by the depths to which some people will stoop to cheat you out of your money or by the lack of embarassment they have about breaking promises.
In my experience the two biggest areas for this potential non or late payment problem are restaurants and nightclubs. I always advise people to avoid this sort of work if they can.
The main rule is to never threaten 'that you will take the system back unless you are paid'. Giving this warning allows the cheat to take action to prevent you from doing so. Once the pre-determined and promised payment deadline is past just swoop in and recover.
The second rule is not to listen to the sort of person Prof. Kurnal admits he was in a former life. (I know that, and he confirms, he has a different viewpoint these days!).
This is the sort of person who gets involved in something that has nothing to do with them and takes the side that will make life easier for them. You would think they wouldn't take any side and they would keep out of the argument. But they don't for some reason. They just want a fire alarm system in place and they couldn't care less about if it has been paid for or not.
These type of people don't give a sh*t about the problems you will have in recovering your money and will come up with any sort of bluff to try and stop you removing the system. They are actually powerless to do anything to you to prevent you taking back what is legally yours.
One wonders why they even try and get involved. They will still be getting their own salary (and even complaining big time if the wages office miss just 1 hour of their overtime!) and don't have a care that you might not be able to feed your kids that month. If they did, they wouldn't get involved and they certainly wouldn't side with the debtor. Just ignore them they are powerless to do anything against you.
All of what I said above is based on the premise that you, the supplier, has robust Terms and Conditions of Trading in place that includes an agreement that you hold full title to the goods supplied until paid in full and also that you haven't allowed these to be overidden by accepting a subsequent order that has overiding terms and conditions. Furthermore, if the Police turn up as you are removing your property you need to explain to them that your right to be on the premises is inherent in the fact that you were invited to have access to the premises to install the equipment in the first place. If the premises tells the Police that the equipment you are recovering was not supplied by you, ask them to show the purchase invoice to the Police. Have your order for the equipment available.
Anyone giving credit in the U.K. needs to understand that World is full of crooks, that the legal system is not only ponderously slow but offers very little chance of ever recovering a debt (her Majesty's Court Service's own literature even admits this) and if the debtor goes into administration you, as an unsecured debtor, has virtually no chance of getting anything. The administrator works hard to ensure the Government and the banks get what they are due and then the administrator's fees magically take virtually everything else recovered!
This is the way of the world and your survival depends on quick and effective (sometimes drastic) action when promised/agreed payment fails to materialise.
If you need confirmation of how not paying someone what you owe is an accepted practice in the U.K. , check out the internet for advice on how to 'recover bad debts'. There is very little advice available. Then check out the internet for advice on how to 'avoid paying a debt' there are millions of pages of advice and organisations that will help you do so. Also read all the forums used by people who discuss how to avoid and/or drag out the process of paying a debt and ignoring a court judgment. They are quite funny in their cheek and audacity unless you are the one who is owed money!!!
Millions of pounds have gone through my bank accounts since I have been in business and I suppose I should feel pleased that my total of unrecovered bad debts over nearly 30 years totals less than 50K.
That 50K all came from my own pocket because it was otherwise due to me as potential profit.
Then I think about what I could have done with that 50K.
The cheating barstewards !
