Collecting on Payments...

[wildhorses]

I sold a horse on payments last fall and allowed the horse to leave before being paid in full. I don't normally do this and I know most people on here don't either, but the person had good references and had done business with other friends of mine over the years, so I wasn't overly concerned. We have a purchase contract in place that states payments are to be made monthly, and the horse paid for within one year of our contract.

Well, it has been four months, and I have not received a payment. I also found out that this person owes money to another person for another horse that was purchased before mine, not a large sum, but still money is money. That person told me that this buyer does pay, but you have to constantly remind about the payments being due. I get email forwards often from this buyer and know that the horses are being taken care of. Have even gotten emails that state there is a payment being sent, but of course doesn't arrive.

I guess I just would like to know how to kindly ask for my payments or address the problem without creating hurt feelings, ruining a business realtionship, etc. The horse is several states away, so I don't want to repo the horse. I believe that the buyer will be good for the money, otherwise I would not have made this agreement. I just need to know how to politely prod this buyer into paying for the horse. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[dgrminis]

If it were me I would just e-mail (or call - I would perfer e-mail as then you would have something in writing) and just say that you can tell that the horses have a wonderful home but that you are concerned as they are supposed to be sending you payments of X amount and that it has been 4 months and you havent received any... That hopefully will be enough for them to realize that much time has elapsed and for them to send you payments...

Hope it all works out

 

[disneyhorse]

I would be straightforward and send an e-mail or call and say "I haven't received a payment in four months, can you let me know when you are sending the next payment?"

Andrea

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

I tell every on payment sale, please don't make me play collection agent, but 9/10 times I have to. I just send them an email reminder (you have a paper trail), if they don't respond a phone call. Most people are good about paying, I've found over the years. A copy of the contract, can be attached in an email to.

 

[Equuisize]

Maybe this would be helpful for you and others in the future.

I have gratefully purchased horses on time before and nervously

sold, big horses, on time payments.

What I evolved to was taking pre dated checks made out in the

amount of the agreed payment, dated for the day the new owner

wanted the payment to come out of their checking account.

I've never had this go bad on me. Worked out for everyone as

no one 'forgot' to go to the post office to mail out a payment,

ran out of stamps,ran out of checks blah blah blah....

I also never put these checks in my checking account,just in case

something did go south, but went directly to their bank for cash,

each month.

Cash is king but this worked well for me, several times, and

registration papers were mailed out at the same time as that last

check turned into cash in my hand.

This was in a time when deals were made face to face, the Internet

was only someone's dream. But certainly could still work well

if you did your homework on a buyer, for as we say 'well qualfied buyers'.

 

[Genie]

I had a contract that included the fact that 2 late payments mean't that the horse would be picked up and payments received to date would be forfeited. I never provided the papers until payment was made in full.

I guess that's not your question though since the contract is in place with whatever terms you hoped for.

I can't think of any polite way to get a buyer to make payments on time. It's just rude to not make the payment without a valid reason.

I would probably ask for payments to be "caught up" or you will have to take some legal action. Hopefully they do not have the papers.

It is a breach of contract and therefore a legal matter.

 

[Katiean]

I would be straightforward and send an e-mail or call and say "I haven't received a payment in four months, can you let me know when you are sending the next payment?"

Andrea

Fact is MONEY IS BUSINESS. They bought the horse at a set price. I would just ask for the payments.

 

[HGFarm]

I agree with Genie and dont know of any polite way of asking for what is owed to you and WAY PAST DUE! I would tell them they need to catch this up immediately as you would hate to have to take further action.

Equissize, my understanding is that pre dated checks are not legal in some places and you are lucky they have been good when you went to cash them. Having a predated check doesnt mean that account is still open or that there is any money in it. I would not want to rely on a pre dated check to ensure I got paid.

I agree with contacting these folks that owe you by email, as you have record of it all, and if you must, follow up with a certified letter that they have to sign for.

Good luck!

 

[Knottymare]

Nothing to add of value that hasn't already been said but my fingers are crossed for a good outcome.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I would ask when an appropriate time to come pick up the horse would be.

 

[Carolyn R]

I would ask when an appropriate time to come pick up the horse would be.

Y'ep, remind them what form of payment you take and tell them that if they can no longer afford to pay for them, then you will need to make arrangements to pick them up.

 

[Minimor]

I agree--if aything will make them pay up it will be your asking when is a good time for you to come & pick up the horse. Just e-mail and remind them that a payment is due as of 4 months ago and if it isn't received by the date of___________ you will be picking up the horse. I realize that the horse is several states away and you don't want to have to repossess, but that doesn't mean you can't run a good bluff & make them believe that you're ready and willing to pick up the horse.

As a side note--for anyone selling a horse on payments to someone that has bought on payments from your friends--remember that when you ask those friends for payment references, don't just ask if they've sold to this person on payments, be sure to ask if there were any difficulties in collected those payments, if they were on time, if the person had to be chased down and hounded for payment.

Also, never go just on the buyer's word that he/she has purchased on payments from 3 of your friends--always confirm with those 3 friends that this is the truth.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I am currently also so I know how frustrating it can be.

I agree, and from my personal experience, being polite and nice will probably not work. In my case I asked for references and actually checked them. I ALWAYS do. But I think my problem was this person was only recently buying other livestock; less expensive than horses. She has Arabians but has had them for years. People's circumstances change over the years, so I think that was my problem.

I had been extremely kind and patient. Said I was worried about her and the horses; didn't want to see anyone in over their head, etc. After knowing I had backup with the Sheriff's dept in her county, I informed her I was coming for the horses. I got a $25 payment via paypal. At that rate it will take YEARS to pay off the horses, but I said I'd accept that until she found another job.

I try very hard to work with people, but at some point you need to consider the animals. If they can't afford the payments, then how can they afford feed and vet care? In my case I asked for pics with a handmade sign with the date on it of each horse. The horses look good and healthy so for the moment I'm going to let it go.

I wish you the best.

 

[Joanne]

Four months is way too generous. I would have been on them far sooner to get this settled. Now she is four and likely nearly five months overdue.

We had someone two years ago that we sent two horses to on a contract for payments in another state. We agreed on a payment schedule with a final date that everything was due by. She was selling her large horses and getting into miniatures. I was told that as she sold the full size horses she would pay me off sooner with the proceeds. I had been to her website and she had some nice horses for sale.

The deposit and the first few payments were no problem. Then I started seeing that she was buying more minis. When I contacted these people she had paid them the total amount, and paid the shipper, but I was still owed money!

She continued to pay me the minimum due with monthly reminders for the next six months. When her final balloon payment was due she though she just owed the minimum due and had to be reminded that the balance was due by sending her a copy of the signed contract.

This incident has made me shy away from letting the horses go before paid for in full. I also have turned down sales when I know they are buying more than one horse at the same time from one or more people. I would like them to pay off their first purchase before buying more horses.

I have had clients give me dated checks and that has worked out great. I always verify there is money in the account with them before depositing them.

 

[rubyviewminis]

I can't believe people take such advantage! I usually have to buy on payments, that is what is paid before anything else and I never dreamed of asking to take the horse before it was paid for! Such a shame and it can ruin sales for other people.

 

[High Meadow Miniatures]

I am in agreement with both Joanne and Becky (and several others, they just addressed the points that I am especially familar with). I sold some horses on payments, and allowed the buyers to take them while still paying for them, but the papers were kept in my possession and a signed contract was exchanged. The payments came regular, and then they began coming late...I too, like Parmela, was very generous and allowed time...still, nothing. Finally, at the point of re-possesing, we were able to get things worked out. These people had purchased several other horses on payments, shortly after buying my own horses (and still making payments)...Joanne addressed the issue very well, and JMO of course, but it seems like a type of "biting off more than you can chew" type of situation...and sadly, it has made me wary of even selling a horse on payments...But, I still will, because there are good people out there who do keep their word. But, the horses, nor their papers, leave my property until paid in full...Once burnt, lesson learnt

And Becky is right, it does ruin sales for other people. I find it sad that a few dishonest people can so easily ruin it for other honest folks

There really is no easy/polite way of asking for your money...They did not keep their agreement with you, period. I would email them, telling them of the situation, that they either need to pay what they owe, or you will have to come get your horses. Good luck, I know all too well how frustrating this can be

 

[Joanne]

Just want to add that MOST of my payment plans with people have gone well.

Like others, I would not have been able to acquire my breeding stock of horses without wonderful people being able to work with me to achieve my goals. I remember that when people want to pay over time.

We all have times when we find the horse of our dreams when out bank account is at its lowest and then need sales to be able to buy that horse.

We try to have a client set realistic goals that they can manage, then if they sell something and can pay it off sooner, even better.

For some reason, it is human nature that if you do not have it, and want it you will find a way to get it faster.

Clearly weanlings are the easiest to take payments on as they are still nursing. it is hard to take payments on a pregnant mare due in June! You may end up foaling out and then what!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Just a word about predated cheques- legally they are "intention to pay"- a sort of contract in their own right, so, if you take them you do at least, if it goes to court, have a pretty strong case, whereas a lot of contracts, unless made up by an equine savvy lawyer, can often have a "wriggle out" hole, a weakness, that will allow the person to get out of it if, again, it went to court.

In most cases, once a person has paid off so much of the amount due, they can afford to ignore you and, unfortunately, a lot of people do. I have noticed that as someone got towards the end of payments they became slower and slower to pay.

It is a mental attitude thing, once they have had the horse a while they consider it theirs and simply "forget" that money is still owed, figuring, often correctly, that you will not bother to chase them over $25.00 or so, or even $100.00 if the horse is a way away.

If you have to sell on payments and let the horse go, I would add a clause to the bottom of the contract saying that you ALWAYS pursue debts, however small, as it is the principle, not the amount, that matters.

Sort of like shops putting up a sign saying that they always sue for debt recovery, as opposed to the normal "Shoplifters will be......shot on sight (If ONLY!!

)

 

[Orkie]

I too, have a lady that owes me money on two horses she bought as a package deal. I have went and handed in her to small claims court and it's been now a year. I will probably not see the money owed to me. As for the papers - they can rot in my book a long with all my other papers. She thinks I need to do paperwork with the horses not being paid for. She can't get into her head I'm not doing any paperwork til the horses are paid for.

 

[HGFarm]

Joanne, I had the same situation with a POA mare... the person was buying and selling horses all over the place, but had not paid me a thing except some of the most ridiculous excuses I have ever heard- lying the entire time.... only I was not bluffing about making a road trip to Kansas. I would have done it. The scary part is, I knew I would have a couple of days driving on the road to get even madder by the time I got there... which would not have been a good thing for anybody. Luckily for probably both of us, the mare was finally paid for and I didnt have to go.