Non-Payment of Fees

I have successfully negotiated settlements to hundreds of cases over the past 16 years.  Out of all of these cases, I have only had problems getting paid 4 or 5 times.

Non-payment of fees is extremely rare in this profession.  My complete commercial debt resolution Business Plan System provides information on ways to ensure you get paid your fee as soon as settlements are accepted, before the creditors receive a dime.

However, there still may come a time when a client accepts a settlement but does not pay your fee.  This occurred with a recent client of mine.  In this specific situation, I thought it best to allow my client to delay payment of my fee so that they would not lose the extremely favorable settlement I had negotiated on their behalf.  My client assured me payment would be forthcoming and even went so far as to email me a pdf copy of a check made payable to my company in the amount of my fee.

Unfortunately, the check was never mailed and this fee is now over 60 days past due.  I have mailed a demand letter for payment within 10 business days and I will file suit locally if it is not received.

Sadly, I have now become just another creditor to this client despite having assisted with a much larger debt.

The good news is that these situations do not arise very often and can typically be avoided in the normal course of business.

Scott F. Soape

UPDATE:  Within a few days of sending my demand letter for payment and threatening a lawsuit, I received a check for my $1,000 fee.