collateral/lieu of payment

[howellc4]

State of Illinois, County of Cook, City of Chicago.
I have a client who currently owes several invoices totaling a bit over a $1000 all of which are beyond thirty days and two of them approaching five months.

Today I sent a five day demand for payment in full, this follows several phone attempts to collect and, resubmitting of "lost" invoices.

On the end of my demand I informed them of my intent to pursue any legal means to collect, up to and including, law permitting, the sale of their personal goods, stored rent free in my shop, if I do not recieve payment on date indicated.

Q - If they call my bluff, will I have a legal right to sell their goods in lieu of recieving payment? Or, at the very least can I continue holding their goods, and begin to charge a rent for storage?
Really don't want to be going to court.

p.s. I have recieved no indication of dissappointment in our service or product.

p.s. We're talking about furniture, if that makes a differance.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[JETX]

Is the holding of their property ANY part of a repayment agreement??? Basically, the question is... do you have any WRITTEN agreement giving you the right to hold their property as security to assure their repayment???

If the answer is NO, then you would have no legal right to hold their property (lien) if they were to demand return of same.

 

[howellc4]

Nope, no written agreement. Makes me think I should have posted here first. Maybe then I could have set up a agreement, without jumping the gun with a threat that appears won't hold up.

O.K., howabout the one last job still in our posession, completed and invoiced, yet unpaid. This has already been put on C.O.D. terms. Can I link all outstanding balances to that C.O.D. order?
And then not release this job until the account is brought current.

This is a job not related to the storage of clients property, discussed earlier.

Thanks again

 

[JETX]

Heck, you can do anything you want... and can get away with. Including, tying the current product to former overdue payments.

If they don't like it, they can get an attorney to contact you, then you decide how big an issue you want to make (after YOU talk with a local attorney and show him the P.O., invoice, terms of sale, etc. which we cannot review).

Give it a try, the worst you will have to do is say... "Oh, I can't do that?? Sorry. Oh, by the way, your item is STILL COD."