Lesson Learnt

[Wendy-ON]

A couple of years ago I was approached by a woman in our local Quilt Guild who was opening a shop, she wanted me to quilt as well as piece samples for her. I offered her my lowest rate for quilting as well as piecing. I did a lot of work for this woman and my mistake was first of all not having our arrangement in writing and also not billing and receiving payment before handing over my work. I also taught a class at her shop which she collected fees for my teaching.

To make a long story short she decided that she shouldn't have to pay me, or at the most at half of what I charged for quilting and nothing for piecing, though she did offer the quilts back to me at what she said was fair market value.

I ended up taking her and her business to small claims court. There was a settlement conference held where the judge repeatedly asked her if she was in possession of my work, she said yes, he said what makes you think you shouldn't have to pay... She still refused so that judge recommended it go to trial. Oh I did have emails with her admitting that she owed me the money. On a funny note she said that she is not an owner but a shareholder of the shop and that she is a volunteer as are her friends who work there.

Anyways, in the end she hired a lawyer and made an offer to settle, which was less than she owed me but a thousand more than she had been willing to pay before the lawyer...she also had to pay her lawyer. I chose to settle and end my stress. The case is public record and the story is known by many in our local quilting community. I have been told that I am not the only quilter that she has treated this way.

So my purpose in sharing my story? Always get any business arrangement in writing even if it's with a friend and don't let your work out of your hands without payment.

Wendy's Quilting

APQS Millennium

[Enchanted Quilting]

Sorry you had to go through this...lesson for all of us!

[Tamarack]

Wendy I'm so sorry this happened to you but glad you stood up for yourself and got some of the money owed to you.  Thanks for sharing your story.

[Primitive1]

Yes, thanks for sharing your story Wendy so that we can all learn from it…I am so sorry that it got so ugly but glad that you finally got things made somewhat right…

[LisaC]

Wendy, that is indeed a sad story, and I am glad,it is over for you now. We tend to think all quilters are fair, honest and moral people, at least we want to think that. The moral of your story is spot on, thank you for sharing.

[RitaR]

I'ts sad people have such black hearts, and no conscience.   

 

Glad you came out the Victor, and you are Right.

 

Always, Always get your business in contracts, signed personally

whenever possible.

 

I can't understand how she says in business.. maybe she won't much longer.

 

Good luck, and welcome to the board.. I don't remember greeting you, but

with brain burps and naps,  who knows.. lol,  glad you are here.

 

Rita

[GrandmaLKB]

Yes, a good lessoned learned for everyone..............too bad some people find the need to cheat others.  She only hurt herself by now having a bad reputation.   Not good for any business.   I would stay far, far away from her !

[Merryjo2003]

The question was not whether she was right or wrong, it was only, "how much!"  That is, how much was she going to have to pay!  Good lesson for us all.  Get it in writing!  Sometimes that "friend" we think we have turns out to be the wolf in sheep's clothing.  I think most quilters are very generous and kind hearted people.  They "gift" so much to others.  That includes heavy discounts for your work to help her out.  Sad when they take advantage of people who are so generous with them.

[ffq-lar]

Thanks for sharing your story. It's a reminder that running your business professionally from the start will earn you respect as well as the monies that are owed you. Great reminder as well to not let your work leave your custody without full payment.

 

I agree with Merry Jo's comment about "how much"--I can't imagine that her payment to her lawyer was less than the amount she owed you. Unbelievable!

[whitepinesquilter]

Thanks for sharing your story. It's a reminder that running your business professionally from the start will earn you respect as well as the monies that are owed you. Great reminder as well to not let your work leave your custody without full payment.

 

So, for those of us who haven't let a quilt out of our possession because we have not been paid, how long do you hold on to it? Until you take them to court? I had a contract with the quilt I'm talking about, but that doesn't keep the owner from not paying. When routinely contacted she just says she doesn't have the money and to just hold on to the quilt until she does. Anybody found a remedy other than taking them to court? Having a contract is not a guarantee of payment if you do business with the wrong person. It has nothing to do with the longarmer being respected but all to do with the quilt maker being disrespectful.

 

 

[ffq-lar]

Legally, you can send a registered letter to the customer stating that unless payment is made within xx amount of time (60 days where I live but I think 90 days elsewhere) the quilt becomes your property to sell to recoup the quilting fees. You'll be surprised how quickly they can find the cash!

 

If they still can't pay, you have to hope that the quilt will sell. Or donate it to whatever charity you like. Get a valuation from the charity for tax purposes.

 

I wouldn't be a bit concerned about losing a customer--she lost you as a quilter through her own actions.

[meg]

Wow!

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of creepy quilters.

Seems like an oxymoron...I always think quilters are good people.

I guess it takes all kinds.

And in the end, everyone gets their just desserts.

When you're going thru something like this, I imagine knowing this doesn't really help much.

It really stinks that honest folks get taken advantage of by nasty people.

I'm very sorry this happened to both Wendy & Marci.

[whitepinesquilter]

Thanks, Linda, and Meg. That will be my next move, then.  I remained hopeful that she would pay since I retained her quilt, but she is pretty unaffected by calls and time frame requests. I can only hope she responds to a final deadline, and I'll take the advice of sending it certified. I can only hope she pays up because no matter what I sure won't feel good selling someone else's quilt. Just behooves me that she wouldn't want it in her possession already. (It isn't because of the quilting because it was a custom and turned out very nice )

[CindyT]

I'm so sorry you had to go through this and that it ended up in court.  I feel very fortunate in having good paying customers up until yesterday.  I won't go into details, but let's just say I won't be doing any more work on her quilt until pre-payment is made in good faith.

[ffq-lar]

I'm so sorry you had to go through this and that it ended up in court.  I feel very fortunate in having good paying customers up until yesterday.  I won't go into details, but let's just say I won't be doing any more work on her quilt until pre-payment is made in good faith.

 

 

Ouch!

[Lisa-J]

You can't trust anyone, let alone in business. Always make contracts, even if it's your loved one, it doesn't matter. You have to separate your personal relationship from your business.

You've had a hard time with this lesson, it's sad, but it's a good thing you have experience. I hope that doesn't happen again in your practice.