Chasing collections on that panel upgrade job is a nightmare

Man, just finished a 200A service upgrade in this old house out here in rural Ohio, used all Eaton breakers and ran 2/0 copper feeders, took me three full days with the crew. Sent the invoice through Housecall Pro two weeks ago and the homeowner is ghosting me hard, says cash is tight but they're driving a new Escalade. I've got $4500 on the line and my material costs alone were pushing $1200 from Ferguson. Tried calling twice but getting voicemail city. Anyone else dealing with this crap on electrical jobs? Saw a similar rant in the Electricians Network FB group about slow payers killing small ops.

FML, same thing happened to me on a rewiring gig last month, guy paid half and vanished.

Collections suck, but small claims is your friend after 30 days.

These homeowners think we're banks, charge interest after 15 days or drop em.

Use QuickBooks invoicing, it automates reminders and late fees, saved my ass on a subpanel job.

PE firms are buying up suppliers and making everything slower, blame them for the cash flow BS.

For electrical work over 3k, i require a signed contract with progress payments, keeps the BS minimal.

Insurance companies are the real villains, denying claims on jobs we did perfect.

add a lien notice right away, in ohio you got 60 days to file, dont sleep on it.

we're all getting screwed by these cheapskates, time to union up or something.

had a guy stiff me on a 240v outlet install, ended up repoing his dryer, problem solved lol.

feel ya, been there with a lighting retrofit, took small claims to collect.

Big box stores like home depot started this, selling cheap wire and now everyone expects rock bottom bids.

man, that rural ohio vibe, bet the guy's got land he could lien too.

never let it get to 30 days, call daily after 10, wear em down.

watched a dustin stelzer video on electrician u about contracts, he says always include escalation clauses for delays.

Haha, if they ghost you, show up with your invoice and a coffee, sit and wait.

Sharkbites for quick fixes? Nah, but for collections, use certified mail to prove you tried, makes court easy.