Learning My Lesson from a Non-Paying Customer

By Nick Hayden, Owner, Partial Foundations Dental Lab, New Stanton, PA

In 2003, just two years after I started Partial Foundations in New Stanton, PA, a one-man denture lab owner who was sending me his cast partial frameworks stiffed me $2,800 dollars.

It all began when he asked if he could pay half of his invoice now and pay the balance the following month; I agreed. By the next month, however, I had completed 30 more days of work for him and there was no sign of payment, despite my multiple attempts to collect. Soon he stopped taking my calls.

A few weeks later, I decided to drive over to his lab to ask about his balance due. When I arrived, I discovered a sheriff’s sign on the door. Turns out, he had been closed by law enforcement for failure to pay a bunch of other bills, including rent, back taxes and thousands owed to supply companies. I tried to file a civil lawsuit but I was small potatoes compared to his other debts, so I never saw...