BiggerPockets

I had extra insulation put in the attic of the rental house almost 2 months ago. It was about $500 worth of work. I there & ready to pay with a check at the end of the job but the workers said they didn't have a bill for me and that I would receive one in the mail. I waited a month and didn't receive a bill. I called their office and asked about it and I explained to them they need to send the bill to my address, not the rental house, etc. She told me she would send the invoice to me, she just needed to speak to someone else in her office first. Now another month has gone by and I still haven't received anything from them. Should I just forget about it?

I checked, it's 90 days here too.

I decided to call them again & they said they would mail bill to me. I'm perfectly willing to pay it, & I would actually use these people again. Their prices were good. But next time I would have to nail them down on the bill immediately.

I have a plumber who fixed the heating in one of my rentals in mid January (one of coldest days of the winter too) - he still has not billed me even though I have called and asked for the bill a couple of times. Same thing for a sink repair he did last year - it took a while to get the bill.

Now, why do you want to pay somebody who isn't sending you a bill? So that they come back, as in the case with my plumber. So that your reputation continues to be solid (you don't pay and it will get around among the various trades - they get together at job sites and the material suppliers). And when you remind them that they haven't been paid, they might actually tell nice things about you for being honorable.

Do the right thing, treat others as you wish to be treated ...

Excellent points in this dialog. I thought I was one of those odd ducks that hounded vendors about the bills.

I agree that reminding them and waiting is the right thing to do. Good vendors are often behind on their billing. If it crosses year-end, create an accrual and that way the expense is in the right tax year.

FYI - one of my best AC vendors did not bill me for July work until January (his slow season) when I reminded him again. After paying promptly he now goes out of his way to waive down payments on jobs that are far bigger.

Integrity pays.

"Integrity pays".

I go after my 'mom and pop' vendors who, for whatever reason, haven't billed me in a timely fashion. I take care of them and guess what?.......

They take care of me (usually, or I go do business with their relatives -- ha ha welcome to a small town!....).

I just received a phone call from them asking when I was going to pay? Then I explained that I had already called them multiple times. Then they read off the address to send bill to and it was still the rental house address instead of mine, even though I told them twice before to send it to me. WTF?