moral question

[louie12]

i am in a supply house business, and we give people credit until the end of the month, sometimes people delay and do not pay, for example i have a customer who ows me $14000.He has not pay me in two years, he says he does not have it right now, am i justified if i sue him, to collect my money, or this would be lack of compassion, since i can take the loss. i have other customers like that.

 

[louie12]

i have 4 children, the oldest are 19 and almost 18 years old, i tell them as long as they are living in home they have to come to church every sunday. also we have a prayer time in the eveninig, they have to pray even if they do not feel like.Am i imposing my faith on them.

thankyou

 

[puzzleannie]

i am in a supply house business, and we give people credit until the end of the month, sometimes people delay and do not pay, for example i have a customer who ows me $14000.He has not pay me in two years, he says he does not have it right now, am i justified if i sue him, to collect my money, or this would be lack of compassion, since i can take the loss. i have other customers like that.

can you find someplace in the bible where compassion is defined as being a sap and a poor businessman? What compassion? Is he poor? was he buying the material to build a house for a homeless family? in what way has he demonstrated he needs compassion?

 

[aaronjmagnan]

One suggestion: be merciful if you sue him.

If, through the court, you can work out a payment plan that is realistic for your business and does not break the man, go for it. If not, you may just have to sue the guy anyway.

God bless
Aaron

 

[AnonymousOne]

Yes, you are justified in suing him. If there are extenuating circumstances that call for Christian compassion, you can be sure they’ll come to light as the law suit progresses, and then you can decide whether or not to continue the suit or write off the loss.

Disputes will always happen in society and each society has its own way of settling them in a way that protects the interests of both parties. In our society this is done through law suits, and there’s nothing wrong with them. I think they get a bad rap because they’re viewed as mean-spirited, but really, they are simply our way of settling disputes.

 

[ltbpoe43]

Isn’t the greater compassion to talk to this customer and work out some sort of payment plan to help him understand his debt responsibility as a customer? You do a greater disservice to him by allowing him to shirk his responsibilities and you hurt your business by doing so.

You have been very compassionate to let him and others go 2 years without a payment and continue to provide them with supplies. Now they probably expect it of you and are taking advantage of your kindness to your detriment and to their advantage.

The compassionate thing to do now is to meet with or send them all a letter to pay up in 90 days, or offer some sort of payment plan alternative or else take their business elsewhere as you can no longer support being their creditor. Good luck and God Bless you and your kind heart.

 

[otjm]

Compassion doe not mean allowing someone to steal from you. If he owes you $14,000 and has made no payments, he in effect has stolen from you. Compassion has nothing to do with it. Common sense does.

I am curious as to what type of business you have that someone can off you for $14,000 and you stay in business and make a profit.

 

[louie12]

he has been my customer for a while, probably he had spend with me( buying electrical supplies over the years) close to $150,000-$200,000. i warned him that i would take him to court, if he does not pay,and i was patient with him, but to no avail.

thankyou for your replies

 

[otjm]

he has been my customer for a while, probably he had spend with me( buying electrical supplies over the years) close to $150,000-$200,000. i warned him that i would take him to court, if he does not pay,and i was patient with him, but to no avail.

thankyou for your replies

You can struggle all you want with the issue. However, the Statute of Limitations will have its own say.

Do you sell under contract or through a written order that provides for arbitraion instead of suit?

Get thee to an attorney; you have been played for a sucker. You can talk yourself silly about compassion, but compassion presumes something more than the guy just taking your supplies and offing you. There is also a simple issue of justice.

 

[CCM08]

1.A lawsuit will simply add additional court costs and loss in time to what you’ve already lost. Getting a judgement is just a peice of paper, it doesn’t mean you’ll ever see any of the money.

2.There is always a risk in extending credit that the debt will not be repaid. If this is a serious problem I would suggest using a higher standard in lending.

 

[Matt_Collins]

1.A lawsuit will simply add additional court costs and loss in time to what you’ve already lost. Getting a judgement is just a peice of paper, it doesn’t mean you’ll ever see any of the money.

That’s true, but it’s also true that sometimes just getting served with the papers is the only motivation a deadbeat needs to come to an agreement to pay back. And if he makes a legitimate case for compassion, then this business owner can make a decision whether or not to let him off either fully or partially.

 

[Bennie_P]

i am in a supply house business, and we give people credit until the end of the month, sometimes people delay and do not pay, for example i have a customer who ows me $14000.He has not pay me in two years, he says he does not have it right now, am i justified if i sue him, to collect my money, or this would be lack of compassion, since i can take the loss. i have other customers like that.

The compassionate thing is to take him to court, it will force him to act. You may lose more money through lawyer costs or come to some kind of agreement.

It would be great to just take the lost, but if he is in deep trouble financially then just forgiving the debt may not let him realize his need to do the right thing and is not good for him nor you.

You are never a sucker for trying to be understanding and compassionate.