hmmm, I'm sure one of these tools is supposed to extract cheques from bookshop owners...Carrying on the japes from yesterday's episode, which left me waiting for a phone call that didn't come.
The next morning....
ring ring... ring ring...
"Hello, it's the Small Independent Bookshop. We've got a cheque for you."
"Oh, goodie! I'll pop round shortly"
"....and.... can you bring some more books? -we're down to our last one."
This is what we want to hear. I package up some more books and presently arrive at the shop.
"Hello! Here's your cheque."
She produces last weeks' invoice too.
"Oh," I say; "this cheque should be for the June invoice, not the one from last week."
"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know there was another one."
She pops off to the back of the shop. Unfortunately, the proprietor is ...about to go out to lunch with her mother.
"Treasure in store," as Prof Burrows used to say, brightly if not accurately, when I handed him my Anglo-Saxon essays....
Remember Michael Heseltine? -he effectively gave the official stamp of approval to delaying payments, back in 1996, when he admitted that he always held off payment of business debts until threatened by legal action.
I didn't need to learn the lesson that some, even many, people are dishonourable; I have seen 'nice' people stand by and do nothing when someone is being mistreated. Usually when that person was me, admittedly, which made it kind of memorable.
You have my sympathy - I'm in the process of bankrupting a baron... good blood sport, but wholly unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI think it should be legal to use any and if necessary all those tools on anyone withholding payments. Nice handle colour.
ReplyDeleteCaroline xxx
We're only owed little amounts, but when they are owed to us we're making a fuss about 'so little', when we owe to someone (very rare, but people expect to me paid immediately) it's a big deal.
ReplyDeleteSome of those blades would go nicely up the nose...
Sounds like a hell of a back story there, Jess...
ReplyDeleteIt was the colour that did it for me, Caroline; and the corkscrew, of course.
I think that is the unspoken subtext of what's going on here, Anji.
Urgh, what a pain in the butt. You should bill them for your time, too! That's how they do it here, Americans are great at extracting money from people professionally.
ReplyDeleteONe hour, cycling to the shop, $20. 2 phone calls, 40p. Thanks! ;-)
I am going native, obviously. That is one of my fears about going to visit home, the whole English money experience.. lol