applicators who quit + owe money

[americanlawn]

Wondering if you guys had appicators who quit & went to work for a competitor..........It gets better:laugh:

This happens about once a year for us. Last time involved a female applicator who walked off the job with no warning whatsoever. She then began working for another local LCO. She lasted about three weeks there. Then she quit there too.

Problem we have: We financed her three trips to Arizona so she could fight for custody of her two kids. Now she owes our company over $5000. She lived in one of our rental properties and owes four months back rent as well.

Her legal address listed is our 'rental property' address which she has not lived in for nearly a year (that ain't right). She sent us a "registered letter" asking that we send her W-2 form to a "P.O. Box"????????????? That's illegal. WTF????

Fortunately, I know the lawn care company she last worked for...as well as the owners of this lawn company. So she has now been served by our County Sheriff department.

Now our problem is -- you can't get money out of a turnup.

Any of you guys experience "low rents" like this?

[grassguy_]

Americanlawn,
I know your plight to some degree as i had an employee that worked for me a few years back, was a decent worker when he started out, was just at the point of gettting married when he took the job and really struggling with two kids from a previous marriage. His vehicle was basically shot and needed to have a way to work, i happened to have a family van that was in good working condition and was worth about $3,000 at the time. He begged that he would work whatever it took if i could allow him to pay for it over a year or so.....figure, no problem! Well make a long story short, his new bride is screwing around on him and gets knocked up, he decides he doesn't need her or the job anymore and takes off, without paying the remainder of the van off, roughly $2600. Long story short.........get burned once is enough to say its not worth trying to help someone when they don't care to help themselves.

[CHARLES CUE]

Wondering if you guys had appicators who quit & went to work for a competitor..........It gets better:laugh:

This happens about once a year for us. Last time involved a female applicator who walked off the job with no warning whatsoever. She then began working for another local LCO. She lasted about three weeks there. Then she quit there too.

Problem we have: We financed her three trips to Arizona so she could fight for custody of her two kids. Now she owes our company over $5000. She lived in one of our rental properties and owes four months back rent as well.

Her legal address listed is our 'rental property' address which she has not lived in for nearly a year (that ain't right). She sent us a "registered letter" asking that we send her W-2 form to a "P.O. Box"????????????? That's illegal. WTF????

Fortunately, I know the lawn care company she last worked for...as well as the owners of this lawn company. So she has now been served by our County Sheriff department.

Now our problem is -- you can't get money out of a turnup.

Any of you guys experience "low rents" like this?

Well american nice guys dont allways finsh first. But i have to commend you on your kind hart.Now this kind of thing would fire me up not like the guy not having lic to apply pesticids.This kind of thing allway seems to happen to me every time i try to help someone. give them inch and they take a foot but i allways seem to try i would think you stuck dont know the law do you have to send her W-2
good luck Charles Cue

[Rayholio]

Just send her a 1099 for the loaned money, and write it off.. too many people are willing to take advantage.. the least you can do is make her pay taxes on it :)

[SpreadNSpray]

Any of you guys experience "low rents" like this?

That sucks. I don't loan out more than an employee would quit over. She was in DEEP. Do you have her checking account #? If you do hang on to it. Take her to small claims and after you win you can use her account to collect.

[Frank Fescue]

A friend of mine runs a larger scale company than mine who had an office managerthat pretended she was getting married. Had a wedding shower, got the gifts and the marriage never happened, kept the gifts though.

But that was the start, and probably a sign of things to come.

The company usually gives out Home Depot cards as part of their christmas bonus and also to customers who help give them multiple accounts. She activated a bunch of HD Cards on the company dime and proceeded to buy out the local HD of snowblowers last November on the gift cards. She then went and sold the snowblowers for basically half price and ran off with the cash.

[fertguy2008]

We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions:hammerhead:

[Jason Rose]

I know it's too late now, but WHY WHY WHY were you loaning employees that kind of money??? :nono: :nono:

I understand that smme people will allow employees to take a "draw" on their paycheck, of course every dime they take out early gets subtracted off the check for that week. And never allowed to take out more than they would be earning that week.

To give some girl, who only worked for you for a few weeks that kind of money... I can assume she was attractive and manipulative in order to pull off such a thing.

[larryinalabama]

I wonder why she got divorced?????? Never ever loan that kind of money to a looser

[Doster's L & L]

Yeah, I've been where you are. i'm too friggin nice too! I lost over $1700 keeping one of my workers out of jail. He WAS a friend of mine, but not so much now. This arse hole still has my money, plus he still owes money to another friend of mine.

My philosophy on lending money... If I can't afford to GIVE my money away, I surely can't afford to LEND my money to someone else.

[lawnangel1]

Americn, you seem like a really nice guy, the more posts I read by you, the more I am impressed with you and your company. Unfortunately in this situation the good guy didnt win.

[txgrassguy]

I have been burned enough on the pay advance situations to never loan out more than 1/3 of a check to an employee. And the advance amount is automatically deducted from the next pay period - and if I think they are getting ready to bail - they won't get payed period. I have a clause in my employee handbook that explains all of this and it has saved my butt with the state.
I have also been royally bit in the rear while allowing employees without reliable transportation to use my company's trucks to get to work with.
Never again.
Now when I get a sob story I cut them off in the middle of their pathetic explanation - inform them of our signed agreement covering expected work hours, conditions, etc and simply explain I cannot violate this agreement because it is in writing.
I refuse to be a social welfare service.

[TREEGUARD]

NEVER LEND EMPOLYEES ANY MONEY.

Maybe a $100.00 bucks then take it out of his/her pay at the end of the week