So I had a client last night. He texted me on the way apologising, explaining he'd forgotten to bring cash, and asking if I knew where the nearest ATM was. I said "I accept bank transfer and paypal if that's any help". He said it did.
When he go there, he sorted out payment to my PayPal. We did the deed, then he left. Shortly after he left, I looked at my PayPal account and realised the payment had been put "on hold" - which meant I wouldn't get it for another 21 days. Worth noting that this is definitely a problem at
my end, not his - he definitely tried to pay in good faith. But I wasn't going to wait 21 days to be paid so I texted the client back and asked him if I refund it on PayPal, will he send it by bank transfer instead; bit of a risk, but it had been a good booking and I got the impression he'd want to see me again, so I saw no reason why he'd want to skip out on paying me.
He agreed to this, but explained that "Because Coutts are crap, it will sometimes take up to 24 hours". When I gave him my bank details he asked for my real name (normally banking apps object to false names being used but allow you to override this; when I said this he said "I refer you to Coutts are crap") and then sent a screenshot of what looked like the "Confirm or cancel" screen of a faster payment being set up.
The following morning I still had no money, so I text him and indicated that his payment has not shown up yet and "did you say it can take up to 24 hours?". He responded with "I did yeah. I'll ring them when they open".
It's now about 21 hours since he supposedly put the payment through and I've still not been paid for the booking and I'm starting to get a little upset because I provided a damn good service and I've not been paid for it. However; you'd have thought if he intended not to pay, he'd just block me and not keep responding. Couple of questions:
- I'm aware that Coutts is a bank for rich people and as such things might be a little bit different to the way they work for us mortals. Have people experienced this "It may take up to 24 hours" thing. He said "Because they are Coutts and minor transactions and payments are usually done by the staff"
- If the worst happens and he really doesn't pay me, do I have any legal recourse to get my money? I'm not embarrassed about going to the police or even small claims if I think they will take me seriously. I think I have his full name and address from that aborted PayPal transaction.
- What would you folks do in this situation given that he's still responding politely to me?
It's not the end of the world, but I am kind of pissed off by this. With hindsight, I should have just waited the 21 days, and not used PayPal again.