I had an extra spring in my step after picking up the mail and there were two checks for deposit. One was rather large and I dropped them off in the to be deposited file with a couple of others and asked my partner if he wanted to take them down later in the day. The process isn't quick so we usually wait about a week to do a deposit. He gave me an odd look when I told him about the large check from one of his clients.?ÿ
After lunch he took me aside and said the big check wasn't for us. I said sure it's got our name on it. Nope they messed up...????.just the small one is ours.
Dang it!!!
One time we received a check where the decimal point had been moved one place to the right.?ÿ It was tempting, but, we reported it so they could issue one for the proper amount.?ÿ Sure looked nice, though.
It is tempting, but I know what I go through when we are $0.10 off.
This is a really good client, they have never messed up with anything, pay like clockwork. I did wonder what we had been doing to generate that kind of payment.
I once attended a closing for several large commercial tracts just to be there to explain the six different surveys I had completed along with my invoice. The closing company prepared several checks for everyone from the escrow accounts. There were so many people there that were receiving checks the clerk got a little addled when writing in the names of the payee. The one I received was for the balance of a mortgage on one of the tracts...about twenty times larger than my invoice.
Needless to say I didn't make it out the door. We all finally got square. I remember joking with everyone by telling them, "The check looked good to me!" 😉
I got paid twice for the same job a while back. Bigger company that probably wouldn't have even noticed. It wasn't easy to send the second check back, but you gotta do what's right.
I've been paid twice for a few jobs. I once received payment for an updated ALTA that was never finished or sent to the client. It was about 3 hours from home. I asked for and received payment in advance. I stopped by the job on the way to the coast for family vacation.?ÿ I did not receive a title commitment and in turn did not?ÿ prepare a map. I never heard anything from the client.
The check looked really good to me too, now it gives me the same feeling I've had before wondering why I'm not doing some other work for these jobs.
So, you needed to bill something against the job...how did that turn out? Cash the check and cut one back for the amount not spent?
I deposited the check before heading east. I did my part, they dropped the ball. This was about 5 years ago. Manna from Heaven.
Paid for vacation and then some.
I had a client tell me my quote was half what it should be and he paid me accordingly.?ÿ Only happened once.
Sorry for this observation, how can you NOT know that the check is erroneous? You either have a lot of clients or you are not participating in the business operations. Surely a big paycheck would mean that the company must have devoted resources to complete it right? Then how come you were not aware of such activities?
I had a client tell me my quote was twice what it should be and he paid me accordingly. Only happened once or twice. ????
Nope, if you are overpaid for a project it's an accounting problem and they'll correct it sooner or later.?ÿ You should be upfront and alert them concerning problems where you were overpaid.
It gets complicated if it's a deal where you're billing monthly for services rendered and they get behind and then bail. The other end of the spectrum is a lump sum up front contract where changed conditions make the survey much more expensive than planned.?ÿ Win some, lose some, that's business.
My story concerning crossed checks is I did a big long term deal with a State agency, got a surprise $142,000 check, banked it and thought it was more than fair and reasonable by a lot which concerned me(!!!).?ÿ Two months later they sent me a flurry of contacts saying it was supposed to be a $42,00 check and I immediately must send a check to them for $100,000 or I would be sued poste haste.?ÿ It's big money so I paid my lawyer $300 to look into it.
Yup, he said you've gotta pay them back; it's a clerical error.?ÿ It's strange to deposit a $100,000 check at a Federal Agency from a personal bank account, it involves 30 minutes of "who are you" etc. stuff and you have to sign it in front of them, although the amount, date, etc. can be prefilled.?ÿ But I got interest on the $100,000 while I possessed it for two months, almost 200 bucks! Yah!
Had a client just this year pay a bill twice. We sent the second one back, and then got a call a few months later asking why we hadn't cashed the check. After some digging we recalled sending the second one back. Told him "the problem is on your end, we're all settled up with you." Turns out his accounting people were either a bit senile or totally lost, and were paying a large number of bills twice. We were among just a handful that didn't cash them twice. Glad I'm not in his shoes, but I wish I could pay all my bills twice and not notice the difference in the bank account :)?ÿ