So a new restaurant opened, and the owner contacted my trio to perform there. We do the gig , the owner loves us, and she asks us to be the "house band". Wednesday nights-Sundays. 6pm-11pm. For the first gig she paid us in cash. She tells us once we start the doing the 5 nights a week she'll pay us with a check bi-weekly. We tell that we need the payment weekly. She agrees. We do the first week, and at the end of the week she "forgets" her check book. She tells us to come by the restaurant the next day and she'll have the check for us. Well, we live an hour away, so I tell her to just have the payment ready on Wednesday before we start the night, she agrees. On Wednesday she has the check. We finish off the week, and she leaves before we're done. We ask the manager for the check and she says the owner didn't leave a check for us. Calls, texts and email are not answered.... Today I find out that the first check she wrote us did not clear. I'm going today and picking up my equipment that I left there, and quit. I guess I really should have made a contract with her, but even then I'm not sure what I could really do to get my money. Hire a lawyer? I would spend more than she owes me!


Update: I've called another musicians that worked for her, and apparently she did the same thing with them : paid them a night in cash and then hired them for an extended period and wrote bad checks.

What would you do? I'm sure some of you have some good stories from the trenches!

Bad checks is against the law. File in small claims court

I'll give that some thought Fran. Thanks.

First of all, stop thinking about what she did to you. The lessen she taught you is priceless; you will receive cash and use a contract from now on. People like you, and I am one of them, tend to want to trust others. There’s a time and place for that; in business everyone is guilty, until proven innocent.

If the job is important to you, tell you will play, but cash before we start. (BOO to that)

The lessen was a good one, now put it away. Do not allow her to destroy your joy.

Enjoy your music, you are good at what you do, John C.

Best advice on this matter.

Like you, I have a built in desire to trust people:

Unfortunately, it often makes us targets. Sorry you were the victim of this thoughtless crime. The threat of "Small Claims Court" will often cause people like her to "cough up!"

All the best... and Bruno is right!

----West Mayberry Dave

As others have said, Small Claims Court. Been there done that, Also maybe a letter from a Lawyer threatening action will shake her up. Worked for me. A verbal contract is also binding if it has been established as an accepted method of business by both parties. Good Luck

This is a long story it’s not a gig story but one of someone attempting to stiff us.
2 years ago we were going to rent a home in Florida for a winter getaway. We submitted a $900 deposit, a week later the woman claimed her husband and daughter were killed in a car accident and that she could not rent the home to us. When I asked why she gave a BS story. I asked to return our DP, ASAP when I asked that she blasted me and said I was a no good SOB, how dare I ask for $900 when she just her husband and daughter in a car accident. I searched high and low and there was no record of a 60 something and a 30 year old being killed in a car accident upstate NY as the woman claimed. Turns out she was a scammer and actually took other people for thousands of dollars. We were going to Florida that year no matter what and after a couple of months of pressuring the woman we told her we’re reporting her to the police and filing a claim in court. Not sure why but we scared her and after 2 months and my wife getting nasty with her on the phone, the witch overnighted us a cashiers check for $900.

As the story goes she was arrested and has done some jail time. Below is the link to the story:

https://www.villages-news.com/2019/02/19...in-restitution/

Hi,
Bit off topic, many years ago my husband did a small renovation on a restaurant for a client. At the end of it he wouldn’t pay. Found out where the guy lived, and every morning 6am husband would sit out front of his Town house and toot his horn to wake him up. I think we had a cheque within a week, his neighbors weren’t too happy. Haha

Nowadays I think hubby would probably be arrested. Haha

That was many years ago. Today, it won't work. People like that restaurant owner got even more thick-skinned. Also, often times the law will protect the perpetrators not the victims. Today, the guy would call the police on your husband. As the Germans call it unverschämt. These kinds of people have no concept of shame.