You did the work, sent the invoice, and now they've gone quiet. Don't write it off. There's a ladder for this, and most jobs get paid on the first rung.
Step 1: Put it in writing
Before anything official, send a letter of demand. Sounds heavy. It's just a short, firm message: what's owed, for which job, when it has to be paid, and what happens if it isn't. Most people pay right here, because it shows you're not letting it slide.
Give them 7 days. Send it by email or text so there's a record.
Step 2: The small-claims tribunal
Still nothing after the deadline? Lodge a claim with your state tribunal. That's QCAT in Queensland, NCAT in NSW, VCAT in Victoria, and every other state has an equivalent. They're built for exactly this: small fee, plain-English forms, no lawyer needed. Your state's Fair Trading or consumer protection body can also lean on them before it gets that far.
Or hand it to a debt collector
If you'd rather not touch it at all, a debt collector will chase it for a cut of what they recover. You lose a slice, you get your time back. Fair trade on a big debt, less worth it on a small one.
The paper trail wins it
Tribunals run on evidence, not on who sounds more upset. Before you lodge anything, pull together:
- The quote they accepted
- The invoice you sent, and when you sent it
- Every text and email about the job
- Photos of the finished work
- Notes from any phone calls: date, time, what was said
And keep it all. The ATO wants invoices kept for 5 years anyway, so file everything, every job, every time. A valid invoice matters too - here's what has to be on it.
Stop it happening next time
Two habits kill most bad debts before they start. Take a deposit on bigger jobs so you're never fully out of pocket, and chase early - day 3, not day 30. The longer an invoice sits, the harder it gets.
Your paper trail, already sorted
UteHQ keeps the quote, the invoice and every message together on the job. If a customer ever goes quiet, the evidence is one tap away. Free.
Start free