How best do I handle his "made up" bill, if at all, and this situation?

[evapaley@ao..com]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

I ended the relationship with my accountant after receiving an offensive email from him. He's been unprofessional in the past and this was the last straw. I wrote him telling him why I am terminating his services and I kept it professional. He has since been emailing me frequently (18 emails to date/2 calls), basically rambling on. No apology given or recognition of my email, just about him for most part. Recently it turned from rambling to what I feel is extortion when he literally wrote that he "looked back" and found 3.5 hours of non-financial items to bill me for at $150 an hour. He's going to send me a bill and if I don't pay by the end of the month, he's taking me to small claims court. Please note any and all charges to him have been paid in full. There are no outstanding bills of any kind. He is simply mad at me and is making up anything he feels he can stick onto a bill after I concluded his services. I have since received the bill and it's basically the same fee summary used for his tax preparation. Then he hand writes a note changing the hours he's billing me for to a higher amount. I suspect a behavioral disorder of some kind.

How best should I handle this bill or more importantly, this entire situation?

 

[adjusterjack]

Your option is, obviously, to ignore it (and him) and not succumb to threats.

If he sues you, you go to court with all your records of his services, invoices, and your payments to him and you defend yourself.

I suggest you cease any contact with him, block his calls and block his emails, and quit engaging him. Should have done that after sending him the termination letter.

Your other option, also obvious, is to pay him.

Up to you.

 

[evapaley@ao..com]

Thank you for your reply.

I did not engage him since the termination letter. When he sent me the letter advising me he was going to bill me, I sent him notice to stop correspondence with me (Cease and desist). He ignored it. Blocking his emails and calls is no problem but I am deliberately not trying to antagonize him...he's been quite vigilant with his emails.

I have no problems defending myself, problem here is I don't want to see or be near him and I need to find out if he truly wants to go to court, if I can avoid contact with him.

Paying him now is not an option. I would have given a good will check to be done with him but after he changed the amount from what he originally stated, there needs to some legal intervention to make sure he doesn't continue both in harassing and in asking for more money down the road.

 

[adjusterjack]

Blocking his emails and calls is no problem but I am deliberately not trying to antagonize him

Block them anyway. He's already antagonized. You won't make it any worse.

I need to find out if he truly wants to go to court,

That doesn't make much sense. You'll find out if he "truly" wants to go to court when and if you get served with a summons and complaint. Until then there is nothing to find out.

Paying him now is not an option. I would have given a good will check to be done with him but after he changed the amount from what he originally stated, there needs to some legal intervention to make sure he doesn't continue both in harassing and in asking for more money down the road.

Then you've done all you need to do. Ignore him, don't fret over it, wait and see how it goes.

 

[evapaley@ao..com]

Thank you! Just want to be ready.....;-). Appreciate the input.

 

[army judge]

Thank you! Just want to be ready.....;-). Appreciate the input.

How much is your time worth?
You might have a good defense.

If you have old unpaid debts, it can be helpful to know the statute of limitation that applies to those debts.

If the statute of limitation (SOL) has expired, a debt is said to be "time-barred," and a creditor or debt collector can not sue you and collect.

(You can ALWAYS be sued, however the SOL is an affirmative defense you can assert!)

Real or personal property damage, recovery and contracts not under seal: 6 years (N.J.S.A. 2A: 14-1).

The six year SOL is valid for ALL debt in NJ.

The aggrieved accountant seeks $525.
I ALWAYS do a cost-benefits analysis.
If you earn $400 (or more) a day, is it worth foregoing your daily rate to waste a productive day in a beautiful, luxurious small claims court house to save $525?
Contrary to popular misconception, settling a lawsuit doesn't make you a patsy, or a mark.
Anyway, you have information available with which you can make your decision.

Good luck.

 

[adjusterjack]

The aggrieved accountant seeks $525.
I ALWAYS do a cost-benefits analysis.
If you earn $400 (or more) a day, is it worth foregoing your daily rate to waste a productive day in a beautiful, luxurious small claims court house to save $525?

Beating the crap out of a scumbag is always worth a day in court.

Otherwise you go through life letting every scumbag nick you for dollars without putting up a fight.

It wasn't sheep that freed this country from the greedy fingers of King George.

 

[army judge]

Beating the crap out of a scumbag is always worth a day in court.

Otherwise you go through life letting every scumbag nick you for dollars without putting up a fight.

It wasn't sheep that freed this country from the greedy fingers of King George.

Having spent decades of my life wearing one this nation's military uniforms, with years in combat to boot, I prefer to avoid all conflict.

People lose far more fighting, than they ever could lose by negotiating.

Don't get it twisted, I don't allow people to walk over me.

These days I'm much slower to rile.

My wife once told me, watching you when you're angry is a very ugly sight. LOL

 

[evapaley@ao..com]

Both of you, Army Judge and Adjusterjack, certainly provide food for thought. I think I fall somewhere in between ;-). I do believe one has to protect and fight for oneself if one feels an injustice has been done, however it depends on the circumstances. One's time is indeed precious and fighting doesn't always solve the problem. In this case, I strongly believe that the person I am dealing with having some mental health issues, coupled with the fact that he's gone through some things in his life I wouldn't wish on anybody. I do believe I am most likely the object of his frustration right now due to some life events that I know have occurred to him recently. Lucky me!!! Having said that, it does not excuse his behavior in any shape or form. He's taken no responsibility that the reason I terminated him was because he was in fact offensive and unprofessional. I made that clear to him in writing and in a professional manner. He clearly just dismissed or can't accept it. I would have considered negotiating a "good will" check, which if he accepted came with the condition that he basically never communicate with me again, but he's been so vigilant that I don't believe it would have worked, nor would he most likely have agreed to the dollar amount I would have given him. He's mad. I don't think right or wrong matters to him, just wants some satisfaction in a way he thinks is appropriate. But lying and extorting money is not the way to obviously go!! What seems ludicrous to me is that somebody can slap a dollar amount on an invoice, justify it inaccurately or not at all, and have a chance to get me to small claims court. My overall concern is not defending myself in court, I just don't want to have to see or be near the man. I don't want to antagonize him any more than need be but if that is what it comes down to in the end, so be it. Like you said AdjusterJack, I'll have to "wait and see how it goes".

 

[adjusterjack]

I'll have to "wait and see how it goes".

Ultimately, what you do under any given set of circumstances has to be your choice. All anybody here can do is make comments and hope they are helpful.

If you need further discussion at some future point, please add to this thread and don't start any new ones. Good luck.