Who pays bank fees?

[mightymoose]

A friend of mine just got served with a mechanics lien at her business. The contractor is demanding she pay bank fees for some of his checks that bounced.
In short, the contractor performed work on the phone system and was paid through a third party credit processing company, Square.
Due to some technicalities and miscommunication from AT&T regarding the service and whether AT&T would reimburse the expense as she had believed (their technician had fried the system and caused the need to change out some expensive components) she later contacted Visa and they agreed to put a hold on the transaction while it was in dispute.
Due to this hold on the funds the original contractor bounced some checks on his business account and is demanding she pay the fees. He is threatening a mechanics lien on the business.
The dispute with AT&T was resolved but it took several days for Square to eventually complete the transaction. The contractor has been paid the original amount in full.
My initial thought was that the contractor is responsible for his own bounced checks as he relied on funds being there before the process was complete. Is there anything about initiating a dispute with a credit company that would make a person liable for resulting bank fees in this manner?
Granted, the contractor is not responsible for the dispute with AT&T, but it seems he was not responsible with his own bank account and should pay his own fees.

 

[army judge]

As I never stand a mechanics lien, it provides protection for the contractor to be paid for work done to the premise in question.

That doesn't translate to the consumer paying the business expenses of the contractor.

The problem is getting the lien removed without paying. I suggest she report the matter to the regulatory agency that issues the license for this contractor. That'll get the lien removed quicker than anything without costing her money to do it.

What you've described is an improper use of the lien process. Such an action is also answerable before a court of law. In my view, that's the long way around.

 

[mightymoose]

Yes, there are a number of things wrong with the lien effort itself, it just wasn't clear whether she should be held responsible for the returned check fees after distorting a credit charge. I couldn't find anything that was very clear on the situation.
The dispute caused funds to be withheld which in turn caused the bounced checks. It's a consumers right to dispute certain charges and Visa accepted the dispute, so extending responsibility for returned checks on someone else's account seems a stretch. Chargebacks are a known and accepted risk by those accepting credit payments.
She has offered to pay it in good faith but he is refusing to accept a check. His poopy attitude is resulting in less cooperation.

 

[army judge]

Yes, there are a number of things wrong with the lien effort itself, it just wasn't clear whether she should be held responsible for the returned check fees after distorting a credit charge. I couldn't find anything that was very clear on the situation.
The dispute caused funds to be withheld which in turn caused the bounced checks. It's a consumers right to dispute certain charges and Visa accepted the dispute, so extending responsibility for returned checks on someone else's account seems a stretch. Chargebacks are a known and accepted risk by those accepting credit payments.
She has offered to pay it in good faith but he is refusing to accept a check. His poopy attitude is resulting in less cooperation.

I usually recommend not communicating with the other party directly.
If you can get a trusted third party to negotiate, that can sometimes help.
If I were her, I'd file a complaint with the state regulatory and/or licensing agency for his profession.
The foundation for the complaint would be his abuse of the lien process.
That will net him a stiff fine and maybe even a license suspension.
Its easier to have others fight your battles, that way you never have to break a sweat, and you get to witness all the fun.