Dealing with a late paying Race Director

Lee, that is the fear of all measurers, and there is no good answer. Personally, I would not post negative comments regarding an event, as that invites bad karma.

But, if I were in your shoes, I would send the RD an email, and let him know that, due to his lack of payment, you will be left with a few choices, which include requesting that USATF rescind his course certificates. Let him know that if that happens, anyone looking for the certificate numbers will find that the certificates are "expired".

Now, between you and I, I don't want to use the course listings for payment enforcement. Thus the phrasing "request that the USATF rescind...". "Request" does not mean that it will happen. Give him a two-week deadline to make payment.

In that email, you can remind him that the Web reaches many people, and that one of your options is to let people know that his event has not paid the bill. Tell him he has time to prevent all adverse action, if he just pays the bill as agreed upon.

Finally, if it is enough $$, you could also let him know you have the option of filing a claim in Small Claims Court, which should result in him paying any legal fees you incur.

Spell it all out, and let him make the decision as to what happens - he either pays, or you pursue your aforementioned options.

Good luck!

Duane, we never remove a course for non-payment. When someone doesn't get paid, that is between the measurer and the race. It is a bad thing when one doesn't get paid, but you can't involve RRTC in this. The measurer made a business agreement and in my option you should at least get 1/2 the money after you complete your measurement.

If one goes to a store and they make a decision to buy a product, would the store just give them this product with no money down. Measurer are independent contractors and should have a contract for there work that will be done.

After encountering a similar problem once, for a smaller amount than a marathon/half marathon measurement, I changed my procedures. I send out a 2-page agreement to every client that they must sign, scan, and email back to me. I require a 50% deposit via credit card or PayPal to start work. I stopped accepting paper checks except from the U.S. Military and Federal Government. When a Fortune 50 client complained, I stood my ground. Guess what? A few days later, the company issued the RD a credit card, and I got my payment.

Depending on how you feel about the client, you could require payment in full before forwarding the map and the certificate. I have done this only once. Or, you could forward a cropped version of the map, or a map with a large watermark that says "Unofficial" or "Unpaid".

CC systems and PayPal retain the client's payment source behind the scenes. In my CC system, I can just charge the card again without even seeing the CC info. I am not sure if this works for PayPal. Since I began requiring a CC or PayPal, I have had no late payment issues.

I wouldn't hesitate to say something on the race FB page at this point. I would post something cryptic like: "As the course measurer and certifier for these courses, I regret to inform runners that there is a serious problem with these courses which the RD must resolve immediately". The RD can take down this message if they want, but the exposure will likely generate questions to the RD from runners - and may get the RD off the dime.

For future reference, I would never measure a marathon without a 50% deposit and a CC jsut to avoid your bad experience. Good luck, Lee.

Thanks for the replies. As you can guess the day I posted my question the RD sent me an email saying he was sorry for the late pay and I got a check (a good one) in the mail three days later.

However in the future I will require a 50% payment before I do any more work for him.

Lee

Whenever I work for a new race or race director, I measure the course, get the paperwork ready, then send an invoice for my services.
The invoice states that the measurement is complete and that Certification documents will be forwarded upon receipt of payment.
This keeps everybody happy and I don't have to worry about getting paid.
BTW, I have only had one race where I had to get forceful about getting paid. In that case I threatened to petition the Course Registrar to remove the course.

Gene, I don't intend for RRTC to get involved. Thus the careful phrasing of "requesting". That does not mean it will happen.

Makes sense to me, Duane. As Gene says, we are all independent contractors. RRTC should not ever have to get between a client and a measurer, IMO.