Can I reject a person from being my client?

Question

He is very er.. 'influential' and rich. He also has a reputation of being an all out jerk, not paying for services rendered, suing anyone that goes against him, and threatens people to submission.

Can I reject a person like this from doing business with me? I don't have a lawyer, so your opinions will greatly help.

Thanks

I am running a web hosting service.

This person was actually 6 months overdue and we suspended the account. This guy was a client of our client.. and he had the hardest time.

Anyways, after we susended the account, this guy decided to look for us.

Anyways, no money was payed yet.

Answer 1

Yes, you can refuse service to anyone. But if they take you to court, you may have to prove you didn't do it for prejudicial reasons (race/ethnicity, gender, age, etc). It's perfectly acceptable to refuse people on the basis of having a bad history with other businesses.

Answer 2

It would have been helpful to know what industry we are talking about here, because different ones would have to be handled different ways.

I mean, if you are in construction or some related field it's quite common for the customer to have to make payments on big projects. Usually, it starts it a deposit and then the rest is broken down into 2 or 3 more payments depend on the length of the project. Plus, the customer may or may not have to pay for the materials himself depending on the contract. I've had a number of major projects done on my house and I have had it both ways, where I have had to pay for the materials seperately and where they were included.

Some other industries you might have a situation, where supplies are paid for seperately and an initial deposit is put down. Then, the balance is paid off upon completion.

I seem to recall hearing something once that a business can refuse to sell it's product to a customer, unless they are paying cash. However, you do have to make sure they can't claim it's a racial, religious, sex and ect. thing these days. When I use to work a Radio Shack we had some items that we would not sell to kids and they still do not to this day; at least not that I know of.

Anyway, it might be worth visiting an attorney and spending a little money to find out where you stand.

Answer 3

Of course -- I have "fired" many clients because in the long run we would lose more money trying to service them or they were not worth the hassle. Just be sure you fulfill any contractual obligations that you have agreed to, close the project outas quickly as possible and then do not accept future work. If you want to separate from them immediately, you need to know what your contract or terms of service state -- an option for either party to cancel without reason but with 30 days written notice is not unusual.

You can and should reject anyone you are not confortable doing business with -- it's a smart business practice and makes you focus on the ideal clients you want to serve so that you can then target and work on surrounding yourself and building your business only with those types of clients. Good luck!

Answer 4

It is a free enterprise system we have. If your choices are not racial then I don't see why you cannot refuse this man as a client. However judging by what you have said about the ogre I would do it as diplomatically as I could. Or else the jerk will take it out on you. Here you have the problem of disposing him without offending him.
People of that nature can be very petty. Their pettiness can lead to a lot of trouble before the small ogre leaves you alone.
They have long memories and a short lease on forgiveness.
You can reject this "influential & rich threat" but you will have to do it without him knowing it. That is if you do not want to suffer his petty consequences.
I wish you well on this dilemma but I don't think that anyone can give you the proper advice on how to rid yourself of this human lamprey.This is something you will have to plan and implement on your own.
I do have a suggestion that can help you execute a sound plan.... buy a book called "The Art of War" it is an ancient text by a Japanese warrior of long ago, and a lot of business men have bought copies of it to assist them in their troubles.Maybe this could help you.
Know your enemy.

Answer 5

Get an attorney. Otherwise this bad experience will drag on and occupy your thoughts. If you are in business for yourself, you need to be free from this worry.

You didn't mention if you have a contract with him. There should be an "escape clause" in the contract that lets either side back out without penalty. Even with the attorney, try to keep your parting with him on a "friendly" basis.

Good luck.
amadeus

Answer 6

I would think you could refuse him as a client as long as you do it in a proper way...like telling him that you're unable to take on clients for his particular needs at this time (due to short staffing, over-booking, etc)...you don't say what type of business you have so it's difficult to help

Answer 7

Definitely! It's up to you which clients you take, ultimately it could be your reputation on the line.

Answer 8

If you do not already know the answer to this, maybe you are not ready to be running a business.
If his credit history and payment history are poor, you can reject him for that.

Answer 9

sure you can. tell him you are the maximum capacity per client per month and that quality of work is your utmost concern then refer him elsewhere...

Answer 10

YOU DON'T SOUND ASSERTIVE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR POINT WITH HIM ANYWAY.
YOU WORK FOR YOURSELF?
GEE--....
TAKE A TRIP==AT LEAST TELL HIM YOU ARE AND UNAVAILABLE.