How do businesses get away with this?

Question

My husband is the Parts Manager for a small company. He says that over the past year or so since the present company took over from the previous owners, they have not been paying the bills to their many parts suppliers. A number of these companies have either frozen or closed their accounts because of nonpayment and have threatened to turn the accounts over to collection agencies. When my husband forwards these messages to the person in charge of paying the bills, he gets cursed out for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.

Neither my husband nor I understand how this place has gotten away with this for so long without going under. He is looking for another job, but things are pretty bad around here. I'm also worried that my husband can somehow be held responsible for the company's mismanagement, and that this will cause problems for him in finding another job.

Any thoughts?

Answer 1

advice your husband to always keep a copy of all the memos he writes on the issue that he forwards to the person who is incharge, if possible he should make sure those memos of his are acknowledge by the office he is submitting to and also record all the comversation he use to have with the others on the issue but he should be smart to do it without their knowledge, he should use his handset to do it in order to use it when it becomes necessary, howeve he should be careful and not to use as a blackmail but just to protect himself when the need arise.

Answer 2

Reality is that many American businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Costs have skyrocketed and we are told to "compete" with China.  We can't compete with China.

Unless your husband is the financial manager (controller, finance or the like) he cannot be "blamed" for non paying of bills.

Does he think there is any hope of the company pulling out of this (I have to say throwing the statements away is pretty telling, but you never know).

This is what he needs to do:

Contact previous owners/managers to get permission to use them as reference (thus avoiding current owners).  Have him ask for a letter of reference and get personal phone numbers/emails.  A great reference is the best you can take from a job.   And, you never know, they may know of a great job for him now.

Start actively looking and the first place he should start is his vendors & competitors.  Trust me, they know the company is going down and if he has maintained a good relationship and professional demeanor, that may be his best bet for future work.

As for the being told he is "butting in".  He needs to develop a thick skin and "not my problem" attitude.

Take the message, tell the caller he will pass it along.  If the collector tries to badger him, he just needs to tell them, "look, I understand your frustration.  Heck, I'm scared to death myself.  But I don't pay bills and my hands are tied."  All but the most ignorant will respect that.  Of course, he can always just hang up the phone.

Good luck to you both

Answer 3

Neither my husband nor I understand how this place has gotten away with this for so long without going under

The reasons may be varied and you may stay up late at night wondering out the mystery.  There may be shady deals going on you may not want to know because the more you know the worst for you it may emotionally be for you.

He is looking for another job

I would move as quickly as possible before your fired or you have worked for a while and then are not paid after working several days.

my husband can somehow be held responsible for the company's mismanagement, and that this will cause problems for him in finding another job.

Any thoughts?

There may be some fall out due to being a manager so the best thing I would suggest is to contact a business attorney asap if it is this impt for you in order to get some clarification and legal advice.  There are lots of us out here with our opinion however business law is tricky.

To give you legal advice is a misdemeanour.

I would move on asap.

Read my essay on the website listed after my name called int eruptions it may help soothe your nerves.

http://cityofdavidoutreach.org/cdArticle...

Br Richard

www.cityofdavidoutreach.org

Answer 4

He is no way liable for any of the stupid stuff management is doing. He should probably start sending out resumes though, asap!

Answer 5

he can't be held responsible for the bad company management (no worries there) but since it doesn't sound like this company will last long at this rate - I'd keep looking for another job :)

Answer 6

Get out of that company NOW!!!!  

The company's new management is trying to ruin the company so it WILL go under.  They have not bought the company to operate it, but to liquidate the assets, as their valuation of the company shows it is worth more than the revenue it can generate.  They probably bought the clientlist and have what they came for, and is letting the rest die on the vine.

The fact they are not paying their bills is an indication of that.  Most likely, the suppliers will not get paid for years afterwards, after they file for bankruptcy, while the new owners will have borrowed against company assets already and have moved on.

Advice?  Document all of your requests you sent to upper mgmt as well as their responses (best by email or in writing), or even tell your suppliers to document the fact YOU have been told by YOUR mgmt to not do anything.  Even a couple of these should help insulate you from any wrongdoing.  But most likely, you should not have any problems if your suppliers have the relationship with you, and not your company.  CYA

Good luck!

Answer 7

This is normal for most businesses I worked for. Paying vendors late is common IMO

Answer 8

firstly, he cannot be held responsible as he has done his job by passing on the bills etc and it is not his responsibility to pay. if he is unhappy working there due to the way he is treated, he should seek legal advice on constructive dismissal (he quits due to their breach of the implied contract term of trust and confidence and it is treated as a dismissal) with a potential claim for unfair dismissal, giving him compensation until he is able to find another job (the longer he has worked for them (previous owners included) the more he should get). Seek advice on this prior to taking action as I am only a law student with basic knowledge of employment law. Try Citizens Advice for more detail

Answer 9

i worked for a place that did the same and soon our checks started bouncing, hes not responsible for whats going on, hope he finds something better soon.

Answer 10

Well companies can't get away with it forever, once the suppliers get fed up with the unpaid bills and collection companies start coming in they either pay or they go bankrupt!

Unfortunately I believe looking for another job (preferably before the ship sinks) is the best solution.

Answer 11

Document everything and anything.   (When your husband gets cursed at, ignored, when he receives bills let him document the amount and the day he bought it to his bosses attention). Also, he should not let anyone else know that he is documenting anything so he has to be very very discreet.  If he is in some kind of management he may be "framed" some how.  Your best bet is to document names and  dates of all occurrences.  Start really looking for a new job now before the company goes under.

Answer 12

Unless your husband is in charge of sending out the monthly payments I would not worry overmuch about it.  You should advise him to send the bills using a media that can be time stamped, such as email or fax with confirmation, even a certified letter just to cover his butt and prove that he is submitting the bills, just in case.

Answer 13

"he gets cursed out for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

I would cuss them back.