I remain astounded at the number of small business owners who get into trouble but who refuse to employ an attorney because it might send the wrong message! Could that be one of the reasons why so many of us get hurt so badly when things go wrong?

 

When you bring an attorney on board, you are indeed sending a very clear message to your antagonist. You are stating very clearly that you are serious, and that you are not a person to be messed with.

 

I now have a simple rule in my life. Never, never, never deal directly with an opposition attorney. If you do this you will get hurt because that attorney has spent five years training, and Lord knows how many years practising, to trip you up. How much training and experience have you had in the finer details of commercial law? Most of us believe that the law exists to deliver justice, and that simply because we can read, we are appropriately experienced  and knowledgeable. Wrong!

 

Some years ago one of my heroes had a problem with a Telkom bill. He had been using the fax broadcast service of Telkom, and their early systems were so appalling that the accounting had gotten all muddled up. When they eventually sorted it out they sent a final demand -- about four years later, by which time

the outstanding amount had grown unmanageable because of the interest

that they chose to add. The amount demanded was about R 80,000.

 

Our sparky hero, not wanting a judgement, and wanting to do the right thing, contacted the summonsing attorney directly to sort the problem out. He indicated that he did not have the money immediately. The attorney suggested that this was a very serious matter, and that he (the attorney) would only negotiate with our hero if our hero showed his bona fides by depositing the paltry sum of R1000 as a gesture of good faith. Failing which, the attorney indicated that he would foreclose immediately.

 

That afternoon our hero was speaking to another attorney about a completely unrelated matter when he happened to mention this particular issue. The unrelated attorney immediately asked whether he had paid anything yet.

 

"Not yet," replied our hero.

 

"When was the last payment made on this bill?" queried the unrelated attorney.

 

"Never," replied our hero, "because their systems were in such disarray."

 

"And when last did you use the service?" asked the unrelated attorney.

 

"About four years ago," replied our hero.

 

"You don't have to pay the bill," said the unrelated attorney.

 

"A debt like that "prescribes" after three years of inactivity. And that means that they don't have a case. And they certainly could not foreclosed. If you had made a single payment -- no matter how little it was -- against that bill, you would have lost that defence, and I have no doubt that they would have foreclosed on you immediately."

 

This edition of Petes Weekly is brought to you courtesy of Business Warriors - a community of small business owners who want to help you solve your challenges by offering great products, great services, and exceptional value. Please go here to search the database of Warriors before you decide to support a corporate who won't take your business personally, or seriously. They are not responsible for the content, however, and do not necessarily share my opinions. That is all my responsibility.

 

The law is very often not about justice but hinges on technicalities. The law is drafted favouring different communities at different times -- but almost always favouring some community over another. It isn't just. It is simply the law. Lawyers

make a living out of interpreting the paperwork. Very often that paperwork has very little bearing on the reality of life. That's why we need attorneys when we get into trouble. And that's why we small-business owners need to band together to fight each new piece of legislation that hurts us -- before it becomes law. Once it is law, it is too late. There are no guarantees in life, but if you are a Business Warrior, I can guarantee that my effort is devoted to ensuring that you do not get hurt.

 

October 12, 2004

ñ Umhlanga Rocks - just over 10 weeks to Christmas!