Companies that don't pay

[TownshipDog]

I read with interest the thread on the DRC 707 inpounded due to the money they owe an SA firm.
What about companies that don't pay their pilots? I'm crrently owed an amount of $ by a scheduled African carrier and they are giving me the run around. Is there any way of having their a/c impounded or something similar to force payment? Mayba ATNS can refuse start or something like that? Anyone with any advice please

TD

[Yokeman]

Well TownshipDog, hope it's not the DRC. Why not contact some of the gentlemen who have default judgements and hear if they can't help you out.

[Nickerbal]

If the aircraft fly in and out of South Africa then it will not be that hard, if its in the DRC you are :mad:.

If the amount is under ZAR 50,000 could have gone up you go to the Magistrates Court (easier with a lawyer) get a hearing and a default judgement in your favor will be issued.

Then you have to make sure it gets to the Sherrif quickly so when the aircraft is on the ground you can have it blocked from flying.

ATNS can do nothing, they can only act on a order from the court. With lawyers it works this way:

Cheap ones are good golf buddies and will cost you ten times more in the end.

Top guys will break arms and legs as long as you can pay them. But if you can attach the aircraft you will be ok

[E145Captain]

Myself and a group of pilots and engineers who have been working in Equatorial Guinea are still strugling to received what weren't paid of our contracts. The guy there even is keeping some personal tools of one of the engineers (he refuses to send the equipment back, and just those tools worth around USD 20K). But there you can forget about going to the court. It won't work.

And now looks like the guy is putting a new company, based in Douala, in order to lure people to go work for him.

Last thing I heard was that he managed to get one Dutch Captain and he himself was flying as FO, despite he had no license (had because in some conuntries it is very easy to buy one) and beeing emmotionally unprepared to be in a cockpit (he had flown on the jump seat sometimes and he panic if he sees a CB on the WX radar).

For you to have an idea, he is owing money to some big supplier companies in even this big guys have not been able to receive at all.

So, we can begin making a database of the "not-serious companies" to work with.

Good look in your quest for the money, as I will continue mine too.

[TownshipDog]

No it's not the DRC fortunately. Without giving too much away it's a northern neighbour, SADC member. Thanks for the tips, will try nail the :mad:. Maybe we'll see a jet on Charlie apron with wheel clamps soon :}

[Nickerbal]

Okay then you have better luck, if its an old British Colony like Zim for example the South African Court Judgement can be re issued by that countrys court ie they will uphold judgement, then once you have judgement default in your name, get in the aerie & fly it home and sell it!