The Bad Penny Returns

By: Andrea Schlack, President Printing Industry Credit Bureau

How One Serial Offender Tried to Rise Again—And Why Our Clients Didn’t Fall for It

In every industry, there’s always that one—the operator who never truly goes away. In the printing world, we’ve dealt with more than our share of difficult accounts, but one particular MidAtlantic broker became the textbook definition of “the bad penny that always turns up.”

For years, this individual made a business out of stiffing printers, stringing them along with promises, partial payments, and elaborate excuses. Each time he was caught, he simply shed his skin, changed business names, and resurfaced as if nothing had happened. The pattern was unmistakable:

• New name
• Same behavior
• Same trail of unpaid printers

Eventually, the consequences caught up. He was sued for several million dollars under fraud theories, and—true to form—he attempted to escape accountability by filing bankruptcy. Because no one pushed the adversarial fight inside the bankruptcy court, he managed to slip through the cracks and re-emerge yet again, ready to repeat the cycle.

But this time, he didn’t get far.

One of our longtime clients, preparing to extend credit to a “new” customer, did exactly what we train the industry to do: They checked PICB first.

Through our DelinquiDebt Program—PICB’s free online tool that allows printers to search our database for past collection activity—they spotted the warning signs. Then they called us directly and asked the critical question:

“Do you know this customer?”

Yes. We knew him well. And our answer was simple: Run for the hills.

That early warning saved our client from what could have been a catastrophic loss. It also reaffirmed why DelinquiDebt exists: to stop repeat offenders before they strike again. In an industry where margins are tight and trust is currency, avoiding just one bad debtor can save thousands—sometimes millions.

The bad penny may always try to return. But with PICB, it never has to land in your pocket.