It's common even - especially- nowadays to get work done or goods supplied without any intention of paying for it. Simple. Set up a limited company, get what you want on credit, go bankrupt, buy the assets off the receiver for a song, recycle indefinitely. It's happened to me, to the tune of 40000 pounds at the time when that would have bought a moderate house. More fool me, and it never even occurred to me to bleed his children to death.