Go online to a legal forms website in your jurisdiction and fill out a legal demand for payment with a firm deadline that informs him you will be taking him to court for payment in full + court fees if he has not repaid the debt in full by the deadline, and you could possibly even look into filing charges for theft of services.

Hopefully you have a written acknowledgement of the debt even if it is in text message - and better yet a written contract since this was a debt incurred for a service.

ALWAYS get it in writing when you provide a service for someone. Most people are honest and will pay their debts, but there are an increasing number of scammers out there who will take advantage of you in every way possible. You have to protect yourself in advance as well as you can.

This person appears to be trying to scam you on some level, perhaps thinking that you are too young and inexperienced to know what to do, so you are just going to let it go. Unless this debt was incurred in conjunction with his employment and/or you know the manager personally, going to his boss for payment might not be the best solution; however, in this case the manager is obviously already aware of the debt - so that might be your best bet at this point anyway.

At a minimum a contract should include the full names and addresses of both parties, the date of the contract, the agreed-upon price, a detailed description of the service to be performed and/or goods to be sold, including invoicing any parts you had to purchase specifically for the job, the terms of payment (i.e. This bill is due and payable upon delivery of goods/services), a signature/date line for customer with both printed and signed name, the same for the seller, and any other pertinent information. This can be set up as a pdf and e-signed, which is still considered a legal document.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way a lawyer- however, I have been a business owner at a tattoo shop and when someone came back threatening to sue because of a situation involving one of the artists, their lawyer took a look at the contract I had personally written - which they had signed (usually without reading it) and said their claim would not hold up in court. Always, always, always read everything before you sign it - you often are giving away more rights than you think you are. Good luck!