Non paying client

Not for photos, but for website work, for a smaller company. About 8 months since my first invoice, 10 months since I first did any work for him.

He went MIA on me for a while, and then when I finally talked to him, the story I got was his investors bailed on the company, without putting up the money for a lot of unpaid bills.

And in this "wonderful" economy, he seems to be the only client who has any work for me right now. We already agreed to 100% up front on any work I do. I was also thinking of taking it a step further, and taking it very small task by small task, and tell him I also want a percentage on top of what I estimate for each thing, to go towards the unpaid work.

On the other hand, I'm sick working in front of a computer all day anyway. And I'm thinking, if he has the money to pay me up front for future work, then why not just start paying me what you owe me in the first place?

What do you think? Should I continue working for this guy under the terms above, should I take him to small claims, should I request his investors names and info, so I can try going after them? Should I yank everything down? Yeah, I still have logins for everything, which is the only thing that makes me believe his story.

Oh yeah, and the shady part, I have no idea what the company's address is! I have a website, fb page, twitter, phone numbers, emails, but no address. I've been googling like crazy and just can't find one. Yeah, probably my own fault for not at least getting a deposit up front, and that info, but this client was pawned off on me by someone I used to work with, so I figured I could trust the guy.

Nothing specific, but here's a few pointers:-

1. Beware of anyone promising "jam tomorrow"

2. Unpaid invoices tend to show how an individual/company conducts business and how much trust one can place in them

3. If goods and services remain unpaid for, taking back your property is not unreasonable - at least here in the UK

4. Only those who pay their bills can be called "customers"

I just get the feeling that spending more time on this character will result in more unpaid invoices. Time might be better spent looking for another client perhaps? Or if you did agree to continue, cash up front before lifting a finger would be a very good idea.

Let him come looking for you instead. Cash up front for the next job, them let him down as he did you.

Cash up front

Charge him more then you normally would to make up for what he stole. It doesn't have to be much...10-15% more. Don't bother telling him as he will scoff.

Take your unpaid work back (assuming you have that access)

You could also try legal options, but this may be more costly then it is worth.

I'm taking everything down that I did. Def not getting paid, whether he actually has the money or not. According to a lawyer I talked to, Id never be able to get my legal fees in the settlement, so not worth it. Part of what I did was set up an FTP server for him, so at least it will be a huge Pain in his ass.

I'm taking everything down that I did. Def not getting paid, whether he actually has the money or not. According to a lawyer I talked to, Id never be able to get my legal fees in the settlement, so not worth it. Part of what I did was set up an FTP server for him, so at least it will be a huge Pain in his ass.

I find it interesting you can't sue for legal fees also. I thought this was allowed.

Something similar happened to me years ago. A doctor asked me and my g/f at the time to design him a website with Flash (back in 1998). Flash was expensive back then (roughly $50-$100/hour). We did it as a flat fee (roughly $3000). Designed the site, the flash, and did the registration. Dr refused to pay, saying he could not afford it. So we offered to remove the Flash and charge him less. He agreed. We did that, and well, no money. Finally we took everything down and replaced the site with "Down pending payment of services". Anyone who did a search for this doctor would see that nice message.

We had the passwords for the NetSol account, his credit card was used to pay for the domain name for five years

He said I wouldn't be able to get legal fees because there was no contract. Or at least not very likely.

Ah, well here in the States you have to have a written contract for anything over $500 for it to be enforceable.

Cheers

James

Well, I do still have all his passwords...even his fb and twitter. I should just lock him out of everything!

Well, I do still have all his passwords...even his fb and twitter. I should just lock him out of everything!

Hey! I don't think it's legal.

Hey! I don't think it's legal.

Did you at least asked for a down payment so you get compensated for some of your work?

Did you at least asked for a down payment so you get compensated for some of your work?