Deadbeat clients

spark · June 2009

All you freelancers out there--have any of your clients stiffed you? (see article) This company, Inkwell Publishing, owes me and about 50 other people for three months of work. Care to commiserate? Anyone else bringing out the big guns and suing (not in small claims court)?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/nyregion/21about.html?_r=1#

raw · June 2009

That's terrible. Good luck with getting paid. Keep us posted. Thanks for the warning!

spark · June 2009

Thanks. The media pressure continues...

http://www.mediabistro.com/mediajobsdaily/freelance/when_the_freelance_checks_stop_coming_119527.asp

carmen · June 2009

Ugh- I feel you. This economy has all freelancers/small business chasing clients. My co (which recently grew from 5 to 7 employees after 3 years) is well in the hole (not talking about $50k here...) from two clients holding invoices. It sucks because its really difficult for us to have any recourse...we're a "real" incorporated business, however it would take months and thousands of dollars in legal fees to take them to court (whch they have and we really don't.)

In the meantime the money is coming in a drop at a time (5% of the outstanding 90+day invoice amount at a time) and we're scraping by our salary checks...but with bankruptcy looming around the corner for so many its makng us all VERY nervous.

Good luck, I don't envy your position.

spark · June 2009

Damn, payment on the installment plan--ugh. I hope they agreed to add a little interest to the total owed, though it sounds like it'll be a long time before you'll see it. It kills me when larger businesses force their smaller vendors to extend them a line of credit, basically, when the smaller cos are usually much more exposed and vulnerable.

I'm not a litigious person by any means, but this is the first time I've had a client drop all communication and hide. We all continued working because we were assured we would be paid eventually, and everyone knows how bad the economy is... Then, as soon as the projects were completed, the owners closed the office and they've been refusing to respond to e-mails/calls. It's like they're counting on us to just give up and go away--there's no sense of accountability whatsoever.

Congrats on growing your biz, and good luck to you too.

anastasia beaverhausen · June 2009

These are the situations that make me long for the good ol' days when bats and crow bars did the talking.

Sorry you're going through that now.

soontoheights · June 2009

spark, my significant other is in a similar position, has been stiffed now for 6+ months, for an amount that takes her out of small claims court.

i'm a lawyer but i don't practice this kind of law so i can't really help her. or you. so don't take anything here as gospel or legal advice. but i've been looking into it and i think if you're going to sue, CPLR 3213 would be your best bet. it's an expedited way of suing based in NY on an instrument to pay money, ie your invoice (i think). your complaint would basically encapsulate the whole suit so it won't be a drawn-out, expensive process. well, still expensive, just not as expensive as a regular suit. you'll most likely just have to pay a lawyer to draft up the complaint and filing fees, since the company will probably pay you right after getting served. unless they want to get real shady and make (hopefully untrue) allegations that you didn't do your work correctly.

again, don't follow this blindly, but it's something to bring up if and when you get a lawyer.

spark · June 2009

Subject: I should shut up now

Soontoheights, thanks for the info--and sorry your gfriend is in the same boat.

A group of us probably will be taking legal action (to split the costs) and I'm told now is the time to keep mum, so... javascript:emoticon(':wink:')

You'll probably be "nowinheights" long before any of this gets resolved, but hopefully these jerks will think twice before trying to screw over the little people again (one can dream).

bleibtreu · June 2009

My current gripe: my biggest single client, in a midwestern state. We've had this contract for at least eight years. I've lived at my current address for six.

Over the years from time to time they've fallen behind in paying (well, actually they haven't been completely caught up after falling way behind three years ago, but the month they've been behind has been consistent for the past couple of years so I generally don't worry about it).

They didn't pay last month, but I know things really pick up for them in June so didn't worry about, expecting two months to be paid this month. Payment's due on the 15th, so I called the bookkeeper a few days in advance and he said, yep everything's fine, we're paying two months, the check will go out on Friday the 12th.

So all last week went by, no check. I sent an email to him Friday evening the 19th to tell him that. On Monday morning I got a reply "I assume you moved, because the check came back. Give me your new address... or I can send it to the office if that will be better."

I've lived at the same address for over six years.

So I replied and asked him to fax me a copy of the returned envelope, so I can take it to the post office and find out what's going on! Heh. His reply: "Problem was on my end, sort of." (Sort of?) "I put the address as 1075 instead of 1074. Will resent it today."

Come on. Not only do I know how accounting software works in general, I'm completely familiar with the package they use. Why would he be entering an address at all for a vendor to whom he's written scores of checks over several years?

Deadbeat clients

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