Any freelance folks here ever dealt with a client who won't pay a bill?

[C Moon]

I did some graphics work for a client who's been stringing me a long for over four months now.
Each time, there's an excuse for why they didn't pay me.
Latest was a kind of "checks in the mail." It's been almost three weeks, and the deposit wasn't made.

I'm now guessing they are having money problems and putting others before me (because I'm being nice).

Should I send an invoice charging more money if it's not paid by a certain date?

Thanks for any help. This really took me off guard.

[JI7]

1. Have you done work for them before when they have paid ?

If you feel you know them well enough you can try to work out a payment plan or something else where they can pay later to make it easier for them.

If they keep ignoring you then charge late fee or interest.

Also, Do you charge full amount after you finish the work ? If you do then consider charging half before and the rest after it's completed .

[C Moon]

2. This was a one time project. They told me to send them the invoices. I did.

Then they asked for my banking info.
I gave them that.
Since then, it's been nothing but excuses for four months.

What kind of late fee do you think is acceptable? I don't want the fee, I just want to be paid.

[former9thward]

3. You need to tell them they will be sued in small claims court if they don't pay.

And then do it. You don't need a lawyer in small claims. Give them a notice saying it will become a court matter if not paid in 10 days. Send it certified. Make copies of everything.

[C Moon]

5. Okay. Thanks. That's what I'm thinking it was going to come down to.

[herding cats]

8. Keep all the records.

Including all texts and emails between you prior to taking them to court. Have your contract in hand and don't let them stiff you!

Good luck. I know this sucks.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

18. Meh, you beat me to it,

but that's very good advice and is exactly what should be done.

[RainCaster]

4. Call the "Lawyers From Hell"

I had a customer try to stiff me many years ago. My brother in law was working for a studio that was always getting stiffed by bigger studios, so they found a collection firm that they called the "Lawyers from hell". I hired that firm and the 20% was worth it. They paid within days. Find a good collection agency, they are great.

[C Moon]

6. Thank you, Rain!

[herding cats]

7. I've dealt with it.

I charge a late fee (it's in my contract) after it's 30 days late. Then I charge a monthly late payment fee. I'm more than willing to take payment rather than impose fees for a couple of months, and if it reaches that level I usually end up mentioning legal fees for theft of services and my court costs. Which I've had to do only a handful of times ever in my lifetime.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this, but I suggest you speak to your local county court and explore your legal options. Sometimes people just want to not pay for their services and you worked for that money. What recourses are available to you can vary depending on your local laws.

[C Moon]

9. Awesome advice. Thanks herding.

The problem I have is that I didn't add "30-days" to the invoice.
I thought about it, but dumb me was being polite and didn't add it.

Do you think it's okay to now give them a 10 days notice or something?

[herding cats]

10. I don't know where you are, but states have laws.

Look into it, but most are a 30 day pay. You're fine, just get your ducks in a row and sue them if you must. Also, make sure (which I hope is in your state, too) they know they're on the hook for the court costs. It's a nice motivator to get them to settle up even faster.

Find out what you can charge extra where you are. Dot your i's and cross your t's. Most of all keep all your exchanges with them. That's your ace in the hole in court.

[C Moon]

12. Thanks again. I guess I'm probably lucky in this situation, I'm in California.

[herding cats]

13. I bet you'll be just fine.

If you don't mind keep me updated? I hate people who don't pay we hardworking folks for our labor. It's a personal thing with me.

[C Moon]

15. Okay. Will do. Thanks again.

[Chainfire]

16. I owned my own plumbing business for years.

The people who usually stiffed me were the ones with lots of money and standing in the community. Small claims court was a good solution.

[herding cats]

11. Also, you're not evicting them. They're delinquent. Period.

You're the good guy here, they're the slow/no pay jerk. You don't need to give them notice, just find out your local laws and be forceful. Odds are they'll pay once you hit them with legal possibilities.

[Sgent]

14. Is he/she actively using your work

especially on the web? I would send an email that he has 48 hours to pay you or you will pursue legal action, then make a DMCA copyright claim since he doesn't own your copyrights yet. That will get your work removed in 24 hours or so.

The other option is to sue him in either small claims court or small claims copyright court -- the second one has broader jurisdiction and you can sue for up to 30,000.

[Ferrets are Cool]

17. In 5 years, I have lost about $1000 to clients not paying.

I just write it off on my taxes. Sending nastygrams doesn't work for me. If they aren't going to pay you, they aren't going to pay you.

[C Moon]

19. The bill is more than that.

[Ferrets are Cool]

31. IF I had ONE client that owed me that much money, I would certainly take him to court.

All of mine are in $150 increments.

[IbogaProject]

20. Add late fees to new statement

And send a demand letter priority delivery confirmation and 1st class with certificate of mailing. Don't mention the copyright thing this month. If they have to stop using your work on the web they will feel less incentive to pay. You're going to have to decide if you think they have resources or are hand to mouth as part of your calculations. Plop a late fee, not huge maybe 50, 100 or a little more if invoice was near or over 1K. From now on start charging whatever interest your state allows every month. You want them to feel urgency and regret without breaking them. Don't wave any fees until you collect the origional total and some token administrative fee. Once you've tried a month or two send it to a collection firm with the dogs of Hades ready to go. (NOT AN ATTORNEY, just a fellow freelancer)

[C Moon]

25. Thank you!!

[ZonkerHarris]

28. this is the way to go

[lark]

21. I dealt with this for a small publishing company in CA.

Small claims works, but you have to wait 30 days from the date of the judgement then you can file it for an abstract of judgement which puts it on the records and the persons' credit bureau. Well, this is what it was 30 years ago there. Every state is different, but you want a judgement and you want it recorded so they can't sell any property without paying you off first.

Good luck!

[bif]

22. I'm a free-lance copywriter

I've only been stiffed once. I tried to collect several times and finally gave up. Then I spread the word that the guy I worked for was a cheat. I didn't end up getting paid but I got a great deal of satisfaction ruining his credibility.

[Tracer]

23. Yes. One.

He was a print broker that dealt with other clients and had me do the graphics.

This one customer was running for MA state office and wanted big posters and lots of ads.

So I did them (for about $700).

The print broker refused to pay ME because the politician refused to pay HIM because he lost the election. (Yes, a republican candidate).

I called a collection agency that got in touch with the broker, which seemed to have scared him and eventually we settled on a lower payment (which was better than nothing).

[C Moon]

26. What will a collection agency do, add a fee for themselves on top?

[ZonkerHarris]

27. or take a %

[mcar]

24. Back in the day, when I had more clients

I experienced it a few times.

It taught me to ask for half upfront. At least I'd have that if they didn't pay the rest.

[Emile]

29. Be a good question for Trump.

[C Moon]

30. LOL!