I have been stiffed by a number of clients and theres already some great advice in here. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- as unthinkable as it is, some indididuals will contract you for work they never intended to oay for from the start
- usually a client who stiffs you is also VERY good at playing the victim, do not do or say anything mean that gives credibility to their charade
- be firm and professional, not angry or making personal appeals
Its not a hard equation: 'You do the work, you get paid'
Also, the 'F You Pay Me' video can help show you how to be forceful in a proper way.
Ive definitely gone through all of the feelings and doubts and auestions youre having. I really hope you can find better clientd, good work should be a win/win for both of you.
> as unthinkable as it is, some indididuals will contract you for work they never intended to oay for from the start
It happened to my company (for a work I had no involvement with).
At a certain point they explicitly said they won't pay ("I knew it was too high, but I needed to get things fast"). When threatened of legal action, they immediately had their lawyer send a letter accusing us of scam with ~40 pointless complaints and threatening legal action. At that point, they had the advantage of initiative.
Some people just don't care about fairness, they know that the big fish eats the smaller and act accordingly.
That's to say: if you think they are doing this serially as their modus operandi, act first or just leave them alone.
Oh man, my heart goes out to you! 90% of the time you wont recover the money, be cautious of the fallacy of sunk costs and its wiser to move on to paying clients.
- as unthinkable as it is, some indididuals will contract you for work they never intended to oay for from the start
- usually a client who stiffs you is also VERY good at playing the victim, do not do or say anything mean that gives credibility to their charade
- be firm and professional, not angry or making personal appeals
Its not a hard equation: 'You do the work, you get paid'
Also, the 'F You Pay Me' video can help show you how to be forceful in a proper way.
Ive definitely gone through all of the feelings and doubts and auestions youre having. I really hope you can find better clientd, good work should be a win/win for both of you.