Freelancer-client not paying

[Anonymous]

I'd get a lawyer involved around 60 days and think about how much time/$ you want to spend pursuing them.

If they don't pony up pre-court you're going to potentially have legal fees for court and then spend more trying to collect.

[Anonymous]

My DH does freelance electronics work. He invoices immediately after the work is done. Makes a follow up call a couple weeks later to get an estimate on payment. (Translation -- hey buddy, where's my check?).
After 30 days, more emails, resend invoices.
After 60 days, more phone calls, more emails, more resending invoices. Expand circle of contacts he is calling / emailing / invoicing.
After 90 days he gets mean and gets within another 30 days.

[Anonymous]

PP here.

*gets mean and gets paid within another 30 days.*

[Anonymous]

PP here with the small claims court story....

I don't think I'd get a lawyer at all....not for relatively small amounts. They can really eat up a lot in legal fees, and I've settled matters on my own without them. (That's not saying lawyers aren't the way to go when you're talking big bucks, but anything in the four-figures, handle on your own.) As another example, a major store made a BIG error that caused me a loss of time from work, a lot of aggravation, and $8,000 to correct. I told the store manager that I wanted $8,000 back, and he told me I was responsible for the situation, as well. I didn't agree, wrote a letter to the CEO (did NOT hire an attorney) outlining the store's incompetence and all my suffering.THEIR attorney called me and said the best they could do was $7,000, and I took it.

Moral: I wouldn't bother with an attorney for $9,000. Just keep sending out bills and phoning them, take note of the dates of your collection efforts, and tell them - in writing - that you are keeping record of your collection activities in the event you go to court. (Don't tell them until the 3rd follow-up bill, so you don't introduce a threat too early.) Do it for three months, at least. Then file in small claims court.

One question you might research in your jurisdiction: If there are three bills for three different projects, and none are more than the maximum small claims court limit, but together they exceed it, can you divvy up the "unpaid projects" as separate matters and file separate claims?

NOTE: Obviously I'm not a lawyer, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm just letting you know what I did.

[Anonymous]

Tell them you're happy to book another job but for you to do so they need to get current with their account, which is past due. What kind of instructor are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell them you're happy to book another job but for you to do so they need to get current with their account, which is past due. What kind of instructor are you?

This.

I'd probably also tell them going forward you will need 50% up front.

[Anonymous]

You don't need a lawyer for small claims court. Go there and if the overall fee owed is over the small claims limit, file each contracted amount overdue as a separate case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell them you're happy to book another job but for you to do so they need to get current with their account, which is past due. What kind of instructor are you?

This.

I'd probably also tell them going forward you will need 50% up front.

+1.