I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than
twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case,
I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my
services...until now.
Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular
developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a
make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of
about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up
until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for
the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time
their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in
part to the work I did).
Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get
the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening
email to the owner and he responded saying that it was
"unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my
services. They owe me $3000.
I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not
incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and
supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an
individual against a company. They say the only way is through small
claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are
no the opposite coast.
Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy
knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
You should check into what your legal recourse would be then send a registered, delivery verified letter to the owner letting him know that unless payment is received within (what ever is the legal time line) you'll be proceeding with the following actions, and list the legal things like law suite, etc. If you are just considered an employee are there any laws in your location dealing with the pay you are due?
Another method I heard some one used was to put up a site that says XYZ company, and Mr X are unscrupulous, unethical, don't pay their bills, etc, etc. That person then got that site ranked above the company's site so that anyone searching for it would first be presented with the bad news about that company and individual.
However, before over reacting and burning any bridges I'd make absolutely certain that this company/person has no intention of paying you for your work.
On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 5:12 PM, JeffPritchard <j...@jeffpritchard.com> wrote:
> I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than > twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case, > I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my > services...until now.
> Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular > developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a > make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of > about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up > until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for > the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time > their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in > part to the work I did).
> Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get > the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening > email to the owner and he responded saying that it was > "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my > services. They owe me $3000.
> I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not > incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and > supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an > individual against a company. They say the only way is through small > claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are > no the opposite coast.
> Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy > knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
> Anybody else been screwed over by these dirtbags?
I was denied payment for work I did in 2007, and just recently received a judgment through small claims court. You may be able to file locally, but make sure that:
1) The amount of your claim is not over the small claims limit, which varies by jurisdiction. 2) Direct Interactive Corp has a registered agent in your state so you can execute a garnishment. They should if they do any kind of business in your state. If they do not, you may have to file a claim in their state/county so that papers and garnishment can be served locally.
If you are persistent and have adequate records that can convince the judge, you can get the money you are owed. Be warned though, small claims court, as one colleague of mine put it, is "a circus". Make sure it's worth it and feasible to receive payment on a judgment before you go down that road.
Personally, I went to the courthouse on at least 7 different occasions, either to file paperwork or to attend court (my case was continued twice). I still have at least one more trip down there to pick up my garnishment. It has been time-consuming and emotionally draining, but for me it was the principle that mattered -- I won't be screwed by somebody who thinks they can get away with refusing payment.
JeffPritchard wrote: > I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than > twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case, > I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my > services...until now.
> Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular > developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a > make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of > about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up > until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for > the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time > their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in > part to the work I did).
> Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get > the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening > email to the owner and he responded saying that it was > "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my > services. They owe me $3000.
> I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not > incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and > supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an > individual against a company. They say the only way is through small > claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are > no the opposite coast.
> Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy > knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
> Anybody else been screwed over by these dirtbags?
Sean, what you described is what I imagined when small claims court
was mentioned by the collection agency as my only likely recourse.
I'm not a litigious person, and generally not a vindictive person, but
the attitude they have displayed has me thinking up all sorts of
satanic things to do to them. A few of them might even be legal. One
thing I want to be careful about is that I don't do anything that
would brand me as a "troublemaker" with other potential clients.
OTOH, I'm a big believer in the "lay down with dogs, get up with
fleas" theory. Maybe I'm better off just letting them live in their
own personal hell and walking away with my karma in tact.
I already knew there were assholes on this planet. This isn't news,
just a reminder of a well known fact. I think I'll just try to let it
go.
If anyone knows of any relatively painless (for me) ways to put the
screws to this guy and possibly get him to send me a check, I would
still like to hear about it.
thanks,
jp
On Apr 15, 2:40 pm, Sean Cribbs <seancri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was denied payment for work I did in 2007, and just recently received
> a judgment through small claims court. You may be able to file locally,
> but make sure that:
> 1) The amount of your claim is not over the small claims limit, which
> varies by jurisdiction.
> 2) Direct Interactive Corp has a registered agent in your state so you
> can execute a garnishment. They should if they do any kind of business
> in your state. If they do not, you may have to file a claim in their
> state/county so that papers and garnishment can be served locally.
> If you are persistent and have adequate records that can convince the
> judge, you can get the money you are owed. Be warned though, small
> claims court, as one colleague of mine put it, is "a circus". Make sure
> it's worth it and feasible to receive payment on a judgment before you
> go down that road.
> Personally, I went to the courthouse on at least 7 different occasions,
> either to file paperwork or to attend court (my case was continued
> twice). I still have at least one more trip down there to pick up my
> garnishment. It has been time-consuming and emotionally draining, but
> for me it was the principle that mattered -- I won't be screwed by
> somebody who thinks they can get away with refusing payment.
> Best of luck,
> Sean Cribbs
> JeffPritchard wrote:
> > I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than
> > twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case,
> > I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my
> > services...until now.
> > Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular
> > developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a
> > make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of
> > about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up
> > until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for
> > the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time
> > their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in
> > part to the work I did).
> > Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get
> > the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening
> > email to the owner and he responded saying that it was
> > "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my
> > services. They owe me $3000.
> > I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not
> > incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and
> > supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an
> > individual against a company. They say the only way is through small
> > claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are
> > no the opposite coast.
> > Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy
> > knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
> > Anybody else been screwed over by these dirtbags?
Wondering if you could threaten to inform the customer that Direct Interactive didn't pay you for the work you did on their project? You said it was a make it or break it customer, so I would think it would be important for Direct to save face with them and just pay you what they owe you. And if they still wouldn't pay you, it would seem fair to inform the customer of the type of company they're doing business with anyway.
On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 9:20 PM, JeffPritchard <j...@jeffpritchard.com> wrote:
> Thanks to both Sean and Greg.
> Sean, what you described is what I imagined when small claims court > was mentioned by the collection agency as my only likely recourse.
> I'm not a litigious person, and generally not a vindictive person, but > the attitude they have displayed has me thinking up all sorts of > satanic things to do to them. A few of them might even be legal. One > thing I want to be careful about is that I don't do anything that > would brand me as a "troublemaker" with other potential clients.
> OTOH, I'm a big believer in the "lay down with dogs, get up with > fleas" theory. Maybe I'm better off just letting them live in their > own personal hell and walking away with my karma in tact.
> I already knew there were assholes on this planet. This isn't news, > just a reminder of a well known fact. I think I'll just try to let it > go.
> If anyone knows of any relatively painless (for me) ways to put the > screws to this guy and possibly get him to send me a check, I would > still like to hear about it.
> thanks, > jp
> On Apr 15, 2:40 pm, Sean Cribbs <seancri...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.
> > I was denied payment for work I did in 2007, and just recently received > > a judgment through small claims court. You may be able to file locally, > > but make sure that:
> > 1) The amount of your claim is not over the small claims limit, which > > varies by jurisdiction. > > 2) Direct Interactive Corp has a registered agent in your state so you > > can execute a garnishment. They should if they do any kind of business > > in your state. If they do not, you may have to file a claim in their > > state/county so that papers and garnishment can be served locally.
> > If you are persistent and have adequate records that can convince the > > judge, you can get the money you are owed. Be warned though, small > > claims court, as one colleague of mine put it, is "a circus". Make sure > > it's worth it and feasible to receive payment on a judgment before you > > go down that road.
> > Personally, I went to the courthouse on at least 7 different occasions, > > either to file paperwork or to attend court (my case was continued > > twice). I still have at least one more trip down there to pick up my > > garnishment. It has been time-consuming and emotionally draining, but > > for me it was the principle that mattered -- I won't be screwed by > > somebody who thinks they can get away with refusing payment.
> > Best of luck,
> > Sean Cribbs
> > JeffPritchard wrote: > > > I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than > > > twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case, > > > I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my > > > services...until now.
> > > Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular > > > developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a > > > make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of > > > about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up > > > until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for > > > the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time > > > their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in > > > part to the work I did).
> > > Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get > > > the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening > > > email to the owner and he responded saying that it was > > > "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my > > > services. They owe me $3000.
> > > I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not > > > incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and > > > supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an > > > individual against a company. They say the only way is through small > > > claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are > > > no the opposite coast.
> > > Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy > > > knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
> > > Anybody else been screwed over by these dirtbags?
Did you have a contract in place? I imagine if you did then you have a greater leg to stand on. As with everyone here I am not an attorney either, however we use an attorney for all of our contract work. If there is no contract in place then you may have to somehow prove that you performed services, invoiced, and were unpaid.
As with all matters legal, I suggest talking with an attorney. If you can have one recommended to you you may be able to get a consult and find out how much of a leg you have to stand on.
> Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get
> the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening
> email to the owner
I don't think this approach is going to work for you. There are plenty
of reasons why your client may not have replied in two weeks. Cashflow
problem, personal tragedy, staff illness, mail problems - these are
just a few.
How long did you leave between emails? Hounding people can really
irritate them. A couple of months ago I got a phone call at 8AM on a
Sunday morning from a woman asking when the animal hospital would get
the last $87 owing on my account. She woke me up and her tone was
hard. I normally pay my bills promptly but her approach made me never
want to pay that $87 (I did in the end).
> and he responded saying that it was
> "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my
> services. They owe me $3000.
The hardest thing is to put ourselves in another persons shoes. Could
your response have caused him to think of you as the enemy rather than
a nice guy? How do you feel when someone questions your character?
I guess my message is not to assume the worst case scenario and not to
give clients the impression that you distrust them (even if you do).
Good luck with this. Work out how much time and money you're willing
to devote to chasing this $3000. It's no good losing sleep over it
when you could be more productive.
Another thing to add to what Mike said - sometimes it is best to call to clear things up. Of course, it should be at a reasonable time of day, during the week.
Also, although OP was understandably upset he should refrain from airing the details of his grievance publicly without consulting first with an attorney. There are defamation issues to consider (this is a publicly archived forum: http://groups.google.com/group/freelancers- on-rails/browse_thread/thread/b6d52c687ddb38b2), and depending on the wording of the consulting agreement with the client there may also be breach of contract issues to consider.
Mike
On Apr 16, 2008, at 5:31 AM, Robert Dempsey wrote:
> Another thing to add to what Mike said - sometimes it is best to > call to clear things up. Of course, it should be at a reasonable > time of day, during the week.
Whatever you do, don't let this consume you. You got to keep moving
forward. If you don't, this company will cost you more money and time
than what you have already invested in them.
On Apr 15, 2:12 pm, JeffPritchard <j...@jeffpritchard.com> wrote:
> I've been doing freelancing in various types of software for more than
> twenty years. Call it luck, call it good Karma, whatever the case,
> I've never had a company try to weasel out of paying me for my
> services...until now.
> Direct Interactive Corp hired me to fill in for their "regular
> developers" when they were trying to make an important deadline for a
> make it or break it customer. I worked for them over the course of
> about three weeks. Their deadlines were impossible, and I was up
> until two or three in the morning several nights. They paid me for
> the first few hours. The second invoice was larger, and by that time
> their crisis had passed and they had kept their customer (thanks in
> part to the work I did).
> Well, a couple weeks go by and no response to my invoice. Can't get
> the dogs to even respond to my emails now. Sent a semi threatening
> email to the owner and he responded saying that it was
> "unprofessional" for me to be hounding them for payment for my
> services. They owe me $3000.
> I tried a collection agency, but they are telling me that if I'm not
> incorporated, in the eyes of a the law I'm just an individual, and
> supposedly a collection agency is not legally allowed to represent an
> individual against a company. They say the only way is through small
> claims court. Yeah, like that's going to work out for me. They are
> no the opposite coast.
> Any words of wisdom? Anybody have an acquaintance in NYC with hairy
> knuckles and a bad attitude ...?
> Anybody else been screwed over by these dirtbags?
