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Client says cant pay invoices - Need some advise!
Hi everyone,
I carried out some work building a website recently for my client and issued a couple of different invoices for various work that was carried out.
Invoice A is now some 7 weeks overdue and invoice B is coming up to being a week overdue. There is a third invoice which is due to be paid by next week.
Alltogether I am owed over £1200.
The client has today informed me that they are having money troubles and they will "let me know what they think about the both overdue payment and what they think they can do about paying" in a few days.
I really don't know where I stand, I am worried about what would happen if they are about to go bust, and really dont know where i stand, I have been chasing these invoices quite a bit.
Whilst I dont wish to brun bridges with the client I do not want to remian unpaid, im pretty annoyed that they hadme do the work if they couldnt afford to pay for it.
Can any one offer me some advise on where I stand and what I should do next?
Thanks in advance.
I carried out some work building a website recently for my client and issued a couple of different invoices for various work that was carried out.
Invoice A is now some 7 weeks overdue and invoice B is coming up to being a week overdue. There is a third invoice which is due to be paid by next week.
Alltogether I am owed over £1200.
The client has today informed me that they are having money troubles and they will "let me know what they think about the both overdue payment and what they think they can do about paying" in a few days.
I really don't know where I stand, I am worried about what would happen if they are about to go bust, and really dont know where i stand, I have been chasing these invoices quite a bit.
Whilst I dont wish to brun bridges with the client I do not want to remian unpaid, im pretty annoyed that they hadme do the work if they couldnt afford to pay for it.
Can any one offer me some advise on where I stand and what I should do next?
Thanks in advance.
- Contact in PM
glebe digital
Messages count : 105Likes count : 2Registration : 21 December 2006If the go bust there is very little you can really do.......chase them in the small claims court, but you may not see anything.
Alternatively, if you're not going to get paid you should be able to exercise your copyright to the work produced & revoke your agreement for them to use your work........a good lawyer will be able to help you.CGI Specialist - Contact in PM
stevesideas
Messages count : 4Likes count : 2Registration : 30 November 2007As glebe digital says. There may not be much you can do. Even if you were to take them to a small claims court the repayment terms might mean you have to wait possibly over a year to get any money back. Not related to freelancing, but renting of my house, I took someone to court and won. The people owe me 6k and I havent seen a penny of that in the last 5 years.
I would in future ask for a payment up front. With more and more businesses struggling these days it would be wise to safeguard some of the payment.
I would also contact the citizens advice bureau.
Sorry I cant offer more advice. - Contact in PM
Safe_Collects
Messages count : 13Likes count : 1Registration : 17 April 2009Hello & welcome to the freelancing boards :bye
We here at Creditsafe Ltd hear this story with increasing frequency in the current economic climate. It sounds to us like your client could be compensating for a lack of credit facilities by sitting on your invoices. They have already enjoyed an interest free "loan" of the value of invoice A at your expense & it doesn't sound like they are in any hurry with the other invoices.
Whilst it may be tempting to wait just that little bit longer to see if they honour the promises made so far, in our experience any prevarication on your part in all likelihood ultimately reduces the chance of you being paid.
We are the only agency recommended by The Freelance Alliance & whilst we do charge on a no collection no fee basis for our services, you are more than welcome to call our offices & discuss your options in detail with one of our advisers.
No tricks, no contract & no hard sell. Just honest advice.Credit Management & Debt Recovery Specialists Read our articles on . Moderators at a leading resource for free "dunning" advice.