Client doesn't want to pay, any advice?

[IronWeber]

Hello,

I have a client, that I've done some freelancind cad modeling work for. Everything was ok, till few weeks ago, when he suddelny stopped replying to my messages. Now I am sending email and Skype messages everyday, but no one cars to answer me. Can someone advice me how to approach this, so I can get my money? I have the 3D file and was thinking to release them to the public, but don't think wthis will change anything.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Gogol]

I have the 3D file and was thinking to release them to the public, but don't think wthis will change anything.

That's not a good thing to do. It is unethical. Yes, I know he didn't pay, which isn't ethical; but you are better than that isn't it?

If he is a member here, open up a shitlist thread against him.

How did you get that client?

 

[alonelywriter]

Just release it publicly fck the ethical thing
Also you shouldn;t work like that.. get payment first always.

 

[MisterF]

Until he pays you, ownership belongs to you.

 

[Gogol]

Just release it publicly fck the ethical thing
Also you shouldn;t work like that.. get payment first always.

That way, he will never get paid lol. That's what I was afraid of.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

Until he pays you, ownership belongs to you.

I was just about to say the same thing.

It's yours, Dude, do what you want but I would try to sell it to recoup the time and money you have in the project.

 

[Ajeet Ghuman]

you have the contract papers and email records? and also the how much is the money ? if its too much than you can sue your client..

 

[Nubian Content]

Just release it publicly fck the ethical thing
Also you shouldn;t work like that.. get payment first always.

This is very important.

 

[IronWeber]

Thank you for the replys.
Releasing the files is the last thing to do if ever decide to, but it is not going to do much and just feel that it is not the right either. I got the client through Upwork, but we worked separately from the website. This is the company: Vandal Cars (I am not promotin enything or enyone), they seemed to legitimate to screw me over, so I agreed to be paid after we are done with the work. I am trying to reach them, through the contact form on the website and through an email I found online. We were comunicating through Skype, where I send messages daily, but no response from nowhere. I am not sure, if they are still in business, or something other happened.

 

[ozzie5]

Thank you for the replys.
Releasing the files is the last thing to do if ever decide to, but it is not going to do much and just feel that it is not the right either. I got the client through Upwork, but we worked separately from the website. This is the company: Vandal Cars (I am not promotin enything or enyone), they seemed to legitimate to screw me over, so I agreed to be paid after we are done with the work. I am trying to reach them, through the contact form on the website and through an email I found online. We were comunicating through Skype, where I send messages daily, but no response from nowhere. I am not sure, if they are still in business, or something other happened.

Do a complaint on hellopeter.com - slag them bad. Most companies do not like negative reviews...[just an idea]

 

[laurmat]

Maybe they are not in the office due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation? Just saying...
PS: You should ask for advance payment via Paypal (they can open dispute in case you are not sending the work), or try to go 50-50% when getting a project.

 

[IronWeber]

This is before the virus situation. The bad review is a good idea, but when they are going to see it?

 

[onlinemarketer12]

Maybe they are not in the office due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation? Just saying...
PS: You should ask for advance payment via Paypal (they can open dispute in case you are not sending the work), or try to go 50-50% when getting a project.

Asking for such payment is useless in my opinion. Scammers can just raise dispute after getting the work.

 

[Rj268]

Until he pays you, ownership belongs to you.

Was there an NDA signed and what was the payment schedule? Did you miss a deadline? You may or may not own it depending on the contract and offering it to the public could violate that contract and open you up to being sued.

You should have received a good portion of the payment before starting the project to prevent this issue. Its possible they discontinued the project or they may have lost the contract, ect. Getting paid the largest portion upfront protects you.

May be an expensive learning experience.

 

[IronWeber]

Yes, I signed a NDA. No, my work was done on time and there were no issues. The payment was per hour, because it was not one job, there were several jobs spread across few months time. I am going to end this here and stop wasting my time with them. As https://www.blackhatworld.com/members/rj268.1211671/ , it is a learning experience. I am not going to lose sleep over it. Hope they are ok and have prosperous business. Thank you to all who replied.

 

[Deleted member 1207404]

Yes, I signed a NDA. No, my work was done on time and there were no issues. The payment was per hour, because it was not one job, there were several jobs spread across few months time. I am going to end this here and stop wasting my time with them. As Rj268 , it is a learning experience. I am not going to lose sleep over it. Hope they are ok and have prosperous business. Thank you to all who replied.

I would've posted negative reviews against them online until their business went belly up.

 

[K R Y Σ]

Maybe hire a hitman ? ( don't)

 

[t2van]

Lessoned learned don't do work without a % upfront. Even if its hourly work get a retainer.

IF you are UK and depending on how much it is, you can WRITE To him asking him to pay within 14 days the full amount before taking action further. After 14 days is up (you need to give him reasonable time to pay so when you go to small court OR no doubt mediation it looks good for you) you pay £30 and start a small courts claim against him to get the money back.

You can also charge 8% interest on money owed to you every month he does not pay.

Depends how much you need the money. How much the money is.

But from your posts if it was me id chalk this up to experience. Also Upwork... keep doing work through there but adjust your prices by 20% not to lose out..

Sorry OP it's one of them things most of us go through!

 

[Salamouna]

Wait more time until he recover
Or maybe corona killed him

 

[IronWeber]

I would've posted negative reviews against them online until their business went belly up.

Maybe, their business is already belly up and I have better ways to spend my time.

Maybe hire a hitman ? ( don't)

That's a bit extreme for few hundred dollars. If you want a revenge, you may send some shit (literally) through a website, that offer this service.

Lessoned learned don't do work without a % upfront. Even if its hourly work get a retainer.

IF you are UK and depending on how much it is, you can WRITE To him asking him to pay within 14 days the full amount before taking action further. After 14 days is up (you need to give him reasonable time to pay so when you go to small court OR no doubt mediation it looks good for you) you pay £30 and start a small courts claim against him to get the money back.

You can also charge 8% interest on money owed to you every month he does not pay.

Depends how much you need the money. How much the money is.

But from your posts if it was me id chalk this up to experience. Also Upwork... keep doing work through there but adjust your prices by 20% not to lose out..

Sorry OP it's one of them things most of us go through!

I am not UK, but this is very good way to deal with the situation, thank you for that. I will just leave it as a learning experience.

Wait more time until he recover
Or maybe corona killed him

That is what I am going to do, if someone contact me later down the road, great, if not still great.