Whad do I do if the cleint is ignoring my payment request?

I worked for this client for a month part-time. He owes me money at the end of the month and seems to ignore my payment request.

What should I do now?

 

How much is the payment? sometimes legal action isn't worth it..... what you should do is stop working.... nothing much you can do, theres no "online police" but.. next time, watermark your work.. or only hand in your work after payment.. or atleast 1/2 upfront.

 

Half up front is a must. Second alot of people who will never pay know it cost more money to take legal action than what they owe. So most people just do not get paid.

This is same for online and offline. I have had people not pay me and they know it is not worth the legal cost to go after them. They never intended to pay me.

 

Oh okay. The amount pending is $1260

 

Is there tangible evidence that you've done your work?

 

I have stored all chat sessions and emails from the client, including reports, web hosting server files and I also have the hosting info. Tangible means something that can be seen and felt but am I there at what you are implying?

 

what country are you both in?....may determine your plan of action.

 

I reside in India and he on the other side of the globe. Also I'll give him more time. Meanwhile I have other work to do. Thanks Digitalpointers for giving me support and suggestions which I'll follow in the immediate future and if he pays up, I'll let you know.

 

if he is a strong member of a forum such as this post a warning about him and that will upset him and warn others

 

I don't think so, he doesn't even time to learn FTPing. My gut feeling says everything will be okay.

 

I olways use escrow or payment upfront

If not i don't do nothing

 

I also have a client that seams to be ignoring a payment request. I emailed him the bill last week, before that we spoke on the phone and he agreed to the price. The week before I met with his partner and gave him some samples and factory information, something tells me I may have just used.

I emailed him the bill about 7 days ago, and today I sent him an email asking him if he received it. How long do you guys think I should wait before I call him? I don't want to seam like I'm hounding him but normally I get payments upfront. With this guy I wanted to try something different, should I be worried yet?

 

No he isn't paying up. Lesson learnt and point noted.

 

Sadly this lesson has cost you that much.
My best lesson has cost me about 7 times that ammount, yet I have learned it

Always charge upfront.

 

7 times my amount!!! Man that is huge!!!

Now I'm happy i didnt lose that much

 

If you have FTP access to their site AND the work you did is part of the client's site, you might consider simply deleting your work from the server (I won't suggest defacing their site, too risky for legal action against you) until payment is made.

Removing your work from their site should get their attention.

 

Dilipsam, sorry to hear about that. Is the client you are talking about belong to a company or you met him in a forum. Your only option is to warn people in the forum. If he belongs to a small company, go ahead and file a case in the small court. It is free in India...

 

That sucks, Just take it as a lesson we all have been scammed on way or another on the Internet. Its sad but happens everyday.

 

Best advice in this thread so far. If you don't value yourself, why should the client?

 

I have deleted the link exchange directory which I created all by myself. No, don't worry I won't touch the rest of the site.

But a loss is a loss I helped him in other works too.

Anyhow, another client coming up.

I think there are signs that tell you whether the client is going to pay-up or not.

First sign: Usually most of the clients called me for enquiry. This one made me call him and never invested a dime in calling me: Smartalec used voice messengers.

Final Week: He sends me a mail that he wont be available on chat for some reason.

Finally, the guy does last-minute nitpicking when contacted.

All in all, a very strange experience.