Re: FLASH: RE:"Client from hell", what NOT to do.

[David Gary]

Mary Brzys wrote:

Hi David,

Well seeing as I've been in the Graphics field for 20 odd years and
have never had this happen to me. When I've done business in the past,
I did it face to face and on the phone with clients, not using emails
which is something I will never do again. It's not my trust that have
to worry about, it's was their's. Which is unfortunate because that
route of communication is now closed for me. Thank GOD I have the
Purchase Order from this job, and all the sorted emails (I logged them
in a text file) which in turn when I take this person to court will
assure me my money. That's a shame in my book to have to resort to
this for payment. Such is life as they say....................and I
learned a lot the hard way!
 

Hiya Mary,

If it helps any, you should always get a % of the commission up front. Clients should
expect this.

I dont know any freelance that doesnt. This is the norm.

Also purchase orders are not necessarily contracts. Contracts detail the specific project,
the jobs of all parties involved and a signature by an official rep of the company.
However if your PO contains that info you should be ok legally.

Taking people to court to get paid is not my idea of establishing a professional relationship. =8>)-

If a potential client has a problem with paying a % up front, chances are you'll
end up in this type of situation more than none. I hope you get your money
from these people. Theres also a "blacklist" of companies who find it easy to commission
freelance, but find it difficult to pay them. You can find it at GAG homepage. If you have
problems getting paid by this paticular client for an agreed upon project, you should add their name to it.
 

-DG-