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I'm a freelance writer and usually work for bigger media outlets, so getting paid is no problem. Last January, however, I did some work for a private production company; five months later I have yet to be paid. I've invoiced a number of times (and spoken to the guy who hired me on the phone), and he keeps saying "I can't pay you until I get paid." I'm getting really frustrated! I'm reluctant to take legal action, because the invoice is only for $1,000. Short of busting knee-caps or stalking him on my BMX bike, how do I get my money?
- Megan
Ask Gothamist turned to a friend of ours who often works as a freelancer to find out how to get paid when the company is reluctant to pony up the dough. Our pal Vince says: "Whenever I do work for companies with small-to-medium sized budgets, I always request half of my project fee up-front, before any work is done. That way if they do decide to play games when the project is completed, I'm not completely at a loss. Another thing she can do is request a partial payment of the invoice, as her client sounds as if they do plan on paying her but can't cover her entire fee at once. Finally, and most importantly, she needs to be persistent, but not calling every day, maybe more like once a week to check on the status of her payment."
Our friend also advises, "The only time that I would resort to legal action is if (1) it's enough money to be worth my while (2) I have made the decision never to work with this company again (3) they've made it completely clear that they have no intention of paying me for the work that I've done."
You can also check out this About.com section on Freelance writing, and Writing World has a section all about invoicing.
Got a question? Need advice? E-mail ask(at)gothamist(dot)com.
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If you have access to a high-traffic website, here's a solid method for collecting. This is only a last-ditch effort, after you've given a number of warnings and exhausted other possibilities:
Post a webpage saying X owes you money. Make sure X's name is in the title and in the name of the file (ie x.html), and write a short paragraph about the problem. In order for this to show up on Google, you have to link to the page from a page with a high Google pagerank. (I put it on my magazine's About page, under a heading "People who owe us money.")
Wait a few days and search for X's name on Google. If you're lucky, your page will have a high rank and will appear on the first page. Then send X an email showing the Google results.
This has worked 9/10 times for me, and has been far more effective than filing for small claims. (Often my page will appear as the top one or two links on Google -- even above X's own site.)
This doesn't work with common person names (John Smith etc.), though. And you should avoid any personal attacks.
I am in exactly the same situation for a larger sum of money. I called the company that owed my agent money and received a detailed list of payments that they sent to my agent.
Essentially, through aggressive phone calls (to the agent) and schmoozing phone calls to the ultimate client, I was able to prove that the payments were made.
Note that this does not guarantee payment, but does point out that you can sue. BTW, small claims court is only $15 and essentially you did the work and didn't get paid. What was in your contract about getting paid?
Send your invoice to them via certified US Mail with delivery confirmation. Within the next 30 days, take them to small claims court. Stop being Mr. Nice Guy. They are in the wrong and they should pay up.
I have the same problem now. I've gotten some advice from people and I'm considering to take legal action and going through a "small claims court".
I have done this before, and I won after my landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
Interesting comment on Gawker about this post...meeeow.