Bad debtor personal attack

divorcingjack

Hi everyone,

Just a bit of a rant really, and also to see if anyone else has been in a similar situation.

I did some work on a freelance basis for a business over a period of six weeks. I invoiced the owner at the end of the four week period, and expected to call into the office later in the month to pick up a cheque. Two weeks into the following month I still hadn't been paid and the owner called me and told me not to bother coming in because they were probably going to go bust, owing me £750.

Since mid April, I have been chasing him, emailing, calling, texting and he's been ignoring me and no money has appeared. On the (very) rare occassions I have been able to get hold of him, he has promised that they have prospective clients and I'll be paid soon. I found out that the bank are foreclosing his account tomorrow, so last night I sent an email asking if he could put aside one of the office computers for me in lieu of payment before the bank got involved. He didn't reply, but I've just got the most horrible email from him - personally attacking me, my work ethic, my productivity and attendance.

He's basically accused me of masterminding the whole scheme in order to get a free laptop from him, and taking advantage of his good nature, as well as "taking the !!!! from the beginning of this whole thing" which is incredibly hurtful and upsetting.

Has anyone else been involved in this kind of thing? Do I get a solicitor involved? Do I write it off? Do I send the boys around to break his legs? (joking ... probably)

Sorry for the long post but I'm furious and really upset.

dj

khdgsa

Hi,

I was bumped for over £10,000 a couple of years ago by a national company that went bust on a Friday and re-opened in exactly the same premises, doing the same work and owned by the former director's wives after buyng the old company back from the administrators for £1.00.
I'm afraid that in my experience you will never see any of your money after the administrator, Inland Revenue etc etc take their cut.

Sorry.

the_gasman_2

Did you have a written agreement, such as a signed quotation accepting your terms before you started? In my experience if it's a verbal agreement you reached there may not be any come back on him. If you take him to court and he has gone bankrupt etc. at most they'll probably make him pay a couple of pounds a month, which you'll have to chase and keep track of.

Take it as a lesson learnt that all future work will be documented before you start if you didn't in this case. You could always ring a local solicitor for some free advice. I don't think they charge for the first hour. Please check with them before you start chatting!

Hope this helps.

divorcingjack

£10,000!!!:eek:

I know in the grand scheme of things £750 isn't very much, but it would make a big difference to me.

I suspected the news might be bad. Ah well .. just have to concentrate on my own business.

Cheers

taxiphil

I've been in this situation quite a few times and I have a strategy for getting payment which has so far never failed. I don't know if it'd work in your situation but it might be worth a go.

After the deadline's passed and you've sent the usual standard reminders, if it becomes obvious they're bullsh***ing you or fobbing you off, send them a very polite e-mail or letter threatening that you will approach their client directly (ie. the "end user" that you did the work for, via him) explaining that you have not been paid for the work you did, and the work remains your intellectual/physical property and must not be used in any way until you have been paid, and that payment should be made directly to you.

The threat of the embarrassment this would cause them is usually far more effective than the threat of solicitor/court action.