Bewdy

I currently have an issue with a non-paying client, who I believe after doing some background checks has County Court Judgments made against him. So understandably I am worried about not getting paid. I've been through the usual process of un-returned phone calls and emails and now I have taken a new tact.

My images are currently being used by his 3rd party estate agent and so I have approached them and told them that as I hold copyright over the images that they are no longer allowed to use them or distribute them without my written authorization, which I will not give them until I get paid, as they have never officially had permission to use them from me. Has anyone on this board used this method to try and force a client to pay, essentially restricting the copyright of the images until they cough up the cash? I'd be interested to hear your experiences if you have.

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Matt Sugden
Business http://www.virtual-living.co.uk
Pleasure http://www.icompositions.com/artists/OnIt

Maxer

I've never had to go that far but it might put some pressure on your client to pay up. Did you have a contract with him, if you did then you might be able to take him to small claims court.

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“There is no spoon”
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Sindala

You could also see if you can bend his ego into paying.

I had a simmilar client a while back. wrote e-mails send reminders and called every week. After a while I wrote a letter stating that i understand that he can not pay me so i offered to make a 10 payments contract to make it easier for him. That insulted him so much that he phoned me to tell me our bill was only very small and that we are a small compagny and he was an important developer bla bla bla. Got payed that same day. Ha

ihabkal

I have a funnier one.
A client didn't pay in six months, one of his colleagues gave me his home phone number, I called his wife and told on him, got my check within a week.

Tell his wife or mom, it never fails.

Mike.

once i had an architect who called me for some pics. i made them and he won a gigantic competition here in Paris.
he neverpaid me.
i called him again and again and even moved to his agency, he was like a little baby crying "i have no money" (obviously big lies). i decided to forget about this as i had many projects and no real money emergency.
two years passed i meet him in the street and we talk as if nothing happened (even if i was only thinking to my money). then he asks me for some pics (badass audacious guy). i instantly say yes !.BUT I ASK HIM TO PAY ME BEFORE I MAKE THE PICS. he pays.
i never worked on the pics. he missed the competition appliance cause he had no pics to show. i took the money and ran to my bank. SHAME ON ME.

you should forget about your money. just turn the page and never work again with them.

own1221

Its not Jean Nouvel is it

Ky Lane

I send my lads 'round to pick up my cheque if someones being unhelpful. Its surprising how quickly they hand over the cheque when a half dozen guys in biker leathers sit in their foyer waiting to pick it up.

Dibbers

Write him a letter via post telling him he is not allowed to use your images until paid (tell him why) and say he has 7 days to pay in full before you put the matter in the hands of your solicitor. This often works, but may have to go to the next stage which is paying a solicitor to write to him saying ' i've been appointed by my client Mr Matthew Sugden......blah blah...... you have 7 days to pay before we take action....you'll be liable to pay the amount owed plus interest, plus professional fees' etc. This usually does it!

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Bewdy

Ha ha!! awesome idea about calling his wife..... I know that if mine got wind of the fact that I wasn't paying someone I'd never hear the end of it. Unfortunately I don't have her number, if he has one.

Anyway, I have had to put a lot pressure on the estate agent, and they have very reluctantly removed the images from the sales literature, so I may have burnt some bridges there, and I've also taken the payment issue to the small claims court, so one way or another I should get it eventually, but it is a major pain in the arse.

It's highly irritating that some people are so dishonest, and more irritating that I put in maximum effort with new clients to try and get repeat work, obviously no chance of that happening now that I'm trying to take him to the cleaners!

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Matt Sugden
Business http://www.virtual-living.co.uk
Pleasure http://www.icompositions.com/artists/OnIt

Ky Lane

Welcome to business man. Next time, get 50% up front, 50% on completion of the brief - and stipulate that you own copyright to all images until the invoice is paid in full.