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Ask HN: Client won't pay, is he breaking the law in any way?

7 points by badclient ↗ HN
A client was supposed to pay me between $10-15K for work already done. According to the contract, I was to have been paid couple weeks ago.

However, he's sent two checks that have credited to my account and then returned. This is even worse as its overdrawn my account for the funds I used up before the check was returned.

Finally, he claimed to have sent a wire that should have showed up but still hasn't. He's given me tracking numbers that are not the fed wire number.

My patience is waning and he's put my life in a wreck.

Is he merely breaking the contract or does anyone know if he could be breaking the law by telling me of all his attempts to pay me and blaming it on banking errors? Do I need a lawyer or do I need the cops? Or both?

Thank you.

8 comments

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lylejohnson
If I were in your situation, I'd be speaking with my lawyer to get answers to those questions. Best of luck in getting paid!
hankejh
Unfortunately, the only recourse is to have an attorney send a letter declaring a plan to file a lawsuit if payment is not made by a given date, which will cost around $300/hr for a few hours. The follow-on lawsuit will cost at least $3K to get started, and more likely $7-10K to close. It's important to note that choosing the lawyer option can cause the client to dig their heels in (they know how much it will cost you to run a lawsuit and might just let you burn the cash in an attempt to call your bluff). Freelance workers often require a retainer or upfront payment to reduce their risk of payment defaults.
badclient
Thanks. This is why I have remained very civil so far. Another option is to directly call up the company I was doing the project for which had hired my client. They always liked me on a professional level though I never tried to cut out the party that hired me for obvious ethical reasons.

Someone told me he may be indulging in fire fraud of some kind so I am exploring that angle.

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MattBearman
I had a similar situation but for less cash, I did't even get a lawyer involved, just threatened them with small claims court in an email, and they paid up.

Hope you get it sorted, unfortunately there will always be people like this.

Also, absolutely charge them interest on the invoice, as well as any fines you incurred by going overdrawn.

Good luck.

Travis
Does your contract have a clause for non or late payment?

I would begin a paper trail of non-payment. Certified letter notifying that payment is late, and assess late payment fees if not paid by a certain date.

PonyGumbo
Local client? Show up at his office. It's much harder to blow off people in person. Remain civil and cool, but be clear that you're not going to write this off.