Customer not paying - can I do this?

[john_p]

I did some contract work for a company. Original contract stated (essentially) intellectual property remained property of myself, until paid in full.

The company have paid 70% of the first invoice, and nothing of two further invoices I submitted for additional works they requested. Chasing payment has of course got me nowhere

Am I within my rights to remove access to the software I have created? Or even just 30% of it?

[tigger1]

If you'r esure the contract says so, then I would say that sounds reasonable. They've asked for a product, you've delivered, they've not paid. Give them notice that you want your £xxxx within 14 days or they lose the product.

Make sure you know that they're satisfied with it, or at least that it does what it says on the tin.

[john_p]

Should £xxx be all outstanding invoices, or just the initial one though?

They've had multiple chances to give me a snagging list but each time come back with more things. They've been quiet for ages, so I assume they're happy with it.. ho hum

[jamesuk28]

If you are satisfied with your contract then restrict access. To be fair I would like one of the other replies said give them notice of your intended actions. That way if they do get arsey you can show the court you gave due notice of action.

If you still have a problem getting payment have a look at www.debtrecovery.tv for some remedies.

[justinp1]

jamesuk28 said:

If you are satisfied with your contract then restrict access. To be fair I would like one of the other replies said give them notice of your intended actions. That way if they do get arsey you can show the court you gave due notice of action.

If you still have a problem getting payment have a look at www.debtrecovery.tv for some remedies.

Agreed, the threat of the legal route would usually do the trick.

I often go down the line of;

Dear X

Attached is an invoice for the payment oustanding for the work completed. It has been some months now since the work was finished and I am concerned that the payment is still outstanding. Whilst I still wish to continue an amiable working relationship I would appreciate that I could be paid in full for my work as soon as possible. I hope payment can be made within the next seven days, or I will have no choice but to look to recover the debt in a more formal way.


Its difficult though, and is often a fine line between being lenient, and being stepped on and asserting your rights and creating a problem which would mean that you would not be offered work in future.

[tigger1]

The other thing is, how much do they owe you - and what might it cost you in lost future work if they choose not to engage you in the future as a result of any legal action?

[AlexHancock]

A quiet customer is actually usually an unhappy one...

[jamesuk28]

tigger1 said:

The other thing is, how much do they owe you - and what might it cost you in lost future work if they choose not to engage you in the future as a result of any legal action?

If he does not get paid, it does not matter how much future work may or may not be worth. 100% of f*ck all is still f*ck all

[Paul.B]

jamesuk28 said:

tigger1 said:

The other thing is, how much do they owe you - and what might it cost you in lost future work if they choose not to engage you in the future as a result of any legal action?

If he does not get paid, it does not matter how much future work may or may not be worth. 100% of f*ck all is still f*ck all

Fundemental rule of business. I could work for every company in the land if they all knew I never wanted paying. It has to be a two-way street.

Paul.B

[Mattt]

What have they said when you requested payment?

[john_p]

They've said certain issues still need resolving, but haven't detailed these at all. We already had one list of "issues" which were resolved promptly. As far as I'm concerned it meets the spec. One particular "enthusiastic" director suggested they would sue me for loss of business if I didn't fix the system (or suspended it, as I am able to)

Plus they owe a few months of support fees (dated from when the project was initially delivered).

All a bit of a mess, and I don't care about annoying them now - I've started work elsewhere anyway..

[Mattt]

You seem to have a strong case, have you put this all together in a strongly but politely worded letter?

[john_p]

Yes this is the plan for tomorrow. I'll definitely press for payment of support fees, and then consider looking at the snagging list. If not, I'll just switch it off

[justinp1]

john_p said:

Yes this is the plan for tomorrow. I'll definitely press for payment of support fees, and then consider looking at the snagging list. If not, I'll just switch it off

Switching it off may indeed leave you in breach of contract which will no doubt cause more problems in the future.

I would seriously recommend putting forward a demand for payment within the next seven days. I would also mention as you say the last snagging list was resolved quickly, you do not think there are any further snags, but if there are that you would like to be informed of them within the next seven days or you will assume your work finished.

Once you have got that far you can then progress the debt recovery stage.

[jamesuk28]

All they need is a good kick up the a.rse. We have collected for many very similair situations. They are messing you about because they can, its just corporate bullying.If you make the nice approach and it fails again contact me.