non-payment of freelancer - Page 3

**Baby Boy** · 09-28-06, 11:11 AM

Your right eldo, but you have to think "outside of the box." What I mean is this, you can't thoroughly expect somebody across the globe to get a paper notariized unless you take the trip to in person do it with them, then you can.

webeditor · 11-18-06, 03:13 AM

I think this only happens if you do not choose who you work for carefully. The only thing that can prevent this to happen is research about who you are working for, ask for comments from your co-workers and clear the terms with your employer.

NetBie · 11-18-06, 06:52 AM

I feel it is very difficult to do any contract for small jobs. They are good when you are entering into a big deal. But for small jobs it is practically not possible. I think you can check about the employer from different sources before going into the job.

mahway · 11-20-06, 09:35 PM

AHH ESCROW!!!! USE ESCROW PLEASE!!!

Heres how it works - employer pays system. system holds money. service professional provides employer with service, then system hands over the money.

In this case, everybody wins.

Contracts are often easily breachable. And if you dont have the resources to go after them, then that puts you in a ****ty position. Escrow is the only way to prevent this from happening.

NetBie · 11-21-06, 12:08 PM

Thanks for reminding us about a great service. I feel Escrow services are the future of E-Business. Already it works in the e-service sector and hopefully it will also get involved in the other e-business sectors.

kconnections · 11-26-06, 12:09 PM

As a freelancer I try to get some level of a deposit up front. This helps to show me that the person purchasing my service is legitimate. Usually I send some legal wording that I retain all rights to my work until such time as payment is received.

If someone does not pay immediately (within a day or two), I usually send them a friendly reminder. If they still do not pay I try to remind them of our agreement. Normally within this time I receive payment from my client.

kelkat · 11-27-06, 04:07 PM

I would have to say that it depends on the size of the job. If it were a big job taking lots of time, then a contract would be in order. If it's a small, easy job with a small paycheck then the honor system will be easiest.

I personally think the key is to research the folks who ask you to do work for them BEFORE the payment becomes an issue.

kconnections · 12-04-06, 05:52 PM

You all make good points about really doing some research to find out more about the person for whom you are going to work. This can greatly help to know if they are likely to be honest and to pay or not.

kelkat · 12-04-06, 07:13 PM

I'd also start out small with someone who you don't know. You don't want to spend weeks on a project and expect a large paycheck only to end up empty hands.

If you do several small projects and build that relationship, then asking for a contract or expecting on for a large project won't be that difficult.

trick-r-treat · 12-04-06, 11:53 PM

Sad to say, you will actually probably encouter that from time to time. I would say: do not accept big jobs from those companies. Try them out with the small stuff first and see if they have any issues when it comes time to pay you - then decide if you trust them or like them enough to move on to bigger and better things.