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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Business adwise - what to do when a customer goes into pieces...

Gunleik Groven

Gunleik Groven

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Joined
Dec 28, 2006
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Location
Norway
Website
quine.no
Did a gig a while a go.

The customer is high profile, seemed legit, and ordered this and that and his and her mom off the shelf. All in all it was 2 weeks of work at a goodwill rate, because the project was partly non-commercial. I basically should have my expenses covered. But my expenses were running rapidly... (2 people working for me on the project for a week + equipment...)

We did a contract. They are liquid and solvent.
Noone denies that.
There was a guy representing the organisation doing all the dealings with us.
The leader of the organisation at the the time signed the contract.

Gig happens, and eveyone is happy.

Then: Silence...
Then: More silence...
Then: I make a call:
"It's fine, your invoice is processed."

By my next call:
Shit hits the fan...

The leader has quit, the cashier does NOT deny that the work is done, but refuses to pay (me and others, btw...)

I make some calls, and they tell me: "Your money will come"... (bad feeling by now...)

Then it eveloves into lawyers for the then leader and the organisation itself pointing at eachother and noone wants to take responsibility.

So.
What's the clever thing to do?

Noone denies that we've delivered what we've delivered.
Noone denies ordering the job.
Noone wants to pay.

I have once been in a similar situation before. Last time it cost me my house, car and work. Luckily this is not a contract/gig of the same scale, but it hurts my business badly.

Any good advice on how to move foreward is apprechiated.
 
Start with a solicitors letter informing them that you intend to take legal action. (should cost less than 100 euros to get). Usually gets the result done (Usually they are counting on you not bothering to take this step)
 
This sucks, Gunleik!

Call a lawyer as soon as possible - and get him to write them a letter letting them know he has been assigned the case on behalf of you and that he will take legal action if payment hasn't been fulfilled within a certain time-frame.

I'm pretty sure that if a person has signed a contract on behalf of a company and he was employed at the time of signature then that company is obliged to honor the contract even if he has been laid off in the meantime. If the company has a problem with an employee's spending then they should take it up with him or her instead of letting you pay for their mistakes.

Maybe you should write them and let them know that you're getting a lawyer and that they will be charged with the lawyer bills and the time you use on this if they don't pay up. In the end the company is liable - not any employee in particular.

Also - where will they go and rent people or equipment if all of Norway know they screw their subcontractors?

I hope you get your money. If not - let everyone here know who it is and we'll all send them a nice present in the mail!
 
I don't know the local law, so it is always good to seek some legal advice. In Australia there is a government body, which gives some legal advice in a limited scope for free.

In general you would not waste your time on phone calls. Just write and serve a LOD. Give them 14 days to respond and make it clear that this demand would be tendered as evidence in courts to seek costs. It may pay for a junior lawyer to write you the LOD and send on your behalf. They can usually make it sound quite "convincing" and a simple LOD should not cost more than a couple of hundred dollars.

Vast majority of cases would be resolved after LOD is served.

If that fails, sue them all and see what comes out in the wash.

Good luck.
 
Yes Gunleik have a lawyer/ solicitor (kind of same thing) write a formal letter that if they don't pay you will take formal action, but first gather all information that actually states that you've done the job and they've agreed to it. Such as e-mails and/ or contracts etc.

Good luck I hope it solves. In these times it can be that they really really can't pay and that will be tough to do anything about.
 
go over and talk to them politely inform them that you have a contract, and payment terms and they have not fulfilled they part.

Tell them you would rather avoid lawyers and a public lawsuit, but if they do not take you seriously now, that is what it will come down to. emphasize public as the movie business is a small place in scandinavia.

Make them understand the situation from your side. But do not accept any thing less than the full amount. it is never your problem how they run their company.

good luck,

Sidney
 
Sidney said:
go over and talk to them politely inform them that you have a contract, and payment terms and they have not fulfilled they part.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Borrow the most obnoxious screaming children you can find, turn up in Reception and wait. Usually works quicker than any lawyer.

Stephen
 
Sorry to hear that Gunleik. I have not been in a similar situation that extreme yet. But we've had clients too that seemed not too keen on paying. So far we've managed by making phonecalls and in one event: paying them a personal visit. Not the kind with a baseball bat in the hand, just a normal visit. Maybe it is worth it (even though you are probably mad as hell), by simply getting around the table again without any lawyers. Just visit them. Stay cool. And make them feel ashamed of themselves. You seem like a good guy, so maybe by adding a personal touch to it, you will be able to get to a quick solution without legal action. Do think about which person you need to convince within the organization.

They hired you, you delivered, so they should pay you. If a proper visit doesn't do the trick, I'd get a lawyer involved. And they are bastards by the way. Karma will get them.
 
Luckily in Scandinavia this happens less often than in the UK. But it always sucks when it does happen.

First you should send them a payment reminder (Purring), and two weeks later a Inkassovarsel. You have to send those, even if the client has made it clear that they do not want to pay. Remember to include a Purregebyr and charge for interest. With smaller clients it also impresses when you write that them not paying will lead to extra legal and processing costs, and that it might have a negative impact on their credit rating. Set a due date, usually 2 weeks.

If they do not pay by then, you have 4 choices

a) Suck it up. Not really an option
b) Get an Inkassobyrå involved. Some take fees, some do it on a no cure no pay basis
c) Send a "BEGJÆRING OM UTLEGG/FORLIKSKLAGE" to the Namsfogdkontor of the area where you client has his business registered.
d) Get a lawyer involved.
 
Thanks a lot for the adwises.

Just so I don't create the wrong impressions about my clients, it's neither a TV station, nor a commercial...
 
The contract was with the organisation, not the individual? They don't have a leg to stand on if so. Make sure you add on Lawyer fees for sending letters too!
 
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