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Non-paying European agency
Thread poster: James Greenfield
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 07:54
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Don't forget you have rights - you don't need to plead or threaten; just demand your rights Aug 16, 2016

Tom in London wrote:
The mere prospect of having to embark on a long, troublesome, time-consuming and costly process (plus interest and damages) has always been enough to persuade non-payers to "do the right thing". But you have to be merciless, tough, and really quite scary to convince them that you really do intend to get paid - it isn't the amount of money they owe you; it's their sneakiness and dishonesty that is making you very, very angry and determined to push them right to the end, no matter what it takes.

What we have to remember is that the right to be paid for your labour is absolutely fundamental. It goes right back to the dawn of civilisation when if you did any work for someone else in the tribe you were paid in some fashion - some honey, some fat, a tool ... As long as you got what was fair, that was fine. In modern times, that means that if you've agreed to peanuts, that's all you can expect; but you're still entitled to those few peanuts. The courts in every jurisdiction I know anything about respect that ancient right. Unless your client has VERY good grounds for refusing to pay, then something will be due. Some negotiation may be expected if there have been quality issues but the court will rarely instruct zero payment.

In my case in France the court ruled that the client had to pay my invoice with interest PLUS all legal costs for both parties - effectively double the invoice amount . And I had even signed a contract (without reading it ) that seemed on paper to give them a perfect "right" not to pay in the circumstances (a student signing up for an English course and dropping out part way through, when I was only to be paid at the end). It was a clause that the court ruled to be abusive.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Ha ha Aug 17, 2016

Sheila Wilson wrote:

..... And I had even signed a contract (without reading it )


Ha ha I love that emoji


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Time is running out Aug 19, 2016

James Greenfield wrote:

........They are back on Thursday.......If I am not paid in the next 10 days then I will use a debt collection agency.


4 days left, of which 2 are a weekend.....


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 09:54
German to English
+ ...
Maybe you should try this? Aug 22, 2016

An East European agency has not reacted to my reminders and played dead for a month. I found the e-mail of their founder and owner and yesterday sent a polite description of the problem. I received my money today at 10:00 am . Moreover, I had a similar experience with a Los Angeles-based agency. The PM, who receives the invoices, was unhappy about my explanation that she is not my boss and not reacted to reminders. I get my money the next day after I asked their vendor manager to ... See more
An East European agency has not reacted to my reminders and played dead for a month. I found the e-mail of their founder and owner and yesterday sent a polite description of the problem. I received my money today at 10:00 am . Moreover, I had a similar experience with a Los Angeles-based agency. The PM, who receives the invoices, was unhappy about my explanation that she is not my boss and not reacted to reminders. I get my money the next day after I asked their vendor manager to give me the e-mail of their owner and even did not contact the boss only the accountant. Of course, it's just my 2 cents but it really worked.

[Edited at 2016-08-22 09:56 GMT]
Collapse


 
James Peel
James Peel  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2013)
Spanish to English
+ ...
European Payment Order Aug 25, 2016

I am having a similar struggle with a non-payer, and was very grateful to see this string in the forum. The European Payment Order looks like the perfect solution, as it also means that the defendant (the agency which is covering its ears and eyes in the hope that I won't be able to see them and will go away) will have to pay any accruing court fees. However, I do have one question for anyone who has used this route. I have completed the application form as the first step, but I can't find anywh... See more
I am having a similar struggle with a non-payer, and was very grateful to see this string in the forum. The European Payment Order looks like the perfect solution, as it also means that the defendant (the agency which is covering its ears and eyes in the hope that I won't be able to see them and will go away) will have to pay any accruing court fees. However, I do have one question for anyone who has used this route. I have completed the application form as the first step, but I can't find anywhere on the website which tells me where to submit this. Is it directly to the local court in France I have identified as the one to settle the dispute, or should it be submitted centrally somewhere? If anyone is able to give me a steer here, it would be much appreciated!Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Are you still there, James? Aug 26, 2016

Did you get paid?

 
James Peel
James Peel  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2013)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I'm still here Tom Aug 26, 2016

No, no payment yet. Or even acknowledgement of my communications. I have posted the form to the court in France - hope that is the right thing to do with it! If not, and someone knows better, please let me know - I can easily print off another copy of it and send that to the right place!

Sorry - just realised you meant the other James... Did you get paid James?

[Edited at 2016-08-26 18:20 GMT]


 
James Greenfield
James Greenfield  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:54
Member (2013)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Update Feb 7, 2017

Sorry for the really late update. I was paid for an earlier invoice. They now owe me around £650 for another invoice, I should never have agreed to do more work for them, but it was a lean period and as they had paid the other invoice. I'm going to email them saying that unless they pay me within the next 7 days I will use a payment order.

 
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei  Identity Verified
Ghana
Local time: 07:54
Japanese to English
Same verse, different day Feb 8, 2017

James Greenfield wrote:

I should never have agreed to do more work for them, but it was a lean period and as they had paid the other invoice.

Yuuup, been there. Lean period, against better judgment, they had paid in the past, same old story. The good news is you know they're late payers, not non-payers. The bad news is you've taught them that you're happy to put up with that kind of treatment. Once you've got your money, you know what to do with their emails from now on.


 
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