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Bad Client Ugly Solution
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If you want to be a stinker and put a temp halt to the heat of the situation to allow other party to cool off whereas you could benefit from other side making better choices…Box up the materials, put in a reasonable storage and perform a “mechanic’s lien” on ALL materials, (Cost should be no more then an hour of legal time, or you can do yourself) this is just like taking your $45,000 truck in to get a $150 brake job… but not paying, that shop can detain your vehicle for payment. This is perfectly legal. Once the other side realizes the dynamics of a legal fight on this fundamental stance usual come to their senses…
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Exactly Matt. And all this stuff about giving them back their camera original or what have you, and just hanging onto the work product you created is ridiculous. Just put it all in storage. If they’re gonna dick with you about money you’ve earned legitimately, show ’em you too can play the game.
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It’s pretty simple, actually…
His stuff belongs to him.
Work you did belongs to you unless he pays you for it.
From now on, with all untested clients, 50% of projected costs up front.
As far as the law is concerned, your client asked you to do work and you did it (that’s a verbal contract). Most states in the nation would require your client to pay, regardless of whether or not he likes the results…however, if there’s a dispute, most courts expect the client to give you an opportunity to “remedy” the problem.(s). If you can’t remedy the issues, that’s another story.
You are completely within your rights to do what you want to with the work you performed…delete it, archive it, whatever. You need to weigh the karma hit on your own ;).
What we generally do in these situations is see if it’s possible to address the client’s concerns. If that isn’t practical, I like to ask the client…”what would you do if you were me?”. More often than not, that starts a meaningful dialogue.
Hope this helps!
Ian
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[ian karr] “It’s pretty simple, actually… His stuff belongs to him.”
No, not if you’re imposing a lien on it, which you are entitled to do for non-payment. At least thet’s the way it works in California thankfully.
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