take it down?
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- SLAZ
have a client who has not paid for their site. 60 days past due. should we take the site down? i have done this in the past with mixed results, sometimes they pay right away, or they flip out and never pay. can I get into any legal trouble for taking it down for non-payment?
how many days would you wait?
- megE0
I would give them a warning first - saying will bring in attorneys and/or take down site
then see if they pay
- monospaced0
I think you should tell them that you're taking it down before surprising them. Let them know that it will be up as soon as payment is promised/received. Be somewhat civil. 2 months is a long time, so I don't think you should wait any longer myself.
- billl0
i'm lucky if i get paid within 60
- bulletfactory0
Have you contacted them the invoice and late-fee applied? A warning would be more professional before any action - make sure you let them know that non-payment within X number of days may result in possible site down-time.
- SLAZ0
i have spoken to the guy multiple times, each time saying he is paying that week. that is why the drastic step of pulling the site down, especially at 60 days. still, a deal is a deal, he said we would be paid in Jan when it was launched. so technically, 90 days (+30 for the invoice date).
- take it down. if you warn him, he can pull the files and put it somewhere else.instrmntl
- zenmasterfoo0
Let them know ahead of time, but make sure you're notifying all the right people. Your contact may not be responsible enough to see your payment through most HR/accounting red tape. Thus the delay. If his or her managers know the job is going offline it might stir things up enough to get a positive response.
- TResudek0
Agree with Bill... some companies takes 60, 90, 120 days.... If you have a relationship with them then I wouldn't do anything drastic. If they are virtual strangers and you feel like you are at risk of being blown off then you may want to try a smaller gesture. Break a couple of things on the site that they will notice. Then, they will ask you to fix them and you will have a good position for getting you money.
I'm very thankful I've never been put in this position... that is really rough.
- It takes them that long because they dont want to pay.Hurley
- SLAZ0
just got this response from the client...
"I will try to handle this today. Just returned from vaca."he has 7 days....
- I waited 7 months for one client to pay.zenmasterfoo
- seems to have money for vacations; but not for an obligation to youplash
- plash0
Give him a blackout date. say Friday at 10am. tell him if payment is not made you will presume he will not pay and court actions will be taken. keep it emotion free and precise with future actions. remind the terms of the contract and call your lawyer.
- court action? don't you think that simply taking away the site is enough?monospaced
- sometimes you have to be prepared for your bluff to be called. take the high road. lawyers are always a last resort.zenmasterfoo
- no, b/c the work was done and if a contract was signed. then the guy should get paidplash
- courts should never be a bluff..plash
- monospaced0
get it in writing
- tommyo0
screw his wife
- SLAZ0
i know it is a touchy area... take down the site, directly affects their business... take them to court for the open balance, costs me money and still no guarantee of payment.
but legally, can we get in trouble of taking down the site for non-payment? curious... havent found anything online saying either way
- what does the contract state?plash
- yeah, you do have a contract with this kind of shit included, right?monospaced
- monospaced0
I don't think taking it down is illegal. Not paying for goods/services delivered is often called theft, though.
- tommyo0
screwing the guys wife is definitely legal.
- monospaced0
The guy did say he's gonna try to handle it today. Take it down at 5pm (his time) unless he says the check is in the mail.
- MSL0
Send a letter recorded delivery (or however you do that if your in the US - FEDEX?) stating that you are giving them a final 14 days (or however long) to commit the final payment into your bank account otherwise you will take the site down.
The key here is to have recorded proof you are giving your client an extension (this shows good will to resolving the problem of non-payment) and to be professional about the situation.
Don't go watermarking anything, don't go abusing the client, stay calm, issue another 14 days via a formal letter then remove it if they refuse to pay. Simple.
- SLAZ0
i agree on the formal note... my concern with that is, because we do not manage the hosting, so technically they can change their passwords at any point, and we would not be able to take the site down then.
- monospaced0
So, what'cha gonna do?
- SLAZ0
i replied to his email asking for confirmation of payment by Friday or we would need to take the next steps of reconciling the situation. i did not mention taking the site down, but that is what I will do. and then i will wait for them respond or send into collection. i have saved all of the previous emails with them stating payment was being sent right away.