ok, so what should i do??

[iroc409]

i've got a guy that's not paying me right now for a bunch of work. i've been waiting for payment for over a month so far. he's told me since i finished the project he's sent me 1 regular mail check, 1 certified, 1 wire transfer, and one priority mail. i don't think he's on this board, but who knows. it's really pissing me off, because as it's not necessarily a ton of money, it's enough to pay most of the essentials for me for a month. i live fairly cheaply :). i'm no sure exactly what to do at this point. he claims he has a lot of work he needs me to do right now, and i've done work in the past - and gotten paid. i really hate doing some lame 'scammer' posts on the message boards, but i'm not sure what else to do. the guy runs a program with a few sites, isn't huge, but i know he was at florida's internext.

this sucks. he seemed like a good guy, and it seems like he's got money. any advice would be appreciated. or, if someone wants to make a deal to collect for me, i'm all ears :)

probably just have one last chat with him on icq, and if not that, i guess spread the word. ugh.

[iroc409]

sucks too, because i've done biz with a lot of people, not just people hiring me. and i've only run into 2 bad people, one of them is that tom davies guys or whatever. and that i got my cash back from. argh. why do people do this shit?

[Evil Chris]

iroc... Here's my advice. Take it any way you want.

Let it go without a big fuss. I mean what are we talking about here? A few hundred bucks? Let it slide but never forget. Remind your friends about the business practice of that person. It will go a longer way than dredging it out on the boards.

2 cents.

[iroc409]

chris,

thanks for the reply. i've always been pretty much against calling out anyone on the boards, i think it's bad business practice. that's probably the main reason i haven't done it yet. but i've been thinking about it a lot, and i think what you're saying probably is the best way to go. and, if i do post there's no way i'd get paid, and this way maybe if he does someday decide to pay me, i might get my cash. i highly doubt it, but hey, i can be optimistic, can't i? which is pretty unusual, because i'm usually very realistic :)


thanks for the advice tho, basically confirmed what i was thinking :)

[Ronaldo]

That's good advice from Chris...to a point.

I've only had the misfortune of dealing with a crooked business once-knock on wood.

It was over a gallery template that was never designed. I lost a whopping $50.00. Certainly no big deal, but I'll never do business with them again and when ever the opportunity arises to warn people about this person, I surely do.

I also agree with Chris, in that STARTING a thread isn't always the best idea. Sadly however, these boards are one of the few ways that this industry can police themselves and rid themselves of the bad businesses out there.

I'm not as forgiving as some so I think your guage should be how much can you afford to lose. At the very least, if you see OTHERS get flamed for complaining on the boards about this person, I DO suggest that you add your story to the mix. This will lend credibility to the other people that are also being ripped off and further warn others from doing business with this person.

Now, as I said, I'm not gonna go pissing over $50, but if I lost a month's worth of revenue? I would do a little research, do a search on *** (blocked out of respect for Xnations) and make a polite little post asking if anyone else has had a problem with this fellow. Then I'd send the link to the party who didn't pay me.

Then I'd take it to whatever level he deemed necessary.

A word of warning. Post count holds an artificial level of respect at the place I would post and I have been a member for a couple of years so that would negate a smaller post count. If you sign up today and your first post is calling someone out on the boards, then you probably won't have much success. THIS, I would have to advise against.

I do believe that Chris is right in that if it's a smaller amount, right it off as misfortune and keep your stories amongst friends. But I also believe that we can't let the crooked ones in this industry get away with screwing everyone over time and time again. Consider it a kangaroo court. Is $50 worth it to get into a flaming war? Not for me. Not by a long shot. We all have a magic number though.

There are alot of lurkers out there who will never post, but do a search and read up on someone before doing business with them. You may not get your money back, but at the very least, you've documented it to help protect others.

[iroc409]

some more good points.

lol... postcount. lamest concept ever. but, i do have him beat in that neighborhood :)



ugh, it's so pathetic that a program _owner_ would do this.

[Panky]

Personally, I agree with the Evil One. I would try and handle the situation the best I could off of the boards. It's more professional. If anyone would ask me about my experiences with this company or that person..., I would tell them what I personally experienced with this company or that person in question. Word of mouth goes a long way.

I wouldn't start a thread on a message board "outing someone". Personally, there is more professional ways of handling things. Too many times, a thread is started on a board complaining about someone or some company, but it's basically what "he said, she said" kind of thing. Sometimes, people don't always tell you the truth or the entire story. The lack of face to face contact makes it easy for people to be agressive and ballsy.

Participating in these types of threads is really a personal choice kind of thing. These threads tend to get pretty childish and ridiculous when it becomes nothing more than name calling. It's different if you decide to participate in these threads and only share in your personal experience. Like Ronaldo said, it does add credibility to those who initially complained.

People do have a right to know who is legit and who is a con artist. It's how the situation is handled that makes the difference between being professional and conducting yourself as a professional vs. being viewed as an unprofessional, immature person. It's all about reputation and how people perceive you and ultimately your business.

[wsjb78]

I agree on this with Chris, Ronaldo and Panky... that way you keep yourself also out of the line of fire for some later time...
Flaming and announcing that kind of thing is the last thing I would...

[iroc409]

yeah, imma hold off. like i said, that's pretty much how i feel, i guess it's just that it sucks, ya know? but i do prefer to stay out of pissing matches and the like.

anyways, he still claims he's going to pay me. who the fuck knows.