Hello everyone
My wife and I are Directors of a Limited company providing contracting and consultancy services in the field of Data and CRM. We have more than one Client.
A contract which began way back in 2004 was based around me working 3 days per week in a particular Client’s offices and a further 6 days per month from home. Invoiced monthly, the sum was therefore very consistent – a 4 or a 5 week month based on three days at the “office” rate plus six days at the “home” rate.
The contract was terminated by email last month and the former client has rejected our final invoice. We need to know whether this is legitimate. The story goes as follows:
The client’s MD emailed me on 6th November to give our Company one month’s notice of terminating the relationship, effective that day. The role centred upon management of key accounts and the email indicated that management of these accounts had been taken back under direct control of the Client. There was no verbal communication whatsoever, just the one termination email. That same day, several things happened:
1 our access to the client’s VPN was blocked
2 our client email account was blocked from receiving or sending email via the Client’s Exchange server, stopping us from contacting the key accounts we had been looking after
3 our access to client databases was blocked so I was unable to continue with the work I had been doing that morning, even if I had wanted to
4 the key clients I managed were informed that I had left the company with immediate effect and several contacted me to ask what was happening and wish me well
5 the Client’s own staff started to contact me to say goodbye and wish me well
6 the email instructed us to return the client’s laptop and office door keys, which we duly did
In view of the above, it was very clear that our services had been dispensed with immediately and that the one month notice period was to be spent away from the office. When the notice period expired, we raised an invoice based on the usual pattern of three days per week at the “office” rate and a further six days at the “home” rate.
The former Client has now rejected the invoice, stating that I did not report for work during the notice period, nor offer to work. This is absolutely correct, and the only contact during this time was to the Client’s wife when chasing her for payment of an overdue invoice. Incidentally, home is 200 miles from the office so "popping by" is not an option and the tone of the email led me to believe that I would have been escorted off the premises in any case.
I maintain that the actions taken by the Client to block access to email, the VPN and client systems; the fact that key clients and staff had been told of my departure, and the fact that I had been told to (and did) return the Client’s laptop and keys point firmly to the fact that our services were no longer required and this is merely an excuse to avoid paying the invoice.
Please excuse the essay (!) but I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this. If you are able to provide any guidance, we'd be hugely grateful.
Eric
My wife and I are Directors of a Limited company providing contracting and consultancy services in the field of Data and CRM. We have more than one Client.
A contract which began way back in 2004 was based around me working 3 days per week in a particular Client’s offices and a further 6 days per month from home. Invoiced monthly, the sum was therefore very consistent – a 4 or a 5 week month based on three days at the “office” rate plus six days at the “home” rate.
The contract was terminated by email last month and the former client has rejected our final invoice. We need to know whether this is legitimate. The story goes as follows:
The client’s MD emailed me on 6th November to give our Company one month’s notice of terminating the relationship, effective that day. The role centred upon management of key accounts and the email indicated that management of these accounts had been taken back under direct control of the Client. There was no verbal communication whatsoever, just the one termination email. That same day, several things happened:
1 our access to the client’s VPN was blocked
2 our client email account was blocked from receiving or sending email via the Client’s Exchange server, stopping us from contacting the key accounts we had been looking after
3 our access to client databases was blocked so I was unable to continue with the work I had been doing that morning, even if I had wanted to
4 the key clients I managed were informed that I had left the company with immediate effect and several contacted me to ask what was happening and wish me well
5 the Client’s own staff started to contact me to say goodbye and wish me well
6 the email instructed us to return the client’s laptop and office door keys, which we duly did
In view of the above, it was very clear that our services had been dispensed with immediately and that the one month notice period was to be spent away from the office. When the notice period expired, we raised an invoice based on the usual pattern of three days per week at the “office” rate and a further six days at the “home” rate.
The former Client has now rejected the invoice, stating that I did not report for work during the notice period, nor offer to work. This is absolutely correct, and the only contact during this time was to the Client’s wife when chasing her for payment of an overdue invoice. Incidentally, home is 200 miles from the office so "popping by" is not an option and the tone of the email led me to believe that I would have been escorted off the premises in any case.
I maintain that the actions taken by the Client to block access to email, the VPN and client systems; the fact that key clients and staff had been told of my departure, and the fact that I had been told to (and did) return the Client’s laptop and keys point firmly to the fact that our services were no longer required and this is merely an excuse to avoid paying the invoice.
Please excuse the essay (!) but I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this. If you are able to provide any guidance, we'd be hugely grateful.
Eric
but did make me smile
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