Reply to: Client threatening legal action

[unixman]

You don't mention the amounts involved but I would consult a solicitor. Also contact the client by letter not just email. Carefully record the clients actions in a time line. Your solicitor might write a letter demanding payment, the client will probably cave.

Also, my periodic reminder to tick that box on your house insurance that says "legal cover".

[LondonManc]

Don't rely on advice from an Internet forum.

You should talk to a legal adviser - this is where IPSE come in useful with their legal helpline

I think you'll find we've provided excellent value for money - worth every penny.

[silverlight1]

Don't rely on advice from an Internet forum.

You should talk to a legal adviser - this is where IPSE come in useful with their legal helpline

[LondonManc]

Has he paid half of you final invoice, which he is now disputing, some months later? If so, stand your ground, since his email, and subsequent payment towards that invoice indicate the validation of the contract.

IANAL.

This - pretty much validates your claim otherwise he'd have paid you nothing

[northernladuk]

If he's that tight for money the last thing he wants is the cost of a court case so I'd say he's just stalling. It's who blinks first so if I were you I'd keep steaming in to him and ignore his flapping around.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If you've got emails from the client admitting they owe you the money and agreeing to pay you the money (albeit half now half later) and they've never previously disputed the bill then to me it looks like they've admitted liability to pay the bill. IANAL but IMO they've got no leg to stand on and you should call their bluff (and leave it to the collection agency to deal with).

[SueEllen]

Get the debt collector to do their job and collect the debt.

The client is talking tulip.

Forgot to say if you are unhappy with the work you dispute it long before threatening court action e.g. after first invoice is raised, so no judge will take the client's claims seriously.

[Old Greg]

Would never have agreed to half payment; full payment or court action.

OP, you might want to watch this.

qh

Good video, thanks. This one is NSFW but also relevant.

[anksta]

Would never have agreed to half payment; full payment or court action.

OP, you might want to watch this.

qh

Yeah fair enough but that's 20/20 hindsight, I should have just recorded the calls etc. too but oh well, lesson learned.

Am watching that video now, thanks.

[quackhandle]

Would never have agreed to half payment; full payment or court action.

OP, you might want to watch this.

qh

[NotAllThere]

If you're being sued, one way to resist is to counter sue in the hope of muddying the waters. This sounds to me what he is trying.

[anksta]

I doubt that you will get definitive answer from anyone here without full details of contract and work done. Even then I wouldn't rely on "the Internet" for legal advice.

Not sure why you are dismayed at the debt collection agency not being able to give you advice on something other than debt collection.

That being said, seems like your Client is a taking his legal advice from "the Internet" seeing how (at least according to him) his financial trouble started after being sued by ex-employee. And now is chancing counter-suit claims to scare you away.

I can somehow understand how he might be able to dismiss the final payment, but he will be hard pressed to convince the court that he is due a repayment on work that has been completed, invoiced and paid by him in the first place, unless there are some clauses in the contract that entitle him to full refund.

Yeah I'm not so much dismayed at them but just frustrated at the certainty they profess when signing you up to the specifics.

I agree that he is just ramping up the threat to scare me away but then I don't know enough to know whether or not he has a case against me, I cannot see how he would given we fulfilled the contract, haven't damaged his site in anyway and actually improved his business.

The ex-employee that sued him had been there something like 7 years and was a director, then one day while we working for him he calls me urgently demanding to know whether or not I was accessing this report, when I told him I was he calmed down and said he was worried this guy was stealing his stuff, so hardly all that clean cut and then this debt collections place said they found a CCJ against him.

[sal]

I doubt that you will get definitive answer from anyone here without full details of contract and work done. Even then I wouldn't rely on "the Internet" for legal advice.

Not sure why you are dismayed at the debt collection agency not being able to give you advice on something other than debt collection.

That being said, seems like your Client is a taking his legal advice from "the Internet" seeing how (at least according to him) his financial trouble started after being sued by ex-employee. And now is chancing counter-suit claims to scare you away.

I can somehow understand how he might be able to dismiss the final payment, but he will be hard pressed to convince the court that he is due a repayment on work that has been completed, invoiced and paid by him in the first place, unless there are some clauses in the contract that entitle him to full refund.

[anksta]

Has he paid half of you final invoice, which he is now disputing, some months later? If so, stand your ground, since his email, and subsequent payment towards that invoice indicate the validation of the contract.

IANAL.

Yeah and he's paid us over 10x that amount before, I invoiced him 6 times I think. He underpaid one as my VAT registration was still being sorted, so technically owes me another 500 quid for that too but I let that slide as that wasn't his fault.

This is just the final 50% of the final invoice.

[anksta]

IANAL, but you have emails where he has agreed to pay the outstanding amount. Why didn't he raise the "issues" then etc.#

Sounds like they are trying it on.

He didn't agree to pay the outstanding amount in the email, I said "you agree to pay half now and half later" and he said "this has been done" I expect on purpose.

It definitely sounds to me like they're trying it on.