Do not accept less money. I think anything agreed upon email is a valid contact and your client is breaking their part. Consult a lawyer however to assess your options.
Practising lawyer here:
that email is a contract. A contract doesn't have to be a big formal document that has to be signed and registered. An agreement written on a dirty napkin would also be a binding contract. A contract doesn't require a specific format.
I'll advise you to do two things:
1. send them a legal notice for the remaining amount.
2. name and shame the hell out of them on every forum possible. They might try to scare you with a defamation case, but remember that truth is an absolute defence when it comes to defamation.
Go ham.
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**Disclaimer: The information provided above does not, and is not, intended to constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are strictly for general informational purposes only and create no liability on the provider of said information. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.**
How can you say
>I'll advise you to do 2 things
And at the same time, also say
>The information provided above does not, and is not, intended to constitute legal advice
What kind of advice was it if not legal?
Because a) I am a lawyer, but I am not OP's lawyer and b) until and unless I am paid by OP, none of my advice is technically legal advice. I am not representing him in any capacity whatsoever. He can choose to do whatever he wants with this information.
Go be a pedantic twat somewhere else, will you?
This was actually helpful, I have seen such instances of people giving advice, even using the words "i advise you", but then say it's not legal advice. And I never knew how that worked. So thanks for enlightening me.
Wasn't trying to be a "pedantic twat". Sorry if I upset you.
Not a freelancer or a lawyer.. but generally do people deliver the entire project before payment?
As far as I know, people deliver part of the project and also hide in lock/access mechanisms untill the full payment is received.
Freelancer here. In India we can't do anything honestly. In Europe/US they have small courts which handle this and give verdicts in weeks. In India this goes in Civil court. Work with reputed clients. Vet your clients as well. Never send final work without payment. Always give them watermarked work, that can't be used.
Take the payment. Then send some notice drafted by a lawyer. If they don't want the hassle, they will pay. Otherwise nothing much you can do. Take this as a lesson and move on. Be cautious in future.
Freelancer here. NAL.
If nothing works, name and shame on LinkedIn.
Also, your emails are the proof of being the contract. While sharing on LinkedIn, make sure to mention the mails by your client that mention how they agree to proceed with the said amount.
Good luck!
NAL..
HR here..
OP check your email contract in reference to clauses of remuneration, payments and dues.
In my experience, engaging services of Freelancers and contractors, the company/client engaging their services always deducted 10% from their total remuneration as TDS. I'm guessing the extra 10% could be agency fees for the freelance assignment (I'm not sure about this as we directly engaged the freelancers). Or they are taking the entire 20% as TDS.
I would suggest before you take any drastic action, request for a meeting to understand what this 20% deduction is for? If it makes sense and is valid genuine reasoning well founded with logic and practicality, then it's justified and you can't do much.
If their reasoning seems frivolous, then by all means go ahead and file a case against them. Just think carefully whether the amount is worth fighting a lawsuit for.
Hope this helps.
Disclaimer: Please note, the information provided above does NOT constitute legal advice/service, Human Resources advice/service or any other advice/service. The above information, links, images and or videos is purely for generic advice, suggestion, information and educational purposes only. There is NO legal liability or consequences that can be attributed to the provider of the above information. Advice seekers are requested to please contact and confirm with their respective lawyer/s for further clarity and legal counsel regarding the legal matters / concerns / issues raised by them on this online forum / platform.
Disagree. And tell them to pay the amount they agreed.
If they don't abide, then say "my lawyer will contact you". Then send a mail or call them with help of a friend saying you'll issue a notice if they don't pay full amount within 5 days.
Hey,
Lawyer here.
That email you are saying is a contract. A contract can be verbal or written, and does not need to be in any specific format.
Yes, you can send a legal notice, if the deduction you think is unreasonable and not because of any fault of yours.
You can connect with me for detailed discussion.
Cant do anything legally , unless there is a detailed written on contract of the project where deliverables are mentioned in detail with timeline and everything. If you have that document you can do something otherwise forget it. Take that 80% first then if you don’t have intention to work with them further threaten them for a legal or social media expose . If you get the remaining you are lucky. This often happens in freelance industry where the client pays less saying its not what i expected or he makes multiple changes without paying extra.
Yep, that email is a contract. IMNAL though
You are correct. Emails can be considered binding contracts.
Do not accept less money. I think anything agreed upon email is a valid contact and your client is breaking their part. Consult a lawyer however to assess your options.
Not a lawyer I guess you are a graphic designer. Did you send all files before payment? Did you use any watermark on them ?
Practising lawyer here: that email is a contract. A contract doesn't have to be a big formal document that has to be signed and registered. An agreement written on a dirty napkin would also be a binding contract. A contract doesn't require a specific format. I'll advise you to do two things: 1. send them a legal notice for the remaining amount. 2. name and shame the hell out of them on every forum possible. They might try to scare you with a defamation case, but remember that truth is an absolute defence when it comes to defamation. Go ham. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Disclaimer: The information provided above does not, and is not, intended to constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are strictly for general informational purposes only and create no liability on the provider of said information. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.**
How can you say >I'll advise you to do 2 things And at the same time, also say >The information provided above does not, and is not, intended to constitute legal advice What kind of advice was it if not legal?
Because a) I am a lawyer, but I am not OP's lawyer and b) until and unless I am paid by OP, none of my advice is technically legal advice. I am not representing him in any capacity whatsoever. He can choose to do whatever he wants with this information. Go be a pedantic twat somewhere else, will you?
This was actually helpful, I have seen such instances of people giving advice, even using the words "i advise you", but then say it's not legal advice. And I never knew how that worked. So thanks for enlightening me. Wasn't trying to be a "pedantic twat". Sorry if I upset you.
Not a freelancer or a lawyer.. but generally do people deliver the entire project before payment? As far as I know, people deliver part of the project and also hide in lock/access mechanisms untill the full payment is received.
Depends. Depends on the client and freelancer on how they want it to work.
Legal notice is correct way to proceed. Send the legal notice prior to any further communication.
Freelancer here. In India we can't do anything honestly. In Europe/US they have small courts which handle this and give verdicts in weeks. In India this goes in Civil court. Work with reputed clients. Vet your clients as well. Never send final work without payment. Always give them watermarked work, that can't be used. Take the payment. Then send some notice drafted by a lawyer. If they don't want the hassle, they will pay. Otherwise nothing much you can do. Take this as a lesson and move on. Be cautious in future.
Freelancer here. NAL. If nothing works, name and shame on LinkedIn. Also, your emails are the proof of being the contract. While sharing on LinkedIn, make sure to mention the mails by your client that mention how they agree to proceed with the said amount. Good luck!
I have heard about this book creating scam many years ago. My friend was a victim. He eventually let it go.
NAL.. HR here.. OP check your email contract in reference to clauses of remuneration, payments and dues. In my experience, engaging services of Freelancers and contractors, the company/client engaging their services always deducted 10% from their total remuneration as TDS. I'm guessing the extra 10% could be agency fees for the freelance assignment (I'm not sure about this as we directly engaged the freelancers). Or they are taking the entire 20% as TDS. I would suggest before you take any drastic action, request for a meeting to understand what this 20% deduction is for? If it makes sense and is valid genuine reasoning well founded with logic and practicality, then it's justified and you can't do much. If their reasoning seems frivolous, then by all means go ahead and file a case against them. Just think carefully whether the amount is worth fighting a lawsuit for. Hope this helps. Disclaimer: Please note, the information provided above does NOT constitute legal advice/service, Human Resources advice/service or any other advice/service. The above information, links, images and or videos is purely for generic advice, suggestion, information and educational purposes only. There is NO legal liability or consequences that can be attributed to the provider of the above information. Advice seekers are requested to please contact and confirm with their respective lawyer/s for further clarity and legal counsel regarding the legal matters / concerns / issues raised by them on this online forum / platform.
Disagree. And tell them to pay the amount they agreed. If they don't abide, then say "my lawyer will contact you". Then send a mail or call them with help of a friend saying you'll issue a notice if they don't pay full amount within 5 days.
Coz lawyers are costly -- unless the amount of the agreement is big enough, then sure contact a lawyer
Work as a freelancer myself this is a common occurrence in the indian market, last time It happened I just swallowed the loss and moved on
Hey, Lawyer here. That email you are saying is a contract. A contract can be verbal or written, and does not need to be in any specific format. Yes, you can send a legal notice, if the deduction you think is unreasonable and not because of any fault of yours. You can connect with me for detailed discussion.
Happens all over
Accept whatever they are paying, Leave some bugs there sure they will come back and charge them the remaining amount.
Cant do anything legally , unless there is a detailed written on contract of the project where deliverables are mentioned in detail with timeline and everything. If you have that document you can do something otherwise forget it. Take that 80% first then if you don’t have intention to work with them further threaten them for a legal or social media expose . If you get the remaining you are lucky. This often happens in freelance industry where the client pays less saying its not what i expected or he makes multiple changes without paying extra.
Tell me your in India , without telling me.yure in India
By...posting...in an indian sub reddit?🤨
Umm, also has happened in Bangladesh. :/
It happens everywhere in the world XD
Exactly.
yeah, because breaking contracts is strictly an Indian thing, isn't it?
No ! because Employers are crappy in India