I ve been working as an online freelancer for quite some time, and I ve been working for a certain client who has always been quite late on payments. We ve gotten along pretty well over the past months, but now she owes me $45 for a couple of articles I wrote. I ve been sending her messages, IMs, but all to no avail. She will not respond to questions I ve sent about when she will be sending payment. I am in the Philippines and she is in the US. Is there any legal action I can take despite the distance and the work situation I am in? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I m a writer and can appreciate your vexation. I m going to suggest you forget this client. She s used your service repeatedly so we know she likes your work. $45 is a very small amount of money in the US. If she won t pay you, either she s fallen on hard times (terribly hard, at that) or that in combination with the realization that she won t be consulting with you ever again.There is no way for you to take legal action as no legal authority would ever take your case, knowing there s no dollar-denominated compensation possible.My advice? Be as angry as you like! Know that I, for one, can appreciate the unfairness of it all. However, it would be a great idea if you were to cut your losses as we say and not let yourself be consumed by anger or hurt. And I hope you ll consider dropping her a line in which you acknowledge that she is probably under pressure financially. Tell her you await her payment for services rendered and look forward to doing more work for her in the future.Your way is to breed resentment and burn bridges. Mine is to preserve the good in your relationship as it may foster other opportunities. It is also important that you respect yourself...something that happens when we turn the other cheek and reach for tolerance and understanding. You don t walk in her shoes but it s quite possible you woulodn t want to, either.Len
Sorry I doubt if there is any recourse or legal way you can collect bec there was no written contract or agreement plus court costs would far exceed $45. Basically we all learn from our mistakes and good deeds of trusting others where your sad experience shows you can no longer trust your client so that if they contact you for additional work in the future, then you need to hold your ground and demand advance payment based on delinquency. Then again since you are in the Phillippines with little or no recurring clients, basically clients offering ca$h puts you at a disadvantage bec Cas$h is King and Ca$h has leverage.Hopefully I did not confuse you and Bless of Luck!
Stanch your bleeding, and write her a im explaining that her slowness has caused you to change your business practices, and that you ll no longer be doing work for her. Then go after some other stuff!
