Cash the check or no?

August 21, 2005 7:47 AM

I'm a freelance web developer who was recently fired by a client, had the amount of my invoice debated, and decided, for a couple of reasons, to write it off as a loss and tell them not to pay me anything. Today I got a check in the mail; do I cash it?

Here's the background: the client was a person who has a line of products she makes herself, and wanted to set up an online store to sell them. The design part of that was already taken care of, and I was contracted solely to build the site. I surveyed the requirements and recommended an e-commerce solution, and she decided to go with it. As I was getting ready to put the site together, I was asked if I could set it up on a different platform instead, as she had found an all-in-one service she liked the look of, which would provide hosting, content-management with a cart, etc. I expressed hesitation, thinking it wasn't nearly as flexible as what I'd recommended, but in the end agreed to it, figuring I could work around any limitations in the system. That was my mistake.

Fast forward a little ways; I've mentioned while working on the site that there are a couple things that can't be done exactly as originally planned, but when she first sees the site she's extremely upset that it's not exactly what she'd expected (the particular hangup was a lack of one bit of functionality in the store system which, after consideration, I told her could probably be worked around given a few extra days). I was thanked for my time and told that someone else would be contracted to finish the project, and asked to submit an invoice for my time on the project.

About a week after invoicing, I received an email not from the client, but from someone identifying as her business partner. This person stated that, due to my "misrepresenting my abilities" and "providing bad advice", they would not pay the full amount of the invoice, and offered an amount equal to roughly two-thirds. I wrote back and pointed out that I had originally recommended a different system and had indicated that the particular problem they had with the final choice could probably be worked around. I also indicated that I would ask for no payment. There were really two reasons for this:

1. They weren't happy, and my background is in customer service. So I decided that the best way to make them happy again, or at least somewhat happier, was to relieve them of having to pay me for something they didn't feel was what they'd asked for.
2. With words like "misrepresentation" flying around, there's always a chance it'll end up in court. I took this job because it was a friend of a friend, and did it on a handshake rather than my usual contract which specifies how disputes like this will be handled. Dumb, I know, but I figured that if by some chance it did turn into legal action, my refusing payment would hopefully be evidence of good faith and an attempt to minimize any perceived losses/damages on their part caused by whatever they tried to accuse me of.

I did, however, ask that someone I had contracted to do some Flash for the site be paid in full for his work, as it was completed to spec. I also sent along copies of all the HTML templates and stylesheets I'd created and images I'd sliced up, along with a note explaining where I'd inserted templates into the store system and pointing out that the files I'd sent them could easily be used to implement the workaround I had suggested (which I'd described to the client before being terminated from the project). The "business partner" responded and said that this was more than acceptable, and that the Flash guy would be paid.

Today I got a letter, not from the business partner, but from the client, expressing that she did not feel I had misrepresented anything or acted in bad faith, and that while she appreciated my not asking for payment she felt I was entitled to some compensation. Enclosed was a check for roughly one-third of what the total invoice would have been.

So now I'm in a quandary. The letter is pretty unequivocal, stating that she doesn't feel I misrepresented anything or that I acted in bad faith, so I should be covered legally. Given that, should I cash the check? Or would it be best to speak with an attorney first?

posted by anonymous to law & government (17 comments total)

Cash it and send her a note thanking her for the payment, and that you hope she is a satisfied customer, given the price break. But never work for her again - I bet she'll be back.
posted by pomegranate at 8:05 AM on August 21, 2005

I say cash it and flee. Having worked as a freelance web worker before, they sound like the kind of client you want to get away from as quickly as possible.
posted by josh at 8:10 AM on August 21, 2005

Yes.
posted by Nelson at 8:12 AM on August 21, 2005

I'm just having trouble trying to imagine why you wouldn't cash the check. You say that you originally asked not to be paid for two reasons: to make the client happy, and to stay out of court. But now, both of these objections to being paid have been removed. First of all, the client clearly decided that she is happy to pay you the amount she sent, because she sent it completely voluntarily. Secondly, you state in your last paragraph that you feel you'd be covered legally due to the client's letter.

I think it sounds like you bent over backwards trying to do right by a difficult client. Cash the check and be happy. And next time, don't offer not to receive payment for work you've done. This is business - you performed the assignment in good faith with no misrepresentation, and you deserve to get paid for it.
posted by hazyjane at 8:13 AM on August 21, 2005

It's all about who you were initially contracted with at the end of the day. In any case, you have the documentation and know what the situation is. I'd cash the check.
posted by wackybrit at 8:14 AM on August 21, 2005

As long as the Flash guy was indeed paid - it's unclear whether or not the business partner followed through on this - I would follow pomegranate's advice. The one-third payment is a lot more than most people who work without a contract get. You might be able to get more by filing suit, but I don't know if the hassle and unpleasantness is worth it in this case. It depends on how much money it is, if you feel you were intentionally ripped off, all sorts of stuff.

Note to all coders, artists, designers, freelancers, etc.: assume every person you do work for will eventually try to fuck you over. Always always always use a contract.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:18 AM on August 21, 2005

As a freelancer myself, I say cut your losses and run, unless the full amount you are owed would be significantly more than you would spend on a lawyer fighting for it in court.

Since I really doubt that, I think you should cash the check and save the letter for just in case. It sounds to me like there was some miscommunication between the client and her "business partner". Like you said, that letter should get you out of any legal troubles, so as far as I'm concerned that money is all yours.
posted by geeky at 8:29 AM on August 21, 2005

I'm confused about this 'business partner' as a party or agent in this verbal contract, so this response covers you and your ex-client only. The initial note from your client asserted that you misrepresented your abilities. What might she use to prove it? It would be up to her to do so.

She later asserted that you did not misrepresent your abilities. It sounds like you don't have written requirements or specs to back up mutual understandings, but you have provided all work products (to the client I presume). That covers you more than the client's note that says, 'I didn't mean what I said'.

Your offer to not accept payment leads me to believe either the amount was not substantial to you, or you might have promised something that was not delivered for reasons that are debatable. If it's some other principled reason, you simply don't value your service highly enough.

You say you were asked about the platform change and I presume that means you could have said, 'this puts you at risk'. You might not have had sufficient information to judge, and could have taken the opportunity to research it and write up the impact, then have the client decide (read: cover your ass next time requirements or assumptions creep or leap).

Take a short time to think through the reasons that led you to agree to the change that compromised the work product. If you are comfortable that any other reasonable, experienced contractor would have agreed to this change that ultimately led to the termination of the agreement, cash it. You're not running a charity.
posted by nj_subgenius at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2005

Since you agreed to 2/3 payment, it's possible the original client is paying you what she thinks is the difference with the 1/3 check, and expecting the "business partner" to pay your 2/3 invoice. I would (nicely) ask her if you can expect the remaining 1/3 to satisfy your 2/3 invoice, or whether this is the only payment they intend to make.

And I'd say fuck 'em. Cash the check, reinvoice the remaining 1/3 of your already discounted price as past due, and sue them if they don't pay it promptly. If you take aggressive action first, you stake a claim as the wronged party (though IANAL). It would have to be a significant amount, I'd suspect, for them to countersue you (and they don't sound like they have their business heads together -- it sounds like she got some friend to play the heavy because she was scared to, and feels bad about it) unless it's a lot of money. Just because you had a verbal contract doesn't mean anything. You have, it sounds like, a paper trail of a discussion of fees. Web design clients are everywhere (adjust for your market) and you don't want to work for her or her friends again in any case without getting paid up front. (Always a good idea to take some portion of the fee up front. Did you?) How on earth did you "misrepresent" anything? They had plenty of chances to see your skill level leading up to the argument, and here the verbal agreement works for you, since you didn't "represent" yourself in writing. Assuming you've done other similar e-commerce sites with satisfied customers, which it sounds like you have, you can point that out if the "misrepresent" thing comes up again. Stand up for web monkeys everywhere dude!
posted by realcountrymusic at 10:12 AM on August 21, 2005

PS -- if the site was really close and it's not a huge hassle, you might actually deliver them the finished product (sans upload and hosting) to conclude your obligation in the matter.
posted by realcountrymusic at 10:13 AM on August 21, 2005

cash it quick, before the bad cop partner finds she cut it for you.
posted by stevejensen at 10:35 AM on August 21, 2005

Honestly, cash the check and walk away from the whole situation. You've already decided that you'd rather not haggle for the payment you're actually due, and you now have incontrovertible proof that the money wasn't sent accidentally, but was rather sent with some thought and reasoning behind it. That protects you in the case that the jackhole "business partner" comes back to haunt you, and makes it much more difficult for them to somehow extract the money from you.

That being said, the jackhole might not be totally on board with the check having been sent to you, so I'd cash it sooner rather than later to avoid having to pay some sort of stopped-check fee.
posted by delfuego at 11:08 AM on August 21, 2005

If it were me, what I would do is send them a bill thanking them for partial payment, and demanding the remaining 2/3 of the agreed upon fee.

You have your client, in writing, stating that you didn't misrepresent anything or provide bad advice. Assuming you have any sort of paper trail about the original agreement, that admission will cover you in the (unlikely) circumstance that they actually call a lawyer.

Don't let clients screw you. It just makes them more likely to do it to the next guy, too.
posted by ook at 2:52 PM on August 21, 2005

I'm totally with Ook. The client made the bad decisions not you, you should expect (and receive) full payment for all work completed and delivered.

Anything less is bullshit.

Remember, she was disappointed because she got. what. she. asked. for.

And, honestly, when someone offers to screw you over on a business deal, don't say "yes please," say "I don't think so."

Good service is helping your client find their way to what they actually want, not doing your craft for free.
posted by The Monkey at 7:02 PM on August 21, 2005

Oh, and cash the cheque you've already got. But absolutely bill for the rest.
posted by The Monkey at 7:03 PM on August 21, 2005

I gotta disagree with The Monkey and Ook. If anonymous hadn't declined payment in writing previously you could argue whether it would have been right to hold out for full. That email effectively rebilled them for nothing - on a deal with no contract. Even if there was still legal basis to charge the full invoice (arguable) it would be bad business to renege on that agreement.

Cash the check (freely given and it's better than nothing), make sure your friend get's paid, don't worry about it ending up in court (that's a very long shot, your being found in the wrong even longer) and chalk it up a learning experience - don't work without a contract.
posted by nanojath at 9:27 PM on August 21, 2005

Optimus Chyme writes "Note to all coders, artists, designers, freelancers, etc.: assume every person you do work for will eventually try to fuck you over. Always always always use a contract.

On the other hand I find I'm overall a lot happier trusting people. I routinely do work for clients involving 10-40 hours worth of effort on nothing but a verbal contract. Yep I've gotten burned a couple times. But I don't lose any sleep over it, just don't do any work for them again. The kind of client who'll screw you over with a verbal is just as likely to screw you over on a written contract. And when they do you then have to spend more time, effort, and money taking them to court and collecting the amount due (which you might never get after all that effort). Not worth the stress, and I'm much happier going thru life giving people the benefit of the doubt.
posted by Mitheral at 7:28 PM on August 22, 2005