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by trapfitech 3021 days ago
Great point. You would actually use your standard contract with clients as you do now so your clause would still be active. We have a dispute process in place now if a client steals code without paying for it, it ultimately triggers an investigation and can impact client's reputation within our system.
3 comments

As a consultant, failure-to-pay is always on my mind--I'm sure you guys have seen it too. Why should a client care about their reputation within your system? If they're burning a developer, they can burn you too just as easily.

I would be much more likely to use your service, instead of just an Excel invoice or whatever (it's really just not that difficult to do once you've done it once, IMO) if I got something concrete for doing it. "Reputation", as we have all seen from Amazon's marketplace and from eBay and the rest, just doesn't mean all that much. It seems logical for this service to provide escrow, or at least partner with someone who does.

> it ultimately triggers an investigation and can impact client's reputation within our system

TrapFi will notify all future developers that the client has acted unethically in the past, before you agree to work with them. Truthfully, we have not yet encountered an issue with a client stealing code.

We hear your concerns and see that this is a priority for the community, so we'll work on a more robust solution.

first

> It's money you've earned, delivered instantly.

second

> it ultimately triggers an investigation and can impact client's reputation within our system

Hmm, this is confusing. Is bad reputation in your system the only penalty for an employer not paying? And that's it?