[LMYahooTFY]

In what line of work/business can you proceed to incur more expenses without approval from the paying client? This can't really be what they expected.

[atoav]

In any line of work, if you agree about it beforehand?

E.g. many craftspeople bull you by the hour and give you a rough estimate how long it could take beforehand. If the thing they are fixing for you has 3 more faults that you didn't mention to you, they will mention to you that it costs more and if they should proceed.

That is totally common, but the increased estimate needs to be communicated clearly and get an OK from the customer.

[echoangle]

> they will mention to you that it costs more and if they should proceed.

Yes, they ask before proceeding. The parent assumed EE proceeded without asking, which is also how I interpret the situation. That’s not the norm, right?

[rincebrain]

It depends.

In a past life as a contractor, if we had a prior relationship with a company, we would absolutely sometimes start work on a new project without having all the ink dry, on the good faith assumption that they had reliably paid us before, and would, in turn, pay us again.

[mordae]

Risky one?

Jokes aside, we routinely work for clients without any contract. Contracts get finalized usually by the time a prototype (1/4 - 1/2 of the whole job) is done.

Corporate world is slow. They really like it when you come in and start delivering. Having something to show makes it easier for them to get the project green-lit.

There are obviously some reserves just in case it wouldn't pan out and I still feel quite uneasy. It works, though.

Haha, reminds me that the risk sometimes goes both ways. Like that one time we've got 100% paid for 1/2 the work and then kept working to finish the other 1/2. Can't betray that kind of trust.

(Not related to this drama. Just another data point from elsewhere. It's nice to see others to start working first and only call lawyers second.)