[madaxe]

Yup. Sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and fire them.

We had someone approach us a few years ago we really didn't want to work with as everything they did screamed "moron in a hurry", so, rather than telling them to naff off, we gave them a quote that should have caused cardiac arrest.

They agreed to it.

Two years on. Still working with them. No amount of money makes it worth it. Particularly given that they still haven't paid said insane quote.

[anonymous]

If they haven't paid in two years shouldn't you be suing them?

[madaxe]

Oh, they have paid, just not in full. As to suing them, no - the industry we work in is stupidly tight knit, and regardless of the truth, any agency that sues their clients looks like crap.

We have leverage over them in terms of "whoops, looks like your sole revenue stream just got turned off", they have leverage over us in terms of reputational damage.

Were this some sole trader on the far side of the planet, there'd be nil compunction. But they're not.

[raverbashing]

Well, why are you working for free?

"Payment upon completion?" Biggest lie ever

[orangethirty]

The problem is you, not the client. Simply fire them. Say "We will not work with you any more." That's all it takes. In fact, give me their phone number, I'll call them for you.

[Devilboy]

Gotta get paid half up-front man!

[uptown]

Still leaves them with a 50% discount until you take 'em to court.

[megablast]

Charge them at least double then.

[madaxe]

Half up front is a bad model. A better model is 25% staged throughout a project, with 25% post completion. This means that they don't get live unless you've at least 75% of the balance paid, and you then operate a one month warranty period at the end of which they pay the balance.

With these particular goons, we have our 75%, and a never-ending stream of "we've re-interpreted the specification and believe that X means Y, Z, Q, R, P and M, which we require before we will sign off", much as we'd anticipated.

This is why we charge a minimum of 75% prior to go-live. Means that even if they do decline to pay the remainder, we aren't left out of pocket, and can play silly buggers for as long as it takes for them to get bored and go away.