| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Poll: How often do you ask clients for advance payment? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| Haven't in the past, but will be in future... | Dec 11, 2012 |
Thayenga wrote: Michael Harris wrote:
never had to and will probably never want to.
Either the customer is a reliable payer, or I leave it My thoughts exactly. 
And how, exactly, do you know whether the customer is a reliable payer if you haven't worked with them before?
I am currently pursuing debts of over 3,000 EUR from a client who had always previously paid after one reminder and will certainly be asking for payment up-front in future or refusing the work.
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Eva H wrote:
Like Olivier...
...
Btw: A French private customer owes me about 300 euros, but has failed to pay me for 10 months, after multiple appeals on my part. Does anybody have any advice about what I should do? Thank you!
There are various simple ways to recover your money, similar means to those which a "huissier" would use in the early stages. That would get you the equivalent of a judgment debt in your favour, in other words, a court ruling confirming that the client does indeed owe you money and has failed to pay. Taking that action may have the effect of making an individual pay up, if they really can afford to. However, the downside is that in the case of a client acting in bad faith, you would need to pursue to have the judgment enforced. That would cost a little more. Two possible outcomes : a client who can pay, then will; a client who cannot, will not. In the latter case, it means you will have spent more time and money in order to discover that you will probably never recover your money. When you have put good money after bad, discovering that truth at a late stage can be extremely disheartening as the net result is an increase in your loss.
300 euros is the sort of sum it is irritating to lose but almost not worth pursuing, not too far down the line anyway. Empiric victories are by their nature a waste of time and money. When you have worked to earn it though, 300 euros is not the sort of sum you can ignore. It is easier to pursue a corporate client in such circumstances rather than a private client. With a corporate client, you can always make noise about their lack of reliability and that can be a useful "arm". This will have no weight with a private client.
Above, someone described their reticence to work with clients overseas. No greater risk of landing on a bad payer, but when you do, it is generally more costly and more difficult to recover monies due. I have worked with publishing houses in the UK and they have always paid according to the one third rule :
- one third up front, one third delivery; then an inversion
- second third delivery, second third payment
- final delivery, final payment.
Apart from that type of exception, my clients are French and Swiss. Neither complain about payment up front and indeed after years spent chasing clients for payment, I now work no other way and no longer have any problems. I might not be earning as much on paper, but I am working in a more serene way and not playing banker to recalcitrant clients who operate their businesses on vain promises.
With clients overseas you have to write banking charges and exchange rates into your purchase order to be sure of not reducing your margins to nothingness.
[Edited at 2012-12-12 08:03 GMT]
| | | | Eva H. 
United States
Local time: 14:49
English to Hungarian
+ ...
| Thank you, Nikki | Dec 14, 2012 |
for having taken the time to tell me so much in detail about your experience helping me how to be more cautious in the future. This poll was timely for me and helpful for my way of handling new customers in the future. It feels so good to be "comforted" even if the bottomline is that I should drop the matter.
As my ungrateful client is not on ProZ I will not be able to put it on BlueBoard. Otherwise, I would do at least this step in order to warn other translators of the community. ... See more for having taken the time to tell me so much in detail about your experience helping me how to be more cautious in the future. This poll was timely for me and helpful for my way of handling new customers in the future. It feels so good to be "comforted" even if the bottomline is that I should drop the matter.
As my ungrateful client is not on ProZ I will not be able to put it on BlueBoard. Otherwise, I would do at least this step in order to warn other translators of the community. However, my client was recommended to me by an ESIT alumnus who was paid on time. Therefore, I expected they would behave the same way with me.
Best,
Eva ▲ Collapse
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