Freelancers: How Should I Handle This Issue?

[dezinerite]

I really need anyone's advice right now. I'm sorry this is a bit long, please bear with me. I really appreciate it!

I am a freelance web designer and before I begin with a new client, I make them sign a short contract. The payment is divided into phases of development and it includes an initial fee. Last year I was hired by a company to do their small company website. I charged them $1000, with an initial payment of 30%. The contract indicated that I would only start as soon as I received the first payment.

A month after signing the contract, the client sent me an email asking me if I had completed the work. I told them that they hadn't made payment so I didn't even begin. They paid almost immediately after that.

The company is owned by a family friend, but I don't communicate with the owner of the company. Instead, I deal with their marketing manager. From day 1 she hated me. She said "well, I was going to make one of my friends from [Eastern Europe] do this website but since you're chums with the boss, I can't really do anything about that. I just ought to let you know that I will be treating you like anybody else so don't expect any sort of special treatment from me."

Anyway, that was all last year. She was extremely difficult to work with. For example, I normally require feedback after each development phase. I asked for feedback after I completed a set of mockups and her response was "well, that's what we're hiring you for so why ask me?" This sort of attitude was extremely negative and nonconstructive. At some point, I continued and after the website was done, I asked for her final feedback or comments via email and she never responded.

I didn't really care that she didn't respond. I was very busy with other projects, so not hearing from that lady was a true blessing in my life. Over the next few months I had literally forgotten about it. I basically completed the website, with only 30% payment upfront. Here's the thing though: the website is still on my server. Which means it is not visible to visitors. Part of the deal was that I transfer the files to their server.

Now, that's been almost one whole year ago. It slipped my mind, and because I had actually been waiting for her feedback, there was nothing pending from my side. Anyway, here's where the problem lies: the company owner contacted my mother and told her that he's really pissed off at me because I have spent almost an entire year working on his website. I also just found out that the reason why this lady never responded was because she quit her job and left the country very suddenly. She didn't make me aware of this, and she didn't even have the decency to tell her assistant or immediate superior to tell me.

Anyway, I just want this all behind me. I don't care about the money and I don't even know if I should return their money. I just want to hand over their website and just push this behind me so I can move on with my life and they can move on too. How do I proceed? Should I just tell this lady's assistant to download the files (and he can set it up himself) or do I actually owe them that 30% back? I suppose this was the part of the contract that should have been there, but I omitted it because it was meant to be a short project.

My mum, who is a personal friend of the company owner wants me to directly apologize to him and explain exactly what happened, pinning the blame on the lady. But if it's one thing I hate in life, it's coming up with excuses/reasons. I don't care to explain who was at fault, we could all have dealt with this better but who cares? The objective right now is to find the most appropriate approach to a solution, as opposed to stirring up even more trouble.

That said, there is no way that I'm apologizing face-to-face. In fact, as a freelancer we get to choose who we want our clients to be (that is one of the perks of this job). I only put up with that woman's attitude problem because on a personal level, the boss was a family friend. Had it been anybody else, I would have declined this job the minute she showed her true colours.

So yeah, I'm not looking to un-burn this bridge. The damage is done. I am only looking for the most ethical way of resolving the financial aspect of this issue. I don't want to be known for stealing a mere $300 or so. I feel the best way to resolve this is to let the assistant download the website files (he can install it himself), and let them keep the rest of the money. I am unwilling to return their 300 dollars because I did spend time working on the site.

Any thoughts/advice? Thanks!

 

[Eric Lyon]

For every story and situation there are 2 sides, 2 views, 2 sets of reasoning, 2 sets of motivation, 2 sets of business ethics, and 2 sets of personal feelings that sometimes get in the way of business. First and foremost, the #1 rule of freelancing is to NEVER, and I mean "NEVER" take on work as a personal favor to friends or family. A freelancer should make it crystal clear up front that this is a business arrangement and there should be no personal issues involved. Sadly, many times, even with a black and white outlined contract, family or friend business arrangements can not only blow up in your face, but they can & will expand from the business platform into your personal life (as noted by them contacting your mother).

Just going by what you've stated and not seeing anything from the other party I can only assume the following:

1.) Contract was established with deadlines and responsibilities.
2.) Time delay occurred due to non-down payment (as per the "work doesn't start till down payment is confirmed" policy - I have the same policy but my down payment is 50%).
3.) You not only completed the project, you continued trying to communicate the entire time as you went along.
4.) The assigned project manager on the clients end never responded, nor did they pass the word along to their supervisors as to the progress & contact attempts you put forth.
5.) Client is now upset at you that it took so long and he had no communication with you.

with just the above information it appears to be the client that breached the contract and at best they owe you the rest of the monies due.

However, there's an inconsistency in your side of the story. You stated the client was a friend of the family or friend of a friend in the least and that they contacted your mother upset. So the question would be, Why didn't the client contact your mother or friend sooner? I think a year going by after payment is a bit long to wait before reaching out to family / friends associated with the freelancer to find out what happened. Don't you think so? Furthermore, why didn't you contact the client directly sooner when you had no responses from their project manager?

It makes me think there's a lot more to the story that's missing from the other side of the coin which makes it hard to give you advice on what to do beside hiring an attorney and providing them with all your documentation and statements. If you are in the right and theres not more to the story then you are still owed monies as per the contract (assuming the contract covered that stuff - without seeing it, again it's hard to give advice). Otherwise, if you were in the wrong and made some mistakes, it might be best to bite the bullet and find a way to meet the client in the middle so you can resolve the problem.

Either way, my top suggestion is to consult an attorney. Most provide free initial consultation and it wouldn't hurt to at least hear what they have to say.

That may or may not of helped you, but just my opinion on the matter amongst thousands of others.

I wish you luck with this,

Eric Lyon

 

[namenetwork]

Ok well we'll skip right over the 'don't work for friends or family' ...

I get your asking 'what to do next' but I think it revolves around a fundamental issue of what's gone on in the past. It's great your busy but from your description of the huge gaps in communication, followup and follow through I don't think you treated the project as professionally as you would another client. Yes the clients liaison was difficult if not downright hampering the process, but at the end of the day you, the principal of your business, had an obligation to the principal of that business. Both to deliver on your contract and if necessary communicate difficulties in achieving their business outcome.

I don't believe the situation is irreconcilable but I do appreciate your frustration and decision to be done with it.

Again, only going by your description, your sitting on the funds out of spite, feeling wronged and of course the personal embarrassment as it relates to you, your family etc. But ask yourself is the $300 worth it ... only you can answer that.

If it was me, and please at this stage it's all subjective and my situation's different to you. I'd prepare a detailed description of what happened including the failing in communications on everyone's part (one taking responsibility for ones own failings is really important here). I'd write it from the perspective of giving the other business owner an insight into what not to do next time. I'd absolutely give them their money back. I wouldn't give them the site, but again as an olive branch and sign of your professionalism, provide hem with the finalized site map, mockup etc that I'm sure you created to get to the final product to help kick start the V2 of the project for the client.

This isn't about being 'right' at this point, it's about you and your reputation. You never know the word-of-mouth repercussions and is that worth the $300 ? You be the professional in this exchange and it will come back to benefit you.

... hope this helps for what it's worth ... just my opinion obviously ...

 

[dezinerite]

I appreciate the responses so far. To answer your questions:

@Eric_Lyon:

- The owner of the company is the brother of my mum's close friend. Both of them are my mum's friends but his brother is closer to my mum. The company owner didn't want to stir up trouble. He simply expressed his frustration to his brother and it was actually his brother who told my mother about this issue. The owner of the company has my direct line, if he had been professional about it he should have contacted me directly to ask me about the website's progress. Having said that, it's hard to talk about professionalism in this case, because the reason I got this gig in the first place was due to the 'connection'.

- I didn't contact the 'big boss' directly because the emails didn't bounce. I mean, from my side: the project manager had an attitude problem and it was common for her to respond to emails whenever she felt like it. So I assumed she was deliberately ignoring my emails and had more important stuff to do. That was also my attempt at being professional, I was told to deal with her. Please note that I also copied the project manager's immediate superior and her assistant on the emails that requested for feedback. I asked all of them for any feedback, and none of them responded. Although this was her project to handle, when she left the company (I don't even know when that happened) they should have informed me so I would have discussed the current progress with her replacement.

- I wouldn't escalate this matter to the point of dealing with attorneys. I run a small business and the owner of that company is a millionaire.

@namenetwork:

- You're right, I should have approached everything on a professional level. What would I have done if this had been any other client? I would have walked away - a long time ago.

- Hmmm...I wouldn't really say I'm 'sitting on the funds out of spite'. I may be very wrong in this but I genuinely believe that their $300 has been used up. Unfortunately, the payment upfront includes the possibility of clients wasting a freelancer's time. I spent a lot of time developing the site. I have a completed site that costs more than $300. I am already willing to give it to them for that much, waving the remaining $700. If that's not 'in good faith', I don't know what is.

I'm starting to see some light in this matter. I might be able to redeem myself if I hand over the site and hope that they are happy with the final product.

I'm leaving the country in a few weeks (indefinitely) so my need to resolve this is purely out of honesty and sincerity. Anyone in my place could easily just leave and not care about the future or status of this project.

Perhaps I should email the owner of the company and apologize for the misunderstanding and miscommunication. I don't know, I'm a little confused right now.

 

[namenetwork]

I don't doubt for a minute the $300 was used up nor do I doubt you deserve your full entitlement ... but what I think doesn't matter ...

"Perhaps I should email the owner of the company and apologize for the misunderstanding and miscommunication. I don't know, I'm a little confused right now." ... really encourage you to do that IMHO

 

[dezinerite]

@namenetwork - Thanks, I will compose a write up on that. I don't know if it will do any good but at least that will be an attempt on my part to explain the delay & hopefully pave our way into a solution.

By the way, I didn't mean to seem horrible nor sound rude about not wanting to refund the $300. I just feel doing that wouldn't be solving my problem nor theirs. It would just be an attempt at erasing this whole issue, which will leave them without a website and me without the extra $300. A more favourable resolution to this issue (in my perspective) would be for them to end up with a completed website and for me to push this matter behind me without the deduction of $300 on this month's expense report. :D

Although that doesn't sound like much, $300 is what I pay for 2.5 years of web hosting. As a freelancer (as many of us are), we earn a considerable amount on profit margin so this sort of thing cannot be disregarded.

 

[snowbird]

dezinerite,

I have always seen you as a reputable customer of mine in the past and based on my own personal dealings with you, I know you are a strong believer in doing the right thing. Regardless of anything, I would have to agree that you need to get on the same page with the owner who originally contracted this project with you. He needs to know what is going on because obviously there was a communication gap somewhere and information did not get to where it needed to be. Only when he understands what happened will he then be able to decide fairly how the contract needs to be taken care of. I personally wouldn't refund the $300. You did start the job and your time is worth something. You sent mockups, you did the site. Even if it may not be to their final satisfaction, it is their fault for not upkeeping their part of the contract by providing feedback along the way. I would definitely speak with an attorney as Eric mentioned since they often give free initial consultations. But if this person is truly a family friend, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to work something out together. It may not feel right rating out a person, but if that person was designated to do a job and they were not doing it, that needs to be brought to the companies attention. It is not your fault. You kept up your part of the contract. It was the company that was negligent on their side of the contract. It is their own fault for the delays that have occurred. Also if the owner was the person who signed the contract, he should of been checking up on this project from time to time trying to find out the status. I know I would have if I was the owner.

 

[carob]

Why not make a fresh start? Just say you have a great completed website available for them and you have been waiting to hear from them? Remind them also of the quality of your work and that yes you have kept them informed.


The prob here was caused by a company employee, not you, and if after that employee left them, the company made no effort to contact you directly that is their fault not yours. I would keep the money - you did the work it was for, and giving it back to make a company feel better about the bad conduct of one of their own employees makes no sense.

If you had an architect draw up plans for you and did not go ahead with building something you would still expect to pay for the plans.

 

[dezinerite]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I truly appreciate it and the responses will definitely help me with this issue. There have been cases where I'm the buyer or I've hired freelancers and if they delay without contacting me (as this will be the perspective of the company owner) I give them more time. If I feel I've given them ample time to complete the work, I contact the freelancer directly asking for an update. So yeah, there is a question in my mind why none of them ever contacted me; not the assistant, nor the project manager's immediate superior.

Prior to this, I have also worked in an IT company where we would sometimes use freelancers (we were understaffed). No matter who was doing the job, I was the project manager so it was my job to make sure the freelancers gave me updates on the project. It was my job to make sure the project was completed on time. That included my having to contact freelancers on a regular basis to get an update. So come to think of it, I do find it extremely weird that my phones didn't ring at all. I received no emails, no phone calls, no Skype messages - nothing from this incompetent project manager.

That said, you can imagine how over-the-moon I feel now, after finding out that she left. I no longer have to deal with her even if I have to endure resolving this matter with her 'superiors'.