tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post2039712851993294958..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Dealing With Bad Debtors - Lynne Garner Katherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-29789746343880159422017-01-12T08:32:41.353+00:002017-01-12T08:32:41.353+00:00Catherine - Thanks for the heads up on Nicola'...Catherine - Thanks for the heads up on Nicola's website I'll pop along to have a look.<br /><br />Katherine - That's horrendous. If you're a member of the SOA get them on the case they are exceptionally good at what they do. Lynne Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05697330164705623835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-92037242011182682812017-01-10T00:03:18.208+00:002017-01-10T00:03:18.208+00:00I've had problems getting overdue statements o...I've had problems getting overdue statements out of a certain publisher... without these statement(s), I don't know if they owe me anything or not. I eventually reverted the rights on breach of contract, but they still haven't sent the overdue statements and it has been years now.Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-26148380530860671332017-01-09T16:14:09.892+00:002017-01-09T16:14:09.892+00:00Very useful, Lynne and Chris. Nicola Morgan has so...Very useful, Lynne and Chris. Nicola Morgan has some excellent terms and conditions on her website - she does a lot of talks and has a booking form to be signed in advance of each visit. The other issue she raises (and I've certainly experienced this) is organisations asking for 'proof of self employment' or those that ask you to fill in 20 page employment forms for a short one off visit. Universities are horribly guilty of this. She charges them to do it. (Most decide it isn't necessary!) Also points out that if they insist on putting you on their payroll, and deduct PAYE, they will be liable for accountancy fees to sort out the taxation mess! I've seen these debates so often online - salaried people expressing horror that freelances charge for visits. It's almost impossible to get them to understand that while their 'free time' is actually free, a day spent on a visit for a writer or artist or other freelance is a full day away from work and nobody is paying you for it. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-10929416375400401582017-01-09T08:18:19.331+00:002017-01-09T08:18:19.331+00:00Jo - Sorry to read how far you had to go to get pa...Jo - Sorry to read how far you had to go to get paid. Hopefully this can change with a little support from our government.<br /><br />Umberto - How right you are. I won't name names but trying to get just £45 out of a well known large British company once took almost a year. I've been told by media friends this company is horrendous for paying one-off payments but once you're on their books it gets easier if not quicker. <br /><br />Chris - What a good idea. I may just do something very similar. <br /><br />Susan - I've quit doing school visits. Those I've dealt with try to haggle and as you pointed out they're on a regular salary and as a freelancer we're not. I had one school employee tell me once I'd told her my fee that she was in the wrong job. When I asked her who paid her NI, TAX, insurance etc. and explained I had to cover all those costs myself she quickly retracted her statement. Lynne Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05697330164705623835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-26677569639222403312017-01-08T12:49:24.964+00:002017-01-08T12:49:24.964+00:00That's a very useful link, Chris - thanks.
I o...That's a very useful link, Chris - thanks.<br />I once asked a musician of my acquaintance what he would do if the venue he was playing at refused to pay at the end of the evening. He said, "Explain that I need to pay band members, meals, hotel bills, petrol, insurance on van and instruments etc, etc and need the money now." Fine, I said, but what if the manager still refuses to pay? "Then I threaten to punch him," he said. As he was a very big bloke with muscles developed from being his own roadie (ditto a couple of his band members) I daresay he then got his money.<br /><br />I've been lucky, I suppose and I'm sorry to hear others have had so much trouble. Schools mostly pay up. My worst was a school where I was unavoidably late due to rail delays (suicide on the line) and the English teacher tried to 'fine' me by offering substantially less than my fee or nothing. I spoke to an SoA lawyer and was told, "Write to the Head and say you're placing it in the hands of the SoA. You won't have any more trouble." He was right. I had an apology by phone from the Head and the cheque arrived the next day. - I was sorry to do it to the teacher, who teacher-friends told me would have 'got a b*llcking' - but hell, I needed that money. The teacher had a regular salary. I didn't.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-24182760285249313962017-01-08T12:41:48.220+00:002017-01-08T12:41:48.220+00:00Just signed this, Lynn. Hope it achieves something...Just signed this, Lynn. Hope it achieves something.<br />Enid Richemonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218197995089241666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-22950519984142737882017-01-08T11:30:07.481+00:002017-01-08T11:30:07.481+00:00I've had success in getting late bills paid by...I've had success in getting late bills paid by including, in the second statement, the sentence "Statutory interest is charged on all invoices which are 60 days overdue, as a result interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, will be added to your next outstanding statement. Accumulating interest will subsequently be added every 30 days on the outstanding amount until payment is received". It usually results in fast payment. For example, Statement 1 (30 days) = payment for services or goods, Statement 2 (60 days) = Information added that interest will be added to the next statement, Statement 3 (90 days) = Interest added, Statement 4 (120 days) = Interest added to new amount owed. I have never had to go to Statement 4. <br />Here is the link to the government site that tells you how to calculate the interest <br />https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debtChris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-13888246117655782772017-01-08T06:47:10.626+00:002017-01-08T06:47:10.626+00:00Three cheers and best of luck with this. I will in...Three cheers and best of luck with this. I will inquire about the Writers Guild or some other contractor organization pushing for something similar here in the United States. I remember chasing down payments all the time during my years as a freelancer, taking inordinate amounts of time, not to mention sapping my morale. Now America is about to swear in a president who has stiffed contractors all his life, especially smaller ones, and gotten away with largely by getting his lawyers to paper to death those who dare complain. As I used to say, often during my freelancing days, "the bigger they are the slower they pay."Umberto Tosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939504157464234443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-45855005252599410942017-01-08T05:57:31.942+00:002017-01-08T05:57:31.942+00:00I really hope they get somewhere with this - I had...I really hope they get somewhere with this - I had to use the small claims court a couple of times. Life is tough enough as a freelancer without having to fight for what we are owedJOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.com