Need Advice On How To Handle This
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You misunderstood. I've been talking to the guy daily for 2 years. Since the first of Jan, I've had no contact. I've sent emails, left voicemails, and talked to others at the company and asked them to have him contact me.... no response. I KNOW he's in the office, I KNOW he's getting my messages. He just all of a sudden started ignoring me. I think he's probably decided he's done with the project and doesn't want to settle up. I agree with your prior post that it's only the 12th, but I'm seeing him disappear, so I want to nip it at the bud now. As far a legal, at least here in CA, when you're hired as an independent, YOU own the code. I typically hand over ownership once the project is done and they accept it. So for now, it's within my rights to deny them the use of the app. I don't really want to, but it would get his attention. I could put in a "Login Denied. Please contact..." kind of thing.
zephaneas wrote:
As far a legal, at least here in CA, when you're hired as an independent, YOU own the code. I typically hand over ownership once the project is done and they accept it.... So for now, it's within my rights to deny them the use of the app. I don't really want to, but it would get his attention.
Do NOT do that. You are COMPLETELY wrong. The legal analogy is as follows. If someone agrees to buy your book and does not pay then you have the right to sell the book to someone else. You do NOT have the right to break into their house and take it back. And the US has specific laws about doing just that which make it a federal crime to do so. Your copyright only extends to the code itself. Your copy on your computer. Any other access depends on exactly who 'owns' the computer one which the application is running. And 'own' really is a key term here. For example a cloud device for which the other person is paying the bill is unlikely be 'owned' by you even if you have access. The only safe ownership in this case is if you own the server yourself (the hardware belongs to you) or all of the contracts for hosting/cloud are in your name and only your name. And even that can depend on contracts between you and them. Repeating this again - stopping the server can result in CRIMINAL federal charges against you. Even if you are sure that you own the server then I suggest the following 1. Talk to a lawyer with experience in software law. 2. Insure that you can prove that you tried to contact the person. (Ask the lawyer but at least a registered letter.)
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I'm in California and I've been working on a project for a company in Canada for 2 years. I've had no contact with my client since the first. If I had to guess, I'd have to say he's decided to cancel the project. It's $hitty way to do it, but it's his choice. Problem is, neither I nor the other guy on project have been paid. [UPDATE] Problem is, neither I nor the other guy on project have been paid since the first. I'm considering remoting and removing the DB and click-once. I'm open to how you would deal with this.
The dude is on holiday. Tread carefully.
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The dude is on holiday. Tread carefully.
If the amount of money at stake is worth pursuing, consider having a collection agency work for you (one of the reputable ones). I had to use an agency a number of years ago for software prodcuts that I sold. Several clients did not pay, when the agency got involved, I was able to recover about 75% of what was owed. This is probably more expeditious and less costly than hiring an attorney, who might be motivated to run up the hours. The agency gets a cut of the recovery, so their motivation is to move the process along. Also, a good agency is well versed in all of the legal angles, and can ramp up the pressure on the non-paying client in a way that complies with all applicable laws. The agency that I used had a multi-step process, eventually leading to legal action against the non-paying client (the legal action was performed by their attorney, and was included in their cut). This removes a lot of the emotional pressure on you: you no longer need to be thinking vengeful thoughts and contemplating actions that will get you into a much deeper problem than you want to be involved with. If the software that you developed is important to your client, will they not need to return to you at sometime in the future for fixes/enhancements? Let the collector do the work, and allow the situation to quiesce. When the client is ready to work with you again, you can start with a deposit to cover the amount lost to the collector and cover the anticipated amount that you will bill.
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I'm in California and I've been working on a project for a company in Canada for 2 years. I've had no contact with my client since the first. If I had to guess, I'd have to say he's decided to cancel the project. It's $hitty way to do it, but it's his choice. Problem is, neither I nor the other guy on project have been paid. [UPDATE] Problem is, neither I nor the other guy on project have been paid since the first. I'm considering remoting and removing the DB and click-once. I'm open to how you would deal with this.
So you've been working for 2 years on this project. Was the project a coding project or was it a monthly maintenance plan project? If it was a coding project, have you completely satisfied your end of the contract agreement? If you haven't yet finished the project, certainly there must be some areas in the project that still need your attention. Or is that all out of the way? If it was a service you were performing for the client and he didn't pay, in the U.S., we have what is called 'Theft of Services', but you'll have to prove that your client intended to use your service without the intention of paying for it. But, then again, you're dealing with international laws. If you've completed the project, how many payments was he outstanding? There should be no reason for you to act out of character. In the U.S., it's normal for businesses to take up to 90 days to pay. You can still write it off as a business loss from your taxes. Although, you'll have to show a good faith effort in trying to collect, (i.e., send emails to the client requesting payment and stating your intentions for a reasonable period of time). Even for large amounts of outstanding balances owed to us, it's sometimes better to cut your losses and run. Figuring that the amount of time, money and thought you spend trying to collect, you could put to better use cultivating another better paying client. And, you'll write all this new learned experience into your contract so that you can have some control the next time this happens, and not have to commit a criminal act. Big rocks and little rocks and sand. Happy coding, hope you get paid!