How to get paid for contract work and deal with debtor

Question

Three weeks ago, I completed a project for a guy. My former CEO gave him a good reference.

The whole time I was doing work for this guy, I gave him updates he could see, and told him he needed to make sure to tell me if there were any changes he needed.

At the end, he told me it looked awesome, exactly what he wanted, and he would send me a check. The next day, he had his buddy check it out, and realized there were a bunch of changes he needed.

I told him I would continue working on this project--to implement these changes--as long as he paid me for the work thus far that he had commissioned.

He's now MIA, doesn't reply to my emails or my phone calls. I've put $2,000 worth of work into this.

Should I try to collect on this? If so, how? Should I take him to small claims court? Forget about it? What?

Answer 1

Contact a lawyer.

And in the future, don't provide the finished product to a new client unless you have been paid. Oh, and try and get paid a certain amount in advance. Set up your contract so that there are "stages", after each stage is completed, you get paid a certain amount.

But right now, talk to a lawyer.

Answer 2

Send him a written invoice first before getting heavy. If you act professionally, then he might realise you mean business and wont be pushed around.