TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
"Nora von Gerichten" <wlg -at- pacificcoast -dot- net> writes:
> I agree with Geoff about the housefly and the howitzer. Small claims
court
> produces only a document that says they must pay you. You still have to
> collect (more costs, more time, more anger). I have successfully used a
> Commercial Affidavit of Fact. This document clearly states that if they
do
> not pay within 30 days the amount doubles every 30 days, as well I have
the
> right to put notices in all the newspapers, contact every bank imaginable,
> and if I wanted to put up placards down their street. They still did not
> want to pay. I received a cheque from their lawyer in 28 days. I prefer
> bazookas to howitzers for withheld payments.
That kind of stuff is probably different in each state in the US. I don't
know if you can do this where I live in California. The libel laws would
probably prohibit it. Also, any company with deep pockets could drown you in
paper and sue you for defamation. Whether the
defamation is true or not doesn't matter if they've got a stable of lawyers
and you've got just yourself. I've had some troubles collecting from
clients in the past, but nothing (so far) that's required anything other
than being very assertive.
Always good to have a contract in place, though, that explicitly spells out
the terms of payment and terms of work...
steve arrants
===================
steve arrants http://www.compbear.com Certified Cruelty Free
"The dream was marvelous, but the terror was great.
We must treasure the dream, whatever the terror."
---Gilgamesh
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
