Hi Everyone:

I need a little input...I have a client that I did work for a couple months ago and at the time she praised every project I did for her. I did several project for her and I thought we worked well together. At billing time (end of the month) she stopped responding my emails/invoices. I know she is still working because I see her on this Forum and on Twitter.

I do not want to be a nag, but I do deserve to be paid for my work. I'm very disappointed working with another VA has come to this. I do have a contract with the company she works for (it turned out to be a subcontracting job). Because she is a fellow member of this Forum I want to give her the respect of dealing with her directly.

What do you think my next move should be?

Thanks,

__________________
Kathy
www.theofficevirtuoso.com

Hi Kathy,

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. It has happened to me, but not with another VA, but, with a client.

If you have not done this yet, try these few things:

Call her/him.

Sometimes a friendly phone call does the job.

If there is no response to the phone call, email again and be sure to let him/her know how you are feeling about the situation.

Here is a sample email that I would send:

Greetings XXXX,

I am sorry to hear about your situation and hope that it can be resolved soon and with a good outcome for you. I am emailing you to clarify a few items that XXX and I discussed last night.

I am an independent contractor. I was sub-contracted by XXX to work with XXX on your XXX. I was subcontracted for the price of a XXX which costs $160.00.

There are millions of Virtual Assistants in our industry. We are all independent contractors and not employees. I know it is easy to mistake a VA for an employee but we are not. That is why we have contracts and why a customer does not pay for benefits, FICA, social security, medical etc. We work on a contractual basis.

Because of the situation you are in and because I did the work on the XXX you will need to include a prorated amount for the services I provided for the XXX.

The prorated amount is $160.00/2=$80.00. The XXXX is set up and you still have the ability to send it on to the other XXX.

In total you will need to add $100.00 to XXXX bill, to allow her to pay me for the work I have done.

Please read the contract you signed with XXXX. The website below will help you understand our industry and how to use a Virtual Assistant in the future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_assistant

I really hope that things work out and that we can complete the XXXX for you. But, you do have the XXX and can easily send it to another type-setter. The problem with that is, you are taking my work and placing it in another hands which is unlawful without my consent. Since I have not been paid for the work you can not lawfully use the work that I have done on the XXX. Unless I have been paid.

Again I am sorry to hear about this situation. It is very rare that we VA's run into this type of thing and it is a sad one indeed.

Please contact XXXX as soon as possible to make arrangements for payment. Once XXX has paid me I can send all original work to you for your other type-setter.

Sincerely,
Andrea Jackson

Anyway, maybe you can use some of the wordage for your email.

I hope I have helped some.
Andrea~

__________________
Action Jackson Virtual Assistant|

Couple months ago...get on the phone and let this person know that you need your payment, you have a contract and your will enforce it is necessary. Let her know if you do not receive payment then you will go to the company that you have the contract with and explain the situation to them.

I know you don't want to call her out but for heavens sake she of all people should understand how this works! You need to handle this situation as you would any other client. Even if there is some extenuating circumstance, at the very least you need dialogue with this person.

My advice: Write a letter demanding payment, back it up with a fax copy, follow up with a quick phone call and then enforce the contract by taking legal steps.

__________________
Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I agree with Lee. If she has time to be on the forums and to be on Twitter, then she has time to respond to you and pay you.

Talk to her first, then send reminders with late payment fees attached. PM her here and send her a direct message on Twitter. Let her know this is completely unacceptable.

__________________
Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Thank you everyone for your input. Today I have sent her a reminder with late fees added and now I'm going to start putting together a "collection letter." I had hoped it wouldn't get this far, but Kimberly is right "this is completely unacceptable."

__________________
Kathy
www.theofficevirtuoso.com

There's a lot of great advice in this thread; I'm sorry you have to deal with this situation, Kathy. That would be incredibly stressful for me and I dread the day when I'll be in your shoes. (From what I've read here on boards, it's bound to happen.)

It sounds like you took some solid steps yesterday. You didn't mention whether you'd tried to reach out to your client by phone, too, but I want to second that recommendation. It's something I'd certainly need to psych myself up for, but I've learned the hard way that written correspondence is just so easy to ignore. A phone call not only demands your client's attention and gets you an immediate answer, it also subconsciously reminds them that you're a real person. And that realization may help facilitate a faster, happier resolution.

I'm very interested in what happens so I hope you'll update us. Good luck!

__________________
Liz
Blue Canary Design & Virtual Assistance

Kathy I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. Many of us live in rural areas so virtual, often at great distance, is a necessity. I prefer to work locally so, if it sadly comes down to it, I can deal with the client in person and have a far better chance of having accounts settled. Some years ago I incorporated a company for a sort of boyfriend of an old friend in another province. I received the out of pocket expenses up front but he never paid my very reasonable account. At distance the cost of taking the matter to collections outweighed the amount involved. Subsequently I gather he went bankrupt and disappeared with a horde of bill collectors in hot pursuit.

If a client balks at providing a retainer I suggest a scenario ... "You go to the market, pick up a $20 roast and when you get to the checkout you tell the cashier you're going to cook and eat it and if you like it you'll pay for it. What are your chances of walking out the door with that roast?"

Good luck - I hope this all works out for you.


Lynne

Good luck Lynne!

Must be an uncomfortable feeling when you see her name on the forum. Don't stop trying to get your money. Call, write, send registered letter, threaten with small claims court. Hopefully she'll respond at one of these steps.

Carol
CJ's Virtual Business Solutions

I have not tried calling the VA (or the client) yet...but so far emails not working, so I think it might be the next step. Thanks for all the suggestions; I will keep you posted.

__________________
Kathy
www.theofficevirtuoso.com

It seems to me that, unless there is some type of misunderstanding with the other VA, that her behavior is EXTREMELY UNETHICAL. I would not want to interact with this person or to continue to participate with her on this forum if this is the type of behavior that she considers acceptable. Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every bunch (love those mixed metaphors ).

__________________
Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"