I don't think it needs to go as far as a lawyer's letter, that just sounds nasty. Usually a good invoice stating that it is past due with a big red stamp works well. Also, if its past 60 days, you can always state that their balance will go to a collection agency. People are probably more afraid of getting a item on their credit report than are more worried about a lawyers letter. If they receive a lawyers letter, are you really going to take me to court over $300? less likely than reporting to a collection agency.
Lawyers much much later - if at all. Small claims is a pain. Wait until the little s&#t is in college to file to make sure she has to pay for gas to come to court and has to miss class.
Lawyer-drafted letters and court dates? Why waste the time and energy? $300 and a 45 minute drive would be enough to have me personally go to her residence at supper time. Why not just handle it on the spot and in person?
I would not involve the parents... she is legally an adult, and she is the one who entered into contract with you. I believe that there are pretty specific laws dealing with the collection of monies owed with regards to who can be notified of the debt... For instance, if YOU owed money to someone, would you want them contacting YOUR parents? or what about your employer? or your neighbors?
Basically, the parents are not liable, and therefore should not enter into the equation. If the senior wishes to involve Mom and Dad, that is her decision, but ultimately, with her name on the dotted line, SHE is the liable party.
FWIW I have good friends who are on FB all the time and who hardly ever respond to FB messages. I assume you didn't post it on her wall but rather sent her a FB message.
i am guilty of completely forgetting that facebook has a messaging feature.
and facebook is an incredibly powerful networking tool - especially for connecting with the senior clientele - but i certainly wouldn't do business via facebook.
I'm glad you shared this. It's a sober (for us, anyway) reminder of how to do business. Even if you do get punked on the money, it is still a valuable $300 lesson. Well, $300 retail, anyway
i wouldn't rely on facebook either. my nieces and nephews (i have 5 on fb) never respond to my messages until much later if they do respond at all, and even my closest friends don't either. when i asked them if they got my message, they say they get flooded with so many msgs and requests that they don't really check it.
imo, leave the parents out of it. notifying her that you will be forced to pursue legal action if balance is not paid in full will probably be enough to get her to pay *hopefully*
ksmahgrts wrote:
i am guilty of completely forgetting that facebook has a messaging feature.
Oh, the irony!
The FB messaging thing only works if the person is setup for e-mail notification of a message. Either she got the message and ignored it or she didn't get it at all. Your rep would probably be a good intermediary, but something written in black and white would probably be more effective. I like grits' idea of CCing the parents.
ksmahgrts wrote:
and facebook is an incredibly powerful networking tool - especially for connecting with the senior clientele - but i certainly wouldn't do business via facebook.
Actually, I've probably photographed 40 seniors this year in which the only contact I had with them before or after the shoot was on facebook. No phone calls, no emails, etc. Every case worked out fine except this one, and I readily admit it's mostly my fault for giving out the photos before she paid for them.
Thanks again for the advice, everyone. I'm going to let it "cool down" for a week or so, by then it'll be 30 days late. Then I'll decide how to handle it. FWIW, I'm not contacting her parents. They have nothing to do with it and, imho, I think it would be unprofessional to inform them of the situation when my contract is with their adult daughter.
I hate to say it, but you didn't get screwed, you screwed yourself. That said I've done the same thing and similar bone-headed things before, that is how we learn.
I'm pretty sure a call or email to the mom would take care of it. When she said she her mom would send you a check, that gives you an excuse to deal directly with the mom. I would go the "check got lost in the mail" route. As in "Hi, mom. When your daughter picked up her images she said you would send a check, and since I haven't gotten it yet I thought I'd better check, it may have gotten lost in the mail, wrong address, etc." What you are really saying is "I need to get paid", but saying it in a way that allows the mother to correct it and pay you, and also save face.
Oh, and don't wait. I'm guessing you need to cool out yourself, but the longer it goes on the stranger it is going to feel to push for the money.
I wanted to chime in with my $0.02 on this. I am not a professional photographer but I work in an industry where we unfortunately are very often left fighting to collect a portion of our fee after the final product is delivered. I know that photographers always contract such that payment in full is due day of shooting or at least prior to delivery of prints.
At 30 Days send an invoice that clearly states payment is now 30 days past due. With the invoice I would send a friendly cover letter in the tone of "I am sure that you are busy with senior year, yada yada yada...". At 30 days I wouldn't be too aggressive or even think about an attorney or threats of collection agency. I would deal with only the 18 yr old senior. They are adults legally now and maybe this will be a good lesson for them to learn that just ignoring a bill won't work for the rest of their lives.
At 60 Days send another copy of the invoice now indicating 60 days past due. I would send another cover letter this time a bit more aggressive indicating that if payment is not received in full within 30 days late fees/penalties will be added and the bill will be turned over to a collection agency.
At 90 Days send a "Final Notice" invoice indicating that the account is going to be turned over to a collection agency with additional late fees included (you determine these). Make a phone call a few days later indicating a final invoice has been sent and if there is not immediate response you will go to a collection agency. Leave that in a message if they do not answer. Whether or not you go all the way with this is up to you, but you need to give the impression that you are willing to go all the way.
Between each of these invoices and letters I would suggest a phone call or two. The first call should be now (again) and friendly. The call between the 30 and 60 day letter a little more aggressive. Chances are they will ignore you though.
As for FB I am always torn on this. For an 18 yr old this seems to be a perfectly good way to communicate, however I am still not sure how it fits into the business place. Certainly a public message that everyone can read stating "hey are you trying to screw me, where's the $300 you owe me?" is not a good idea, but a private message is basically no different than an email. Email certainly is a good way to communicate in a business setting so it seems reasonable. I personally wouldn't go the FB route (I'm not even on FB), but I am also not horribly against it either so long as it is a private message.
While you may eventually get your $300, make the lesson learned worth it. Take the opportunity to review your practices, including how vulnerable you are to a cute Senior batting her eyelashes at you!
It reminds me of a dad who came to pick up his daughter's Senior photos. It was a big order, IIRC around $350, which was big in 1989 dollars. He checked the order, loved the photos and asked if he could charge them. I said "Certainly, we accept Visa, Master Charge and American Express". He said: "No, I meant setting up and account with you." I told him "Sure, we have a layaway plan. Take up to six months to pay with no interest charges. As soon as you've finished paying, you'll get your prints." He responded "But I want them now!" I said "We take cash, check, or the charge cards I mentioned."
With that, he shrugs his shoulders, takes out his wallet and hands me four of the ten or so $100 bills he had. I had a hunch if I let him "charge" the ordrer, I would have never seen the money.
