William Y. Hall Please Pay the Invoice

William Y. Hall, proprietor of Ultravision LED (214-260-4500), of Addison, TX continues to not pay for over $5,700 due to The Howard Company, a Web marketing consultant and content writer for businesses nationwide. After using the services of the J Howard Company from December of 2009 through January 2010 and paying on time, the payments for the work furnished in February totaling more than $5,700 was suddenly abandoned.

First, there was Mr. Hall's relaxed, 'We'll get the banker on this right away." Then, "Let me see what the holdup is and we'll get back to you." After a few weeks Hall explained that there was a situation between the new bank he was switching to and another business Hall bought that caused the bank to halt all transactions "because of some illegal activity" that may have been found at the company Mr. Hall acquired.

"We intend to do business with you for years to come," Hall said, adding that this was only a temporary situation, and that "some money should be available to pay the invoices soon."

A week later, after urging Mr. Hall to pay the invoices, Hall's response was, "I'll overnight payment to you," as it appeared that there was a way for money to be released. But when that check did not appear and the matter pursued with Hall, the reaction was that the package could not get out in time, and that it would arrive the next business day, which it never did.

Months past due from the last invoice, William Hall and Ultravision LED still have not paid the J Howard Company the money that is overdue. Is the J Howard Company upset?

"All that really needs to happen is for Bill Hall to pay what he owes and get back to business," said Jim Angel, owner of J Howard Company. "For a company to show such disregards to another business that worked for such a reasonable amount and waited for 30 to 60 days or more to be paid, is unconscionable.

"It's strange that a client would think less of a business that retains an ethical business manner. When one of his clients reached out to me because she could not reach Bill or his associates by phone or email, I did the right thing and notified Bill that his client was trying to reach him. Others would have approached her directly to cut Bill out.

"To give Bill credit, I did make arrangements to absorb his profit on the services I offer the client (the difference between the retail prices minus the wholesale prices) and apply that to what he owes me and to continue doing so on any future projects that he wanted to send my way."

But the only money received since this situation developed has been to remove postings on the Internet for his refusal to pay the invoices, similar to this one, which was done when Bill said he would begin making payments toward the overdue invoices.

"Then he tells me one reason after another for not paying invoices; others should be aware of what has happened. I don't believe it is malicious or slanderous to state the facts and give credit where it is due," Angel said.

"He even tried the old not-pay-by-intimidation method by stating that I removed from the Internet some of the articles he said he paid for so he shouldn't have to pay for work I did long afterward.

"Why should he benefit from my efforts before he pays his invoice for other services I provided? And he continued to order services for weeks while I continued to provide the services in good faith, until I finally stopped. When a painter paints a house they expect to be paid for their services, too."

Plagiarism Prevented

Would he do work for Ultravision LED or any other company that William Y. Hall owned? "I can put this behind me. Some businesses need to redeem themselves by paying in advance, at least for a time, to improve their credit with a source that they want to work with," Angel said.

"Business people from LinkedIn and other places advise me taking him to court, but that also costs money and is generally a hassle and doesn't guarantee any payment. I just want to be paid. And until he pays me, he should not be using content pieces on his Web site or blogs or articles that I wrote, that he wants to have the use of.

"I have told him many times that he can use everything I have written and posted like we agreed to do if he will simply pay the invoices. That's just good business."

Lessons Learned

"I get these people from all over the country with their ideas that they have 'all this other work' that they can forward my way, and when I tell them my terms of payment due before I begin (at least until some credit has been established with the new account), then it separates those who are ready to do business from those seeking a way to get something for nothing," Mr. Angel said.

What commonly happens? They speak distant sources, order and receive the work, and do not pay for the orders. The supplier is left without payment and the receiver cannot be collected from without going to expensive lengths to get justice.

"So, if a customer has a problem with my terms, particularly for purchases of under $300, they are not prepared, or, they're not real, and I steer clear of them."

Businesses can also check the warning reports to see if others have had problems with a client. If they're listed, beware!

Other articles that offer information on these types of situations include:

Writer's Weekly Warnings Report

http://www.writersweekly.com/warnings/warnings.html

The Rip-Off Report

http://www.ripoffreport.com

Writers Alerts

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

National Writer's Union Alerts
http://www.nwu.org/alerts/alrthome.htm

'Going Medieval' when clients don't pay

http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/business-and-finance/succeeding-in-your-business/-going-medieval-when-clients-don-t-pay.html

The Dark Side of Freelance Writing: When Clients Don't Pay

http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2010/02/the-dark-side-of-freelance-writing-when-clients-dont-pay/