VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[CBrooksVox]

Hello,
I need your help! I have a new client that I started working for that continues to give me the old "check is in the mail" line. After finding out that he has been written up by the BBB with an F rating, I ramped up my complaints. I have had it. What is your experience with bad clients and how can I get money from him? If I "out" him, will I be charged with slander? What are my legal rights?
Any input would be helpful.
Thank you!
Cindy

[Philip Banks]

Outing a client is fine as long you express no negative or defamatory opinions. Stick to the facts. Always remember that permission to use your work is only officially granted upon payment of your invoice and therefore using your work without payment is in breach of you copyright. No pay, no use. If the person who hired you is not the client then you will need him to inform his client that they can't use the audio. This reminder to non-payers tends to work like a charm.

[Edo]

I use my general terms of delivery on all my work. There's a section in there that says that I remain the owner of the work untill fully being paid. If no full payment is received and I need to send a second reminder of payment, I immediately take the spots off the air or production out of circulation (or have it done for me) at the client's expense. Furthermore there's a 1000 euro fine for each time they use/air it when they have been told not to. I send those off-the-air notes to the client as well as the ad agency as well as the stations airing the spots, both by mail and fax to state the urgency of the matter. The letters carry my attorney's stationary, as if it came from the law firm.

So far I only had to use that twice, but in most cases even threatening to get your audio back or off the air makes the wheels turn.


My client from hell-angle...

One client that aired a local spot (produced by me) on national radio (which I knew nothing about, nor had given permission for) took me to court, and lost within 10 minutes into the court hearing. He was fined for my legal costs, the court's fee and (since I brought taped proof of 13 airings on national radio) 25 times the fine for illegally airing the commercial after I specifically prohibited him to. The Dutch FCC makes every radiostation archive at least 14 days of broadcast material, so getting 'proof' of the illegal airing was pretty easy. Furthermore I had a student taping the radiostations just in case. The court decided on the higher fine than 13 grand, because I could also prove that the spot aired on other stations at the same time.

I took 5 grand to pay for my expenses, a couple of big cakes for the startled radiostations and compensating both the voices I had originally hired for the LOCAL job. They ultimately were paid for a national commercial in Holland plus a bonus. I also took them to a fancy dinner to clear the air, for not knowing the background of the situation, they were giving ME a hard time, hence I was the suspect here of wrongdoing. The rest of the money was used to help build an animal ambulance or veterinarian's ambulance, whatever it's called in English I wouldn't know.

[Bruce]

[Bruce]

To be serious for just a moment, your course of action can depend on how long it's been since you did the work....60, 90, 120 days and so on. At 60 have some patience and send or call in a reminder or two...at 90 carefully worded requests/demands for action...and soon after that take action.

If there's a client of your client involved (this is an ad agency that owes you for a commercial, a producer that created a narrative piece for another company), approaching the end user, politely explaining that you've not been paid, can work. If you're strong willed enough (or can bring a companion) visit the client's company during regular hours and announce clearly enough for any front office personnel to hear that you there to collect on a past due invoice from Mr. So-and-so. Try again in a couple of days and again, and again. Something about squeaky wheels.

For the future, if it's a new client that you don't have any special reason to trust, get payment up front. If they can't do it, you don't want to deal with them. I've lost no business, that I know of, for asking.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .