[consulting] Proper Collections Procedure

[Michael Haggerty]

I've stayed out of this conversation for the last few days but listened to
what everyone has to say. Very interesting conversation hearing about other
people's experiences. 

The client finally payed their bill. We never came to terms about their
'concerns', but I found a clear way to demonstrate the value of my company's
efforts on their behalf. They did accuse me and my company of every crime
under the sun, and I have heard reports of them badmouthing us to other
people in the community. I already got an email from one potential client
asking about the things these creeps are saying about me.

The lesson I learned, and this may be of interest to everyone here, is that
agreements are basically worthless unless both parties truly want to work
together in good faith. I am not sure even a written legal agreement would
have been useful. We had an informal agreement spanning back for over a year
about rates and payment terms where my company would provide services at a
discounted rate in exchange for payment within a specified time period. The
client, since then, instituted a complex set of procedures in regards to
issuing payments, aggressively questioning every invoice, challenging all
work authorizations, etc., all of which prevented payment for way beyond the
set date. Invoices were literally being ignored after sending them out
unless we followed up with 3 people, and even then it would take over a
month before they were telling us we were not being paid for some or all of
the work unless we produced extensive documentation about how decisions were
made (not documentation about the code, mind you, but a written record of
how decisions were made on the project - mostly on their part).

During the conversation that concluded our business relationship, I asked
them what they were going to do going forward. They were already working
with other Drupal developers. This brings me to my real concern out of all
this. Doesn't this kind of stuff kill open source? I mean, some people write
code for Drupal so they can eat and don't really get paid that much. I am
lucky enough to have a company with teams of people who can follow up on
stuff like this, but what about someone trying to make it on their own?

I am not one to name names and think a blacklist could put someone at risk
of libel. But I can see the use for a developer's legal fund and would be
the first one to make a contribution. If someone tries to screw with the
bill you can go after them and the fund would pay for it up to a certain
amount. Maybe this fund could also give out contracts for services, my
company would be happy to distribute them. It makes sense in a way, we all
benefit off each other's code, we should all have a way to stand up for each
other without encountering legal jeopardy.

I have $500 USD to start it off and would be happy to get an attorney to
organize the fund if anyone else is interested.

M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Henri Poole [mailto:poole at civicactions.com] 
> Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 2:32 PM
> To: Harry Slaughter
> Cc: A list for Drupal consultants and Drupal service/hosting 
> providers; mhaggerty at trellon.com
> Subject: Re: [consulting] Proper Collections Procedure
> 
> I would argue that it is professional. There are very few 
> professional organizations that knowingly take on risks. When 
> I buy a book online, I can read reviews from peers. I am 
> supportive of this level of transparency and community 
> feedback and find it very important to make informed decisions.
> 
> If a firm is having difficulty with Haggerty, whom I know and 
> respect, it would make a big difference as to whether or not 
> I would consider the risk worth the benefit.
> 
> Perhaps this is just a personal value that I hold around 
> transparency that has influenced our business practices but 
> generally, I think that transparency is the best policy.
>