Dear Senior Members,
I find myself in a difficult situation and have sought advice from a lawyer who is known to me. He mentioned that if I were to send a notice or initiate a recovery suit, the company may counter with a compensation damages case against me. The issue arose when the payment for my first project was not settled, leading me to commence work on the second project with the assumption that the outstanding dues for the initial project would be resolved. However, the lawyer informed me that I had signed a letter of agreement for the second project and then left without completing it, potentially providing grounds for the company to claim damages. I left the first project midway due to non-payment of my balance and now I am being held accountable for the losses incurred by the company.
The second letter I signed was brief, outlining my role, services, and compensation. There were two critical clauses mentioned in that letter:
1. Your duties involve comprehensive editing to meet the quality standards expected by the Director and the client.
2. You are required to dedicate your time solely to this project without engaging in any other work during this period.
These were the only terms stipulated in the letter I signed. On the other hand, the first letter I received was more of an appointment letter without specific terms and conditions. It only mentioned that my fee structure would be as discussed, to be paid in full within 15 days of project completion via cheque.
I seek your advice on the appropriate course of action to take in this situation or whether it would be best to move forward without any further action.
From India, Delhi
I find myself in a difficult situation and have sought advice from a lawyer who is known to me. He mentioned that if I were to send a notice or initiate a recovery suit, the company may counter with a compensation damages case against me. The issue arose when the payment for my first project was not settled, leading me to commence work on the second project with the assumption that the outstanding dues for the initial project would be resolved. However, the lawyer informed me that I had signed a letter of agreement for the second project and then left without completing it, potentially providing grounds for the company to claim damages. I left the first project midway due to non-payment of my balance and now I am being held accountable for the losses incurred by the company.
The second letter I signed was brief, outlining my role, services, and compensation. There were two critical clauses mentioned in that letter:
1. Your duties involve comprehensive editing to meet the quality standards expected by the Director and the client.
2. You are required to dedicate your time solely to this project without engaging in any other work during this period.
These were the only terms stipulated in the letter I signed. On the other hand, the first letter I received was more of an appointment letter without specific terms and conditions. It only mentioned that my fee structure would be as discussed, to be paid in full within 15 days of project completion via cheque.
I seek your advice on the appropriate course of action to take in this situation or whether it would be best to move forward without any further action.
From India, Delhi
Hello,
Looks like what I mentioned in my response of 12 Jan as a POSSIBILITY ["I am not sure if you have put IN-WRITING the reasons why you stopped working on the Second project. If not, then the company COULD have an edge from legal aspects"] looks more likely a PROBABILITY, based on your last update.
Frankly, my reading of the action plan is what you mentioned in the end -- '...just move on', however much this pains or irritates @ the way this client of yours has taken advantage.
But... and with a CAPITAL B... this needs to be your learning chance too. First and foremost, I think you need to learn to put things in writing with the long-term aspects in mind.
Suggest FIRST talk to your in-relation lawyer to draft an Agreement Draft that you can use regularly, without depending on the client(s), who, in all probability, CAN ease out/miss out/include the aspects that you MAY use if things don't turn out well, like it's happened now.
SECOND, try to do some sort of a Background Check of the client BEFORE you get into any contract/agreement -- this won't be very tough, given the reach of the internet today. You may not even need to take help from Agencies, like Companies do to get the BCs done for prospective employees.
THIRD, learn NOT to React, but TO Respond -- MAYBE had you known that this situation COULD have come about, in all probability, you MAY NOT have stopped working on the second project, but WOULD have handled the issue in a different way. Please give this a thought.
All the Best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
1650Looks like what I mentioned in my response of 12 Jan as a POSSIBILITY ["I am not sure if you have put IN-WRITING the reasons why you stopped working on the Second project. If not, then the company COULD have an edge from legal aspects"] looks more likely a PROBABILITY, based on your last update.
Frankly, my reading of the action plan is what you mentioned in the end -- '...just move on', however much this pains or irritates @ the way this client of yours has taken advantage.
But... and with a CAPITAL B... this needs to be your learning chance too. First and foremost, I think you need to learn to put things in writing with the long-term aspects in mind.
Suggest FIRST talk to your in-relation lawyer to draft an Agreement Draft that you can use regularly, without depending on the client(s), who, in all probability, CAN ease out/miss out/include the aspects that you MAY use if things don't turn out well, like it's happened now.
SECOND, try to do some sort of a Background Check of the client BEFORE you get into any contract/agreement -- this won't be very tough, given the reach of the internet today. You may not even need to take help from Agencies, like Companies do to get the BCs done for prospective employees.
THIRD, learn NOT to React, but TO Respond -- MAYBE had you known that this situation COULD have come about, in all probability, you MAY NOT have stopped working on the second project, but WOULD have handled the issue in a different way. Please give this a thought.
All the Best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
Dear , Please send me the contract signed letter and all others payment & pending history and we will talk to the company. Best Regards Sajid
From India, Delhi
From India, Delhi
Hi,
For freelance work, it totally depends on trust because there is no paperwork or documents to prove that you are an employee or that you worked there, or were hired to complete an assignment. If the situation is the worst, have a word with them and try to get your money; that's the only thing you can do.
ALL THE BEST,
Asrar
From India, Hyderabad
For freelance work, it totally depends on trust because there is no paperwork or documents to prove that you are an employee or that you worked there, or were hired to complete an assignment. If the situation is the worst, have a word with them and try to get your money; that's the only thing you can do.
ALL THE BEST,
Asrar
From India, Hyderabad
Dear Anonymus, Concern in local consumer court with the details of all the documents which ever you have with that particular project.
From India, Chennai
From India, Chennai
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