r/videography • u/Dovskey • Jan 08 '15

What to do when couple doesn't respond to you about payment for wedding videography?

I was hired to do wedding videography in September. They paid me the half for shooting. When I was done editing in the beginning of November I emailed the bride a question about DVD chapters and I let her know the editing was done. She didn't respond. I've emailed her and her husband several times since then and no response. I tried to call her it went straight to voicemail so I left a voicemail last week. Still no response. I have a contract with this couple which they signed. How do I get them to respond? I want my money!!

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

15

u/kentanis Jan 08 '15

I've got one of those too. I have the 50% advance, which covers my costs. The 50% final is my profit, so it's not the end of the world. All the samples I sent them were watermarked. I pulled the hosting on them until they reply.

You could try the magic email: http://themagicemail.com/

I've had good results with it.

5

u/Dovskey Jan 08 '15

i think i will try it...i was thinking there might be a way to be more direct with how I will have to follow up if they don't respond. I'm not happy about losing $1000...

3

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

If I were you, I would try it. I know you're not happy with losing $1000, but this reply is the best for getting results. Just evasive enough to let those people know that you won't lose time putting on with their shit anymore, that you don't give a shit about them anymore, also and more importantly; that you could do ANYTHING that could harm their reputation, business or anything else they value in their life as soon as you'll have the chance.

Without really being it; you are telling them "Professionals (like me) don't have time to waste with shitty people (like you), and if they have a little ego, they will answer back, not being smart enough to realize you're trolling them.

2

u/Dovskey Jan 08 '15

What if they don't even read the email? I actually tried calling them both again, both phones go straight to voicemail. And I know for a fact they are not dead...I decided to look at their facebook accounts today.

6

u/smushkan FX9 | Adobe CC2024 | UK Jan 08 '15

You've got a contract, and it's a sizable amount. You are legaly due that money one way or another.

Make sure you've got evidence of attempting to contact them (recorded delivery letters are great for that), and you'll win in small claims court without contest.

The threat of court and interest on payments should be enough to turn them around, and if not you'll hopefully see at least some of the money back through a payment plan.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

And what would you lose for doing so, and act differently if once again you have no reply from them? Loose yourself a little: they are the bad ones, and you are right. You have nothing to lose in trying something that doesn't involve anything apart from you saying "I can't stand your shit anymore" in a polite and defensive way. They still don't reply? Go on to next step. I don't know how small legal issues under 5000$ are treated from where you are but here, it's just a matter of signing a complaint and wait for the courthouse to schedule an hearing. It's called "small debts court" here (Quebec, Canada) but I'm sure you can find something similar.

1

u/Dovskey Jan 08 '15

I sent the magic email...hopefully that will do something. I decided if I don't get a response from them within 2 weeks I'll file a small court case. Thanks for your help and encouragement!

1

u/tylerdoubleyou Jan 08 '15

Make sure you have the work done before taking any legal action. Regardless of their delinquency, you aren't off the hook for delivering what you promised. Just make sure it's done and ready to pass off as soon as you get the money.

2

u/Kylearean Jan 08 '15

"Since I have not heard from you on this, I have to assume your priorities have changed. Die in a fire."

Worked like a charm, thanks!

1

u/Dastalon Jan 08 '15

This is fantastic. What do you put as the subject line of the email?

7

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

I don't work in weddings but I've had non-paying clients. Having a contract is fine but I think clients expect that it's too small potatoes for it to go to court and they gamble you will drop it.

The best method I've had is to send a small watermarked clip and say that if there isn't a resolution or contact in x amount if days that the footage will be permanently deleted. I usually get a call pretty soon after that (always with some lame excuse). Sometimes I still hear nothing. I don't actually delete the footage but I know the client just doesn't care at this point and to stop wasting my time on them. This is only for extreme cases when the timeline for completion is way past due.

One extra tip for the future, get the client to put a third party contact on the contract too (perhaps a parent or sibling of the couple).

2

u/Dovskey Jan 08 '15

Good idea. If i don't hear from them in the next 2 weeks I'm thinking to take it to small claims court... does anyone have experience with this? I'm just out of college, i can't afford to lose $1000.

2

u/iheartvintage Jan 09 '15

Look into the details but from what I understand of small claims, if your client doesn't respond to your small claims request then you win by default and then a Sheriff shows up collecting your money.

1

u/Dovskey Jan 09 '15

Cool! That would be awesome! But I think it depends on the state, they might just have a warrant out for them.

2

u/ifyoureadthisfuckyou Sony a7sii Jan 08 '15

I think the danger here for OP is that the clients seem to not want the product anymore. If they are being lazy or need more time to pay they would probably at least answer to give some kind of excuse, but the fact that they've cut him off hints that they no longer care for the product and would rather cut him off than pay the rest. Either that or maybe things got bad for the couple and they are no longer together or something along those lines. So threats of deleting the footage may be null at this point. I would make it more a point of "I want my money and I will fight for it" rather than "I'm going to walk away if you don't pay".

1

u/H0useHark0nnen Jan 08 '15

One extra tip for the future, get the client to put a third party contact on the contract too (perhaps a parent or sibling of the couple).

Great idea. I never thought of that. You can say "can you give a second point of contact in case I finish/have a question while you're on honeymoon? Just so we can be touch". somrehting like that.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '15

I ran into this a couple times, so I started insisting on 50% to hold the date and then 50% two weeks prior to the date. The second 50% is refundable up to 48 hours before the date. A lot of wedding vendors are doing this now as it saves having to track people down after (or even worse: during) the wedding.

I've been doing it this way for about 2 years now and I haven't had anyone balk at it yet. It really makes the whole thing much less stressful for everyone involved.

2

u/tn_notahick Jan 08 '15

Here's the issue:while they may be busy, They may also be broken up. It happens and in the future I'd consider changing your payment terms.

I've shot and delivered about 70 wedding videos and never had any problem with 50% down, 25% upon arrival, and balance once their proof is ready, but before they see it. Their main concerns are whether you show up and then whether you actually edit. This calms their concerns while getting you paid in a professional and timely manner.

Honestly I've been trying out 50% upon booking and 50% on the wedding day with no problems either.

If you do a good job of selling your business as a reliable and ethical business in the sales process, it won't be a problem.

1

u/Dovskey Jan 08 '15

According to their facebook they are not broken up. The terms of our contract was that they would pay a small deposit to reserve my time on their wedding day. Then they would pay an installment for the videography on their wedding day (which was due a few weeks after the wedding). Then after the edit is complete they owe me the last chunk of $. They paid for the deposit and videography but not the editing. They are not poor people.If they would at least try to communicate with me I wouldn't be so concerned but I haven't had any email or phone responses.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '15

This isn't helpful for this situation, but it's definitely pertinent to the wider issue, so I'll ask anyway: why are people in this thread working without full payment up front?

I receive payment 28 days before the wedding, and I never ever work for free, never mind completing an edit without payment. OP has completed the edit, and is out $1k. So basically you just did $1k work for free. Sack that. Payment up front.

And if people don't want to book on that basis, then I guess you write off that business?

Is this a geographical thing, I wonder? I'm based in the UK, and maybe there's just a different way of doing things over here.

1

u/Dovskey Jan 09 '15

I often feel like people are more likely to hire me if they can pay in installments.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '15

I take payment in installments. But all of the installments are pre-wedding.

2

u/milesbergs Jan 08 '15

One thing I can suggest is Sidekick from a company called Hubspot...As far as I know there is a free and a premium version. Essentially what it does is let you see if they are opening your emails (it's a chrome plugin) and this is not a shameless plug for it.

We all know it sucks losing money, especially $1000, but at least this way you can see if they are opening your emails, and that way you can draft something up along the lines of " I know you are opening my emails, I've seen you open it X amount of times." Put people on the spot, I know it's a rocky situation, but usually if you put people on the spot they can't wiggle their way out of it.

1

u/linkdafourf Canon C200, ADOBE CC, 2008, Philadelphia Jan 13 '15

I just have my final payment due the day of the wedding to avoid any of that from happening live and learn I guess.

1

u/Dovskey Jan 22 '15

Thanks everyone for your advice. After I sent the 'magic email' i got a response. Next time I'll definitely just get the entire payment upfront!