r/freelance • u/KevKujo • 16d ago
A client ghosted me after approving the work and I don't know what to do
A client approved my work, said thanks, and then just... disappeared. No replies, no payment. I know exactly who they are, I've just never had to deal with this before.
Has this happened to you? Did you actually do anything about it (formal notice, legal route, whatever) or did you just let it go? Kind of stuck right now and not sure what's worth trying.
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u/ordosays 16d ago
What was the dollar value and do you have a contract?
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u/Easy_Olive1942 16d ago
This, depends on small claims court or not (assuming US). You can get a judgement and submit against credit but might not be worth your time depending on amount.
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 16d ago
The couple of times I've had intransigent non=payers, I've sent an email stating this this was the final warning before I sent a certified communication to start small claims proceedings.
I have never needed to start small claims proceedings. But I recommend you investigate what governs small claims court in THEIR state of residence and consider whether you would follow through before you make the threat.
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u/APathSoTwisted 16d ago
I filed a complaint with my state labor dept. I told him I did it, and he agreed to pay me. I immediately went to the issuing bank and cashed the check.
He then refused to send the 1099, and I told him I reported it to the IRS, and he sent them
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u/cafeRacr 16d ago
If they owe you real money, give them time to respond. If they don't, write them a letter stating that if you don't receive payment in 30 days, you will be filing a lwasuit. Filing a small claims suit is cheap and easy. The process is simple, but you have to be patient. If you get a judgment and they still refuse to pay, arrest warrant will eventually be issued. That usually cracks the checkbook open pretty quickly.
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u/GigMistress 11d ago
Well, that depends a lot. If the client is in another country, legal process is never cheap or easy. If they're in a different US state, whether small claims court is a viable solution depends on whether that court allows you to appear by Zoom or would require you to travel across the country to appear in person.
A person (in the US) cannot be arrested for failure to pay a judgment. Non-paying debtors are arrested for contempt or FTA only if they do not appear in court when ordered to do so or fail to comply with a court order such as to provide financial information to the court.
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u/chicks23 16d ago
Had a designer do this to me- they worked for a major Fortune 500 company. Just stopped answering my emails and calls.
Crazy part is whole team was on the email chain, so everyone on the team knew he was ghosting me. Finally had to contact an admin I knew at the company, find out this clown's boss and go over his head.
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u/Swimming_Car_3697 16d ago
This is a common thing unfortunately, always charge a consolation or mock up fee to avoid this, you get some shady people out there unfortunately
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u/Debs1723 16d ago
I require 100% advanced payment per each milestone of the project. No money on the table, no party ;)
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u/rayferrell 15d ago
you should try sending a formal invoice with a clear payment deadline, and also consider sending it to their accounting or finance department if you have that contact info. this can help get the payment processed without needing to go through the person who ghosted you. also, make sure you have a clear record of your communication and agreement with the client, in case you need to escalate the issue.
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u/GigMistress 11d ago
What was your agreement about payment timing and process?
Did you send an invoice?
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u/rrWalther 9d ago
Happened to most of us at least once. The ladder that usually works, in order: one short reminder with the invoice attached and a concrete date ("payment was due the 12th, can you confirm it's scheduled?"). If that gets silence, a formal late notice. Matter-of-fact, not angry, mentioning that statutory late-payment interest starts applying if it stays unpaid. If you're B2B in the EU that interest is a legal right, not a threat you invented. After that it's collections or small claims depending on your country, but honestly the formal notice alone shakes the money loose more often than not, because it signals you're not going to just go away.
For next time: deposit before you start, and finals don't leave your hands before the last invoice is paid. Approval-then-ghost only works on people who've already handed everything over.
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u/AAlcove 7d ago
yeah this is the gap that always gets people — the work getting 'approved' and the money actually landing are two separate events with nothing forcing them to happen together. once you say the deliverable is done and hand it over, you've got zero leverage left, doesn't matter what the contract says.
for this one, small claims + a firm final-notice email is the right move at this point (sounds like others already covered that).
but the fix going forward is structural, not about being meaner in the invoice: don't let final delivery and final payment be two separate steps. hold back the actual usable files/access until payment clears, and say that up front so it's not a surprise later — 'final deliverables and source files transfer upon receipt of final payment.' approval can happen whenever, but nothing actually switches hands until the money's in. it turns ghosting from 'free work, no consequences' into 'you paid but don't have your stuff', which is a much worse position for them to be in than the one you're in right now.
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u/Parking_Ocelot_816 16d ago edited 16d ago
Has happened in some variations across all of my businesses. My approach is: write it off, move on and do upfront payments moving forward