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Safest way to close books on a client who didn't pay?


9 years 2 months ago #428289 by Josh Jofoto
If a client paid your retainer upfront, however not the left over balance.  Then you show up to the wedding or photo shoot and finish the job.  Contract just says that final images won't be delivered till payment has been 100% received in full.  Yet, doesn't clarify what happens if non-payment?  What I'm trying to figure out is how long should you hold those files?  Reason I ask this is what if you toss the files, or better yet have a hard drive failure 4 years later that wipes out all the images, and the client finally coughs up the remaining balance due 6 years later and asking for the final shots?  

Could I be liable?  Contract doesn't cover scenarios like this?  
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9 years 2 months ago #428295 by Sawyer
Why not put a time frame in the contract?
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9 years 2 months ago #428302 by garyrhook
Um, not helpful, although relevant hindsight.

Archive the work. The Right Thing To Do is to save it for them; they may come around some day. Do you want to be the guy that lost their wedding photos?

And when they do come around, charge them an archival fee, and a recovery fee. And put those things in your contract now, for future clients. Take this as a learning opportunity and tweak your contract to cover these possiblities.

Me, I don't throw anything away, and do my best to ensure safety. That's just who I am.
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9 years 2 months ago #428376 by ShutterPal
Not to say the obvious, but why not get paid before you finish the job?
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9 years 2 months ago #428403 by Don Fischer
I have a book on photography and the author say's, "get all your money up front". After the wedding you could get relegated to the not so important file, lot's of bills then. He say's that eventually they come around so he would keep them. Me? If I even did one, I'd give them a couple months and then dispose of them. You hold them a couple years and they are not going to appreciate it. 

I guess this is why I don't do stuff like that. 
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9 years 2 months ago #428469 by Alan Nunez
I agree, Make sure you get paid up front. Personally I archive everything on raid drives and keep multiple/regular additional backups. My mentor when I was an 18 year old photographer told me to treat every images as if you want it to last 100 years. Even if the client did not pay I would keep the images on file. I have a client who paid in full over 10years ago and then disappeared. They did come back and I was able to deliver a wedding album to them. I did charge them extra as the cost of production had increased.
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9 years 2 months ago #428566 by garyrhook
Ain't hindsight wunnerful?

Most wedding photographers require final payment by the day of the event, or they don't show/don't shoot. In that case I would archive and keep the images safe, and presume that someday they were likely to come back for their product.

Depending upon the outstanding balance, one would always go to small claims court (here in the US).

Suggest the OP reconsider some of these elements of the business to avoid letting this happen again. But like I said, hindsight.
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9 years 2 months ago #428596 by Rob Conley

ShutterPal wrote: Not to say the obvious, but why not get paid before you finish the job?



LOL I was thinking the same thing. 
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9 years 2 months ago #428628 by Stacy Craig
I won't jump on anything till I've been completely paid.  So it wouldn't be an issue. 
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