A Way for Freelance Writers to Report Deadbeat Clients

During the course of my freelance writing career, I've come across several deadbeat clients - those who never paid at all, those who did not pay the agreed upon amount, those who paid later than promised, and of course those who requested sample articles and then stole them for their own use. I've never had any real way of collecting what was owed to me.

Today, that has changed to some degree.

At Beacon Reader, there is a section entitled Please Pay Me, where you can report clients who have failed to pay you as agreed. You can post the clients name or company name (Media Outlet), your name (optional), a description of the work you were hired to do, the total that is owed to you, and the number of days the client is late paying you.

This of course does not guarantee that you will get paid, but it may give your deadbeat client more incentive to pay up. Warn the client that you will be reporting him, along with a link to the site. Let him know that you will be reporting him there in 48 hours if you have not received your payment. If you do not receive the payment within the allotted time, fill out a report, and let the client know that you have done so.

Wait a day or so, and if payment has not been received, let the whole world know about it. Link to your report at "Please Pay Me" on your Facebook, your blog, the forums that you participate in, and on the discussion lists you are a member of.

If your client has any business sense, and wants to protect his reputation, he or she will take paying you what is owed more seriously.