Global Industrial Water, a South African company operating out of an office in Gainesville, Texas, contracted me through a manager named Charles Solomon in May to compose a graphic for publication in a trade journal (Journal of Petroleum Technology).
The agreement was that I would bill them $20/hr. For the work performed.
By the end of the four-day engagement, I had sent Charles four different drafts according to his specifications, and end the end, he decided he didn't like any of them and asked me to invoice him.
The total labor over four days came up to 17 hours, for an invoice total of $340. After the 30 days expired, I sent a couple of reminders, and he never paid.
Ultimately, Charles Solomon flat out refused to pay, accusing me of 'inflating the hours.'
Here is a transcript of some of our emails:
First, he agreed to pay:
From: Charles Solomon
[mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 17 11:04 PM
To: 'Paul Lynn'; 'Kaye'
Subject: RE: GIW PRESENTATION SHOWING MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY VS VACUUM
TOWER.
Paul,
Thank you for your work.
It seems we are probably giving you conflicting needs so if you would send your bill I will take care of it. We will soldier on with our own design.
Thanks again,
Charles Solomon
President/Consulting
Engineer
Office: (877)-817-9900
Cell: 214-212-1676
www.globalindustrialwater.com
[email protected]
If Produced Water is your
business, consider joining the Produced Water Society.
Three months later, he still had not paid, so I inquired:
From: Paul Lynn
[mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, August 16 12:27 PM
To: 'Charles Solomon'
Cc: Kaye ([email protected])
Subject: re: giw presentation showing membrane technology vs vacuum
tower.
Hi, Charles,
As of today, I have not yetreceived payment on invoice #0015 that I sent you on 5/17 of this year. I would like to know what I can do on my end to resolve this.
Hope this finds you and Kaye doing well!
Cheers,
Paul
At first, Charles Solomon tried to RESTATE the terms of our arrangement:
From: Charles Solomon
[mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, August 16 12:32 PM
To: Paul Lynn
Cc: Kaye
Subject: Re: GIW PRESENTATION SHOWING MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY VS VACUUM
TOWER.
Hi Paul,
As of today I have not received the discussed artwork. It seemed that our ideas did not coalesce and I doubt whether we will get on the same page.
Charles Solomon,
Global Industrial Water Inc.
So I reminded him exactly what he had agreed to:
From: Paul Lynn
[mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, August 16 2:40 PM
To: 'Charles Solomon'
Cc: 'Kaye'
Subject: re: giw presentation showing membrane technology vs vacuum tower.
Hi, Charles,
If youll refer to the email I sent you on 5/11, it specified that my billing is based on my hours of labor. I bill myself out at $20/hour no matter what work Im doing, so any fee would really just be a matter of how much needs to be done.
I understand you were not satisfied with the work I did, however on 5/16 I sent you three drafts, and on 5/17 I sent you two more, which more than validate the time (labor) for which Ive invoiced you.
Additionally, Ive offered you the PSD (project file) of the work I did, which you have yet to acknowledge. If you want that, as per my previous request, I simply need to know if youd like me to transmit via FTP or Dropbox.
Lastly, you acknowledged the obligation to remit payment in your email on 5/17 which read as follows:
Paul,
Thank you for your work.
It seems we are probably giving you conflicting needs so if you would send your bill I will take care of it. We will soldier on with our own design.
Thanks again,
Charles Solomon
President/Consulting Engineer
As of right now, what do you need from me for you to make payment?
Cheers,
Paul
At which time he accused me of inflating my hours, changing his justification for not paying what he had agreed yet again:
From: Charles Solomon
[mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 29 11:09 AM
To: Paul Lynn
Cc: Kaye
Subject: re: giw presentation showing membrane technology vs vacuum tower.
Yes Paul I said send your bill not expecting you to try and charge for unworked hours which you obviously did.
Charles Solomon,
Global Industrial Water Inc.
I would advise to any vendor that you demand payment up front if you choose to do business with this South African company, and to any would-be customers, as most of their designs have little to no actual time in field, I'd also exercise caution being their guinea pigs!
As of December 4, Charles Solomon and Global Industrial Water have not paid their bill of $340.
0 comments