Would you bill for this service?

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:30 pm

I'd like to keep this as vague as possible but I guess I will need to add certain details for clarity.

1. I recently did a freelance project. After I sent it back, he reached out to me saying that I made some embarrassing mistakes. He showed me some of them. He was right (I must have been overwhelmed and it definitely wasn't my usual quality work unintentionally), but it wasn't as terrible as he made it sound. He claimed that he needed to pay someone else to redo it and it also made him look bad. I hear. I asked him to send me the file so I could see my mistakes. He asked me if I would go over it again once it's done at no charge, which I agreed to.
I spent hours of unpaid work going over the file again and finally sent it to him, but he told me that wasn't the final file that he needed me to do, but rather he sent it to me because I asked, because I wanted to see my mistakes.
So in other words, he's expecting me to put in another bunch of hours of unpaid work, because of a misunderstanding?
Do I have the right to say, I'm sorry, I gave you that unpaid work we agreed to. I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I can't spend more time unpaid on this project?
I think he was upset as it was, so I don't think he plans on giving me more work ever again regardless, so it's not like I'm losing a potential client. On the other hand, I did give him my word...(But I thought I kept my side of the bargain, only to find out that nit wasn't the file he had in mind...)

2. Someone else posted on a job forum yesterday. I reached out to him, and he sent me the file. I started working on it and emailed him with questions on specific details of the file that I noticed as I was working on it, but he didn't respond. He told me he needed it in a few days, while I told him I could have it in a few weeks, but I would be in touch with him to let him know if I could have it earlier. Since he needed a rush job, I started working on it while I was waiting for him to respond.
This morning I emailed him:
Hi, I am trying my best, but I really don't think I can have it before two weeks. I started working on it and am attaching what was done so you can see if this is what you have in mind.
Feel free to pass it on to someone else who can have it for you earlier. (I would just like to get paid for what I did.) Until I hear back from you, I will assume that you're ok with the time estimate and will continue working on it.
Have a great day.

His response:
I gave it to somebody else last night, and I sent a message that the job has been taken.
I don't remember asking you to work on the file.

Well, yeah, I saw he posted that the job was taken. I thought he meant it was taken by ME!

My response: You sent me the file. Why would I think that you gave it to someone else?

His response: That is not the file. it is merely a sample, as I wrote in the email.

My friend thinks I should send him an invoice even though I know he won't pay me for the time I spent on it already.

What do you think?
WWYD?

livinginisrael

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:38 pm

Sounds like a quack. Doubt ull get paid. Don't work for him anymore

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:40 pm

livinginisrael wrote:

Sounds like a quack. Doubt ull get paid. Don't work for him anymore

Two different clients

amother

Birch ↓

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:41 pm

I don’t think any are going to pay. I’d just move on. But in the future it might be better to have a real contract outlining exactly what you both expect and don’t start until it’s signed. You will end up doing a lot of unpaid work the way you are dealing with it now.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:45 pm

amother Birch wrote:

First one: do I accept the file he still wants to send me unpaid, BECAUSE I PROMISED? Or do I tell him that I already gave him that time and service and I apologize that it was a misunderstanding?

Second guy: should I send him an invoice regardless?

DrMom

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:46 pm

For situation #1, you should work to do the job right. The dfact that you had to do extra work is a consequence of your own mistake, and you need to fix it.

For situation #2, you need to get a commitment from the customer before starting work. He does not owe you anything, IMO.

theoneandonly

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:57 pm

DrMom wrote:

Agree on both counts.

Also you need to do big damage control with #1. If you're in a word -of-mouth business he might be telling people to stay away from you because you made big mistakes. If you fix your mistakes and work with him he might calm down and be left with a good impression of you.

Both of the situations make you seem not so professional, though. Idk what your business is, if you're very new, or if you changed some key details, but people want to entrust their work to a professional they can trust, and you aren't giving that impression (from these posts, at least).

amother

Cerulean

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 6:59 pm

As an ex graphic designer... it sounds like you are missing something. Clearer communication, contracts, agreed upon amount of revisions, something. It sounds like your workflow is messy.

amother

↑ Birch

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:00 pm

amother OP wrote:

First one you do the free work for all your mistakes. If he wants more work not related to the mistakes that’s not free that’s billed. But be super clear about it before you start working.

Second one it wasn’t confirmed that you were hired so you can’t bill.

anonymous mom

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:01 pm

How long have you been engaged in this type of freelance work? Have you had many satisfied clients? There appears to be something amiss with your approach, which may be due to a lack of experience.

rmbg

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:03 pm

Re: #1: you messed up. You need to everything you can to make this right.

Re#2: sounds like a misunderstanding on your part. You didn’t receive a commitment from him and on your own decided to do the work. Hes not obligated to pay you

amother

Feverfew

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

Situation 1: sounds like you made a mistake twice! Yes, you should spend the time fixing it.

Situation 2: did he actually say that it was a sample in the email, as he claimed?

For the future, you need clear agreements before starting to work. And it sounds like your are having some communication issues and jumping to work on stuff before thenclient actually says to.

amother

Sage

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:42 pm

Like Dr mom said. Do you have someone irl that can coach you? There is the work you do & then the business part of it. You may be good at the former but need to learn the latter.

amother

Kiwi ↓

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 7:59 pm

I'm confused. Did guy #1 pay someone else to redo your work? Then why do you need to redo it too?

amother

↑ OP

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 8:31 pm

amother Kiwi wrote:

I'm confused. Did guy #1 pay someone else to redo your work? Then why do you need to redo it too?

He claims that the other person isn't a professional and doesn't have the training I do

amother

↑ Kiwi

Wed, Jul 24 2024, 8:54 pm

It doesn't sound like I can do the job according to your expectations. I am not going to charge you for the project. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Good luck!

Send. Don't engage after.

And you seriously need to figure out how to communicate properly going forward.