What would you do if a client refused to pay for the work performed?

Here is the situation:
Was told that a computer was "restored", but could no longer see the printer, go on the internet, norton did not work (worm virus), and could not see another network computer.

Found that they had multiple viruses (ie trojan.win32.ftp.attack).

Add to that: the main computer was on its last legs (check disk highlighted errors. fat32 instead of ntfs).
And that no updates (windows, norton etc) had ever been done.

Four hours later:

When presented with the bill, the client said "But the work has not been completed."
Right. And Rome was built in a day.

While its true, they did not get all that they WANTED,
they DID get three computers - "nearly" fixed.
Norton restored and working.
And most importantly, their main business computer, with all its data, saved from near disaster due to a corrupted file structure. (Did I mention the multiple recovery files?)

I mentioned that, if a customer refused to pay for gas, they could be arrested.
Same at a restaurant or at a supermarket.
But because they are dealing with a local guy, they feel its ok to shaft me.

And despite being paid by the hour/minute - they took 20 minutes to voice their concerns (insert: whine).
Being cramped on time, to meet my next customer - I had to leave but:


Question: What would you do?
Take them to court?
Offer to return double their moneys worth in viruses?
Or another avenue altogether?

Using your scenario, what would you do if you went into the gas station and "nearly" got the gas requested? You wanted 10 gal of premium and got 8 cal of regular. Would you be satisfied?

Or you go to a restaurant and ordered Salmon and got a MacFish sandwich. You "nearly" got it -- it was fish...

IMO, seems like you needed to do more work before presenting the bill -- finish the job to their satisfaction. If that means going back for another session, so be it.

Offer to complete the job. You don't want them badmouthing your business.

__________________

During the election they said Obama could only be elected when pigs fly. Well, we currently have an epidemic of Swine Flu. Coincidence?

Absolutely correct. I did offer to do more work.

But the taxi cab meter was running, and the fare decided not to pay after ducking into a store and not coming out.

In an hourly business, and within the given time frame, reasonable charges are expected and should be paid.

These people were looking for excuses.

My favourite was
"My screen is too small" (referring to the font on his home page, http://www.indystar.com/

Cry me a river. Your anti virus works, your system has been saved from crashing, and you don't want to pay because the font's too small?

No, sir,
This customer was LOOKING for a fight - excuse me - a way not to pay.

I'll give everyone the benefit of the doubt - if indeed they are honest and forthright!

Talk to a Lawyer

__________________

During the election they said Obama could only be elected when pigs fly. Well, we currently have an epidemic of Swine Flu. Coincidence?

Well, in addition to talking w/ a lawyer (you should be able to get a consult for free), I would determine what the original requirements of the job were, i.e. exactly what the client wanted when telling you what needed fixing. If you accomplished this, then the bill is legit. Otherwise I guess the job wasn't completed.

However, if you are unable to complete the job for some reason beyond your control, e.g. they have to buy a new component or software to achieve the results they desire, then I would say you accomplished the job to the best of your ability. Hence the bill is legit, and I would make sure they understand why it's legit and why you can't finish the job. But if it's something you can fix but didn't have the time to do, just go back and finish the job, then give them the final bill.

If they want something more than what the original job called for, inform them of that. However, if you can make it so they have nearly the same setup as before, e.g. the fonts, then why not do it? A happy customer is a repeat customer. Especially if you did a reformat/reinstall of the OS or something similar. If it involves something like reconfiguring the website, then obviously that's a new job and should be billed accordingly.

Just my 2 cents.

__________________
Start Programming with Python-A beginner's guide to programming and the Python language.
-------------
Common Sense v2.0-Striving to make the world a little bit smarter.