Monday, December 24, 2012

I do freelance makeup, I did a job 8 weeks ago and still have not been paid? what do I do

I do freelance makeup, I did a job 8 weeks ago and still have not been paid? what do I do?
I have emailed with the lady that was in charge of me several times. At first they said 2 weeks then 30 days now I am hearing up to 45 days. It has been almost 8 weeks. I just sent an email to the payroll specialist. When I last spoke to someone it was Dec 22 and she said that she would get back with me and I have heard nothing else. I am not sure if I need to take legal action . This job was just a verbal agreement so I am afraid that I have been screwed,the bad thing is this is an Ivy League College that I did this makeup job for?
Other - Careers & Employment - 3 Answers
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1 :
Call them on the phone. Be very professional. I personally would call every day until they paid the bill. Squeaky wheel and all that.
2 :
Since the agreement was verbal, you may not have any legal recourse unless you have some written correspondence with her signature or (in some states) an email from her business email address that confirms that you did the work for her and the agreed upon fee. In general, as a freelancer, you should never, ever do any work for anyone who is supposed to be paying you without a legal and binding contract for your services. The contract doesn't have to be complicated and this guide will help you put one together: http://advertising.about.com/od/contracts/ss/createcontract.htm. It's likely that the payroll specialist is not the one who would be dealing with your payment since payroll is for employees of the College and not contractors and outside vendors. Pick up a phone (not email) and call their Accounts Payable department. Identify yourself and see if they can track a requisition for a payment for you. They will be able to tell you if any paperwork was submitted and if it was, what the status of the payment is. If a payment request has not been submitted by this person you were dealing with, you might try invoicing Accounts Payable directly. Create an invoice with your name address, phone number, social security or tax ID number on it and description of services rendered and the agreed upon amount. Fax or mail it to Accounts Payable (if you mail it get signature confirmation or send it registered so you have proof that it arrived). What will likely then happen is Accounts Payable will forward a copy of the invoice to the person who hired you for approval of payment. It could give her the incentive to get the ball rolling on the payment. If this doesn't work, you could try small claims court, but since it appears there is no documentation of your being hired, it doesn't look like you'll get anywhere with that.
3 :
Do you own a licensed business, or work for one? You have now learned your lesson about written contracts, deposits, and suing for money due. Depending on the state where you got your cosmetology training and licensing, perhaps the state licensing board can help you. It surprises me that an Ivy League College would hire someone without the terms being spelled out in a contract

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