ben5000
New Member
Hi,
Ok so recently I had a client who approached me to produce 6 animations for an awards show they were having later in the year. We had agreed a budget and list of deliverables. Once the requirements were discussed I went away and worked on my initial concept ideas, which they liked and approved.
At this stage they had paid a deposit which was 25% of the total fee.
Now that the initial concepts had been approved I went away for several months to start building the ideas and animating them. There was a huge amount of work bringing the ideas to life.
After months of work the client had decided they did not feel the concepts were working as well as they had hoped. At this stage we discussed ideas for improvement, and I went away to work through the new set of feedback. This process continued to a point where we were struggling to make progress and appearing to go around in circles. The direction was very limited other than "this still isn't really working for us". After further discussions it became clear they were perhaps looking for a new concept, something quite different than what was signed off several months previously.
Whilst I sensed something wasnt right I wanted to get the second instalment of money from them, now totaling 50% of the project total. From my perspective I didn't want to be working over 3 months and only have the 25% deposit as the amount of work done at this stage far exceeded that. The client agreed to pay.
After further rounds of amends and myself unwilling to completely changed the concept we had agreed on, I decided it might be a good idea to stand down on the project. This was partly due to the lack of direction making it very difficult to continue and also that I wanted them to find another supplier who might be able to start again on the project to their new concepts, and also so they had enough time to hit the deadline.
The client had agreed this might be a wise idea, but no mention of the monies had been discussed at this stage.
Now the client is working with someone else but they are demanding their money back or threatening legal action. I am not sure if they will take it to court or not, but either way I am not willing to pay back for the months I spent on development work.
One thing I should note is there was not a formal contract, although I did supply them an invoice outlining the scope of the work at each stage.
I am writing to see what others thoughts are on the situation? Should I be paying them anything back? Do you think they will take it to court and if so am I likely to win / lose?
I would really appreciate any help / advice
Many Thanks
Ben
ps: I don't typically cancel projects, but this one was becoming too stressful
Ok so recently I had a client who approached me to produce 6 animations for an awards show they were having later in the year. We had agreed a budget and list of deliverables. Once the requirements were discussed I went away and worked on my initial concept ideas, which they liked and approved.
At this stage they had paid a deposit which was 25% of the total fee.
Now that the initial concepts had been approved I went away for several months to start building the ideas and animating them. There was a huge amount of work bringing the ideas to life.
After months of work the client had decided they did not feel the concepts were working as well as they had hoped. At this stage we discussed ideas for improvement, and I went away to work through the new set of feedback. This process continued to a point where we were struggling to make progress and appearing to go around in circles. The direction was very limited other than "this still isn't really working for us". After further discussions it became clear they were perhaps looking for a new concept, something quite different than what was signed off several months previously.
Whilst I sensed something wasnt right I wanted to get the second instalment of money from them, now totaling 50% of the project total. From my perspective I didn't want to be working over 3 months and only have the 25% deposit as the amount of work done at this stage far exceeded that. The client agreed to pay.
After further rounds of amends and myself unwilling to completely changed the concept we had agreed on, I decided it might be a good idea to stand down on the project. This was partly due to the lack of direction making it very difficult to continue and also that I wanted them to find another supplier who might be able to start again on the project to their new concepts, and also so they had enough time to hit the deadline.
The client had agreed this might be a wise idea, but no mention of the monies had been discussed at this stage.
Now the client is working with someone else but they are demanding their money back or threatening legal action. I am not sure if they will take it to court or not, but either way I am not willing to pay back for the months I spent on development work.
One thing I should note is there was not a formal contract, although I did supply them an invoice outlining the scope of the work at each stage.
I am writing to see what others thoughts are on the situation? Should I be paying them anything back? Do you think they will take it to court and if so am I likely to win / lose?
I would really appreciate any help / advice
Many Thanks
Ben
ps: I don't typically cancel projects, but this one was becoming too stressful