Hi, I have done programming for a guy in UK (I have all his contact details). I gave him all the source code too and now he is not replying to my emails? Can I take legal actions against him? If yes then what should I have as proof or anything like that to make my case strong? If I cannot take legal action, can you suggest anything that will put pressure on him (humane-legal way ofcourse)? Thanks for all the help that you can offer.
Depends where you are at. You can take legal action if you are in UK but not much you can do if you are in another country. If it was a large amount he owes you than maybe it would be worth legal action, but if it is a couple of hundred dollars or less, it may cost you more than that to do so. If you did it through a deal on DP you can give him Itrade or post about him but other than that, you just have to count it as a loss and move on. If you decide it is worth legal action, you need all the written proof of your deal and what you done for him. This includes a written agreement where he agrees to pay you so much for doing this work. Good Luck !
I only have emails. No written proof. Will it work? Its not couple of hundred. Its over 1500. Yes I am from different country and all correspondance was over email.
Why did you give him the code before he payed? Good luck with whatever you do, and hope you get your money
The best you can do is to give out the code to some hacker forum. (Tell which site he is running with that stolen (un paid) code. And they will take care of that guy for the next few years. Don't even tell that guy abou it. That is the best for such people. If he don't use it - it is a different question.
It might if you are willing to fly to the UK and sue him. You can sue him in your own country and maybe even win but there is no court that can enforce a judgment of $1500 in another country. Basically you can track down his phone number and keep calling him or you can keep emailing him but you are most likely not going to get your money. Count it as a very costly life lesson and move on. Next time don't give the code until you have at least half the money.
I've never been in this situation . . .but hopefully you will learn that when you do stuff like this you HAVE to get paid before you hand over the product. It's okay to show samples or screenshots but never just hand over the product. There are to many dishonest people on the Net. I've had many successful transaction using the above method with logos, graphics, and domains. Skinny
Someone previously made a good point - you can take legal action if you want, but it might be uneconomical, even when your talking about $1500. Email isn't desirable as proof either - if the guy was to say he didn't send them, and it was believed in the courtroom them you've nothing. I understand your plight.
In the UK there are debt collection agencies that will assist in recovering your money - they usually charge a fee of around 30% of the amount collected. It might be worthwhile doing a search online and emailing a few companies. They might also be in a position to buy the debt off of you and pursue it themselves. As for emails as evidence - I have good news here. I have used them in court as proof of correspondence and it has been accepted. Mich.
I think there were quite good points made over here. if you've been cheated.. then you've right to do whatever it takes .... hacker forum suggestion was not a bad idea..break your own code...
But if u dont know the person's address and its proper name ! then i think u cant do anything ! They are lots of rippers on internet world.. we have to be careful from them !
man that stinks. i would be pretty mad but doing business with other countries with out a contract could be a huge problem!