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Just changed my mind about deposit refunds after a guy in Reno paid me $300 to walk away
He said his plans changed at a barbecue and wanted out clean, and I handed back his deposit minus 20 hours of work, which felt insane at the time. Now I put a kill fee in every contract, so has anyone had a client push back on that number?
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shane_morgan9d ago
So you handed back a deposit "minus 20 hours of work" and that felt insane at the time, but honestly man, that's the part I'd push back on. A kill fee usually only kicks in when the client walks for no real reason, and if he told you at a barbecue that his plans changed, that sounds like he just changed his mind, which is kind of what a deposit is supposed to protect you from in the first place. Charging 20 hours on top of keeping part of the deposit is a lot, and if I were that guy I'd be annoyed too. Maybe the number isn't the problem, maybe it's that you're stacking a kill fee on top of the deposit instead of picking one. Most people won't fight you on a set fee that's spelled out up front, but they will fight you if it feels like you got paid twice for the same cancel.
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