The retainer clause that vanished between two invoices

I finished a 6 week branding job for a startup in Austin, sent my final invoice on the 1st, and got silence. The 15th came and still nothing, so I checked their old retainer agreement I signed back in March. Turns out the 30 day net clause was in the original contract, but the second invoice I sent in May had a 14 day net note that I typed in myself. They paid the second one on time, so I thought the new terms stuck. Now they're saying the original still applies and I'm waiting until October for the final 900 dollars. I'm kicking myself for not re-sending the updated terms in writing, has anyone else had a verbal or informal change get ignored like this?

1 comments

1 Comment

garcia.wren9d ago

Wait, so they can just pick and choose which parts of the contract they remember, like a buffet of terms... Is that how it works now? Honestly, you might as well have sent that invoice via carrier pigeon with a handshake agreement for all the good it did. I've seen clients do this exact thing, where they'll happily pay a shorter term once and then act like you're trying to rewrite history when you bring it up again. The worst part is you know they're not wrong legally, they're just being petty about 900 bucks, which is probably like a week of their office snacks. Next time, maybe just attach the updated terms to the invoice itself, or better yet, tattoo it on your forehead before you walk into a meeting with them. And hey, on the bright side, at least you'll have a nice little surprise check in October to look forward to, right around the time you'll have forgotten you're even owed it.