[Hidden-tech] fair refund policy feedback request

[Ron Miller]

Val,
I would say there shouldn't be "expectations" per se in a business deal and
all contingencies should be clearly stated in an agreement up front,
including termination terms. Also in the future, I wouldn't pre-pay anyone
for the entire deal. I've been freelancing since 1988. I've never been paid
in full up front for any work I've done. I've certainly gotten a percentage
up front, but the final payment is made upon satisfactory delivery of the
services --and in many cases, depending on the nature of the work and the
length of the deal, I don't see money until after the work product is
complete.

All that said, if it were me, depending on the circumstances, I probably
would have returned the remaining funds to you as a show of good faith, but
not everyone is that way. All you can do at this point is never use this
person again and warn others against doing business with them if anyone
asks. And learn from this experience to always have clear expectations from
the get-go.

Ron


On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 2:44 PM, Val Nelson <val at valnelson.com> wrote:

>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
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>
>
> Hi HT friends,
>
> I wonder what you would consider standard practice for a freelancer in a
> case like this.
>
> Let's say you hire someone and pre-pay for a 20-hour package where time is
> tracked and the fee is based on the hours. Then you find it's not working
> as expected, despite giving it a try for at least 10 hours, trying to
> adjust things to make it work. Would you expect they would give you a
> refund of the unused 10 hours (when both agree on how much is unused)? Or
> would you think it's fair for them to say that's too bad because it was a
> pre-paid package.
>
> To me, it seems like bad business not to refund the unused portion when a
> customer is unhappy...  no matter how you package the payment plan, and
> frankly no matter what agreement is in place. I would think keeping the
> customer happy or ending on good terms is always the priority. I welcome
> hearing opinions on both sides in case I'm missing something.
>
> Thank you,
> Val
>
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