A client ghosted me after a $2,500 project and I had to get creative to get paid.

This was for a website redesign I finished in March. They stopped answering emails and calls. Instead of sending more invoices, I changed the site's admin password and put up a simple 'site under maintenance' page with my contact info. They called me within two hours to settle up. Has anyone else had to use a non-standard tactic to get a client to pay?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.karen12d ago

Actually saw a story like this on a business blog last week. Some freelancer changed the login for a client's social media account after getting ghosted on a big invoice. It feels a bit risky, but idk, maybe you gotta do what you gotta do. I mean, that's a lot of money to just walk away from. Your move with the maintenance page was pretty smart, got a fast result. Makes me wonder if more people should have something like that in their contract from the start.

bennett.nora12d ago

That freelancer could get sued though.

the_brian12d ago

But honestly, @bennett.nora, sometimes the threat of a lawsuit is the only thing that gets a client to pay. A lawsuit takes months and costs money, but locking them out of their own site gets action in hours. It's a calculated risk, and for a huge unpaid invoice, holding the work hostage might be the only real power a freelancer has.