CCJ - Can this be done?

[sjwright]

Hi

I am a freelance designer, and cutting a long story short, I have parted company with a company I used to work for.

I have money owed to me, and I am holding back a piece of work that I did for them until I am paid.

They are threatening me with a CCJ for the cost of hiring another freelancer to replicate the work I did for them.

Are they allowed to do this? Where do I stand?!

[buildersmate]

For starters, please explain why you think they won't pay you for the work you did - what is that dispute about? They haven't paid at all for the work yet - so their 'loss' is only one of time in not having the finished design by now. Was there a clause that time was of the essence in the original contract you had?

I think the way they would have to do this is to have the work re-done, then go to court to tell it all to a judge to try to get a judgement for their inconvenience. Only if they show evidence that a judge believes does a CCJ get awarded.

[sjwright]

Basically, I was constantly being jobs without a specification, and was fed up of the disorganised nature in which he operated, so I stated that I wanted to part company.

I am owed 3 days which I did for them, so am refusing to complete the hand over of a web site I did for them until I am paid. I know that if I do give the source files for the work I did then I will not get what I am owed.

[craft1948]

They can threaten you with a CCJ but they have to obtain judgement first....there's nothing to stop you putting your case forward in court.

[Angela_Macready]

The writer above is correct, they cannot get a CCJ against you without Judgment so I wouldn't worry about this as your first concern.
Without more information, it is difficult to give you accurate advice but if you have/had a contract with them, check the terms of that agreement (I know you said you didn't have specifics for each job but did you have any form of written agreement?). It may make some reference in the contract about who the work belongs to before and after payment. If you are employed by a company, the work that you do in their time usually belongs to them so in effect, you may be stealing from them! The contract may also say something in the contract about the payment terms. Check who is breaching what term basically. If the money you are owed is for the work you are withholding, perhaps they have a point of withholding the money.

If the contract is fairly clear, then you need to decide on your tactics. I would have thought the best thing is to find out why they won't pay you. What are they afraid of or can they simply not pay? The second option is to take the case to them. Put in a demand for the money and set out when the days were and the hours (if important). Give them a deadline for payment. Without seeing the contract, I would advise not putting anything in the letter about withholding the work. If the deadline passes, send them a letter saying you are now taking the matter to Court and issue a small claim. They may well counterclaim though so try to avoid getting to this stage.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Good luck

[R1Geezer]

further to the above you can counter claim with one of your own for the 3 days they owe you. A judge will sort the whole lot out in the end but I doubt it'll come to that.

[buildersmate]

He seems to want cash on delivery, Eddie.
Initially the question seemed to imply that there was money owed from a previous contract and hence delivery of more work was being hel-back until payment of outstanding invoices was made. That would not be an unreasonable position.
However it isn't that, and as we all know, most B2B contracts are on terms that involve invoicing first then payment.

[themas]

BM - I'm not sure I read it the same way as you. I think the 3 days he is owed could be for work other than the website - perhaps he could clarify. If it is, then holding back this work seems reasonable to me & he could certainly counter-claim if they issued a Court claim.