Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypal payment 3 months ago

Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by greenyoda on Thursday May 24, 2018 @03:00PM (#17147172)

> "Can I also be sued for threatening him with reaching out to his customer base and buyers."

Since you didn't actually talk to his customers or buyers, I don't think there would be any damages that he could sue you for.

However, threatening to harm someone if they don't pay you sounds like it could be extortion, so if he has proof that you did that (like an e-mail), he might be able to press criminal charges against you.

You really need to talk to a lawyer.

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Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by spoiledtechie on Thursday May 24, 2018 @03:36PM (#17147503)

Harm? Physically? I did not do so. He was threatening me...

I will go see a lawyer. Thank you.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by twunde on Thursday May 24, 2018 @04:59PM (#17148363)

You should talk to a few lawyers at different law firms and get a free consultation. You should get a sense of a few approaches, the likelihood that you'll see some money, etc. Think of it almost like planning poker in agile where you're trying to find realistic estimates.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by greenyoda on Thursday May 24, 2018 @07:59PM (#17149566)

> Harm? Physically? I did not do so.

Financial harm (encouraging his customers to leave his business). Extortion doesn't require physical harm. For example, blackmail is a type of extortion that threatens the release of information that would be harmful to the victim if the perpetrator isn't paid.

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Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by mcv on Thursday May 24, 2018 @04:33PM (#17148146)

If he threatened you physically, you might want to inform the police.

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Re:Ask HN: Client won't pay me my invoice and disputed Paypa... by greenyoda on Thursday May 24, 2018 @08:14PM (#17149626)

Involving the police could end up being a very costly decision if he also committed a crime. That's why he really needs to see a lawyer before he talks to this guy again or makes any more public statements about what happened. (The comments he made here admitting to threatening the non-payer's business interests can be connected to his real identity through all the information in his profile. All you'd need is a subpoena for domain registration or ISP records.)

A lawyer, if given all the above information, would be able to tell him whether it would be better for him to fight or just walk away (and also give him advice on how to better handle this kind of situation in the future).

[ Parent | on HN ]