client nightmare forming

[artyswiss]

Hey Guys,

So I am under contract with a client. it was 1800 for a one minute animation. In the contract it states that anything over minute will be charged at 25 dollars a hour to the client. The final was 1:38 seconds long and I charged it based on the estimated hourly rate so it came out to be 2831 total dollars. Now, they keep asking us for changes...originally I was being nice and just charging based on the estimate...but they are giving us a lot of extra work...some of these revisions can't even be counted as revisions but definite changes to the final animation. How do I put my foot down? and is it ethical to start charging them the 25 a hour now...even though I gave them a freebee slide and charged based on the estimated hours and not actual hours. They are giving us more work after this.

What do I do? What would you do? I cant get paid until they sign my end release stating they are happy with the work and have 30 days to pay...


they are dragging the crap out of this...and I need to start paying everyone for the extra work.

 

[roxics]

I guess my first question like others would ask is, what is stated in your contract? It's typical to have a contract that specifies X number of edits or revisions included with the initial quote. Then beyond that a change control or additional revision cost would be added for every set of changes and edits.

If you expect they will offer you more work in the future, at good rates, I would put together a list of their current edits into a final statement and get them to sign off on it at the initial price you agreed upon. Express to them politely and professionally that all additional edits will require a change control and will be quoted out separately based on how many hours you believe they will take.

You can't have them ride you for an infinite number of edits. So long as you have already delivered what you first agreed on, everything above and beyond would require a new quote.

 

[artyswiss]

There in lies my issue. It was verbally agreed upon to have 2 revisions then delivery. But never stated in the contract. Hence my predicament and where I am trying to best practice some business ethics. I like your advice on having them sign off on this animation that is already completed. The final product is exactly what they wanted and exact to the storyboard. I asked them to sign off on the final agreement. But then they said there are more changes.

 

[Paunch]

then tell them they'll need to pay /hour for changes. u agreed verbally and that's all that matters. unless you like working for free, in that case i have a bunch of edits i'd like you to do for me.....and there might be a few months of revisions that i will not pay for either. see where im going? do you pay for a hotel for one hour? do you take a taxi all over town after you went to your destination and expect them to not bill you for all the additional travel?

put your foot down otherwise you'll get taken advantage of worse than a whore at bachelor party....but even hookers get paid.

 

[Steve House]

then tell them they'll need to pay /hour for changes. u agreed verbally and that's all that matters....

Not quite correct. While verbal agreements are indeed binding, verbal amendments to written agreements are not. When a written contract exists, the entire scope of the agreement exists within the 4 sides of the page and nothing outside that page exists. A written contract cannot be modified or amended verbally. So if the original agreement was a written contract, nothing that has subsequently been agreed with the client has any force unless it too was memorialized into a writing amending the original contract and signed by both parties. We don't know what the OP's original written agreement says but nothing that was discussed with the client and agreed verbally subsequent to its signing has any effect on it.