Freelance life: Debt recovery & the Seven Deadly Singhs

So last week I posted... Looks like I'm going to have to commence debt recovery proceedings against a UK legaltech and cloud services provider over a couple of unpaid freelance writing jobs – maybe I'll add copyright infringement to the mix as they published my content. Gonzo because I don't give a damn.

UPDATE: well I shouted loudly enough and found a friendly contact in the Accounts Department who paid within 24 hours.

It may well have been the threat of adding statutory interest – accounts departments hate that as it messes up the budgets and ledgers. However it's also worth noting, and as a long-term freelance journalist I've spotted this frequently over the years, its the accounts departments that call the shots, whereas all those editors who commission your work and rant and rage about meeting their deadlines, are totally powerless.

As to the Seven Deadly Singhs... this story relates to a now defunct legal publisher in the UK who used to have a number of Sikhs (all called Singh) in the accounts department who could prolong the bill payments process almost indefinitely by fielding calls between them.

Caller: "Hello, Mr Singh the cheque would be in the post last week and it hasn't arrived."

Accounts: "I'm Mr Singh and I most certainly didn't speak to you last week."

Ad infinitum...