<p>I would work with a signed contract or a purchase order in hand from someone responsible for paying. I would bill regularly and frequently (I would not wait until the end of the contract) and I would ensure that my contract or PO had the payment terms spelled out whether it’s net 10, net 20 or net 30 and if payment is one day late I would cease work. If Ted got involved in the contract or PO and asked why you ask for specific terms, I would tell him. Something like I was a subcontractor on some other work and I was burned and never paid. Whether you disclose his involvement or not is not relevant really and entirely up to you.</p>
<p>I think Ted paid Larry for his work 3 years ago, but I don’t know the details. </p>
<p>I’m not concerned that I won’t get paid for this new contract. I’m confident I will as the terms will be negotiated between Larry’s company and the reputable company. Larry’s company will get paid, and I’ll be paid by Larry. Larry has an incentive to keep me happy because he’d be counting on me to establish a good relationship with this company so that the client be willing to bring in more of Larry’s consultants.</p>
<p>My main concern is that as I sat across the table from Ted during the interview, my mind kept going back to the discussions I’d had with David and how unjust it was that David didn’t get paid for his work. I interacted quite a bit with David and I know the work he and his employees did was high quality. I know David has impeccable ethics. I don’t think I could put this aside if I ended up working directly with Ted, which would be the case on this new contract. And it’s not my place to confront Ted with questions about this, so it would remain an undercurrent of unresolved tension for me. </p>
<p>I’d pretty much decided yesterday that I wouldn’t take the job, but thought perhaps I was too hung up on the past and wondered how others might view the situation.</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone who weighed in with their opinions.</p>
<p>In reading your posts, I figured you weren’t going to get paid by Ted, so I didn’t think there is risk of you not getting paid this time. That’s why I said take the job.</p>
<p>It really depends on what type of person you are. I am pretty good at separating out work and my personal feeling about someone. The kind of business I am in, I wouldn’t have anyone (company) to work with if I couldn’t do that. In your case, I think it would bother you everyday to have to see Ted. If that’s the case, since you don’t need the money, then why do it.</p>
<p>My H was working as an independent contractor for a guy/company who simply stopped paying people over a year ago. He owed H about $7K, he owed others more. The reason for not paying was that the organization ran out of capital. Apparently the company was subsequently dissolved.</p>
<p>Recently, H discovered that this individual had found a new source of capital and started up a new company…in the same field. He apparently has no intention of paying the independent contractors he stiffed.</p>
<p>It’s amazing what some people get away with.</p>
<p>I used to book advertising through a small business, so did other people in our business, people with whom I chat often.</p>
<p>Two guys formed a partnership, then went bust. They owed the advertising people 5 figures. One of the guys started up his own new business and made bank, but last I heard had not paid much if anything to the advertising people. The old business went broke so he figures the debts went away with it, just the risks of business.</p>
<p>I think if a person goes BK and takes the credit hit etc to go through the process and has any assets confiscated, then, yeah, those bills do have to do away. But we saw a friend go through that, significant assets were liquidated, yet no creditor got anything out of it. But his attorney and his accountant both asked to be paid after the fact. The very guys who recommended he go BK and stiff his creditors expected to be paid because it was 'the right thing to do" Why it was right for them, but not any of the other creditors, I don’t know.</p>
<p>Sometimes it is just cost of doing business, sometimes it is more personal.</p>
<p>I personally would not want to work with someone who did not pay me, even if the financial arrangement is not directly with him. As I read your initial post I was thinking your ethical dilemma would be to mention to big new financial firm what a cheat Ted was. Go know. BTW I wouldn’t rat him out (big financial firm should have checked him out), and I would not work with him.</p>