Hello fellow freelancers, (and moderators who hate me right now) i want to ask you some questions.
We all fell in trap with… deceiving clients, that pay only upfront 50% and then disappear?
Did we? Because that happened to me, so im asking if it is possible to create some sort of
thread containing info about those clients, helping other freelancers to not get robbed?
Im just asking for a civilized discussion on the matter because me myself have some doubts but at the same time i
do believe such directory can help.
Do you mean something like that: https://forums.unrealengine/showthread.php?31395-Scam-Reports-amp-Tips ? 
(EDIT) – Just saw 's post. That seems like a great resource, thanks for linking that man. I wasn’t aware it existed. –
While I’ve personally had some clients drop off the planet and cut off contact, I’ve never had a client not pay in full for a product. This is due to me always holding off on sending any assets until after payment has been made in full. It’s a stipulation that can be difficult to convince a client for, but if you want to deter a client from behaving this way, it seems to be the best solution that I’ve found. Of course, once a working relationship has been established, I’m much more open with a client, but trust has to be established.
The costs have to be weighed when deciding on how best to transfer goods between a client and contractor that’s mutually beneficial. I see the artist as ultimately having the most to lose, especially when constant progress checkpoints have been made with the client, showing that a product is indeed ready to be paid. If an artist has had minimal interaction with a client, and the artist is attempting to receive payment without strong proof of completion, then the client has every right to deny payment and/or walk.
It’s a crappy thing to happen to you Samb, and I sympathize. I think some form of awareness should be made in the community about clients that are chronically dishonest/untrustworthy, but I fear such a directory getting out of hand due to trolls, excessive argument/slander, and reactionary parties. Because of all of these possibilities this directory would most likely have to be moderated to the extreme, and I can’t see Epic wanting to deal with that, let alone support the condemnation of specific users/parties (I think it infringes on terms of agreement)?
There may be a better solution out there to keep freelancers informed, and I’d be interested in discussing what that could be. Thanks for starting the conversation Samb, and good luck freelancing. I really dig your stylized works.
- Stephan
feel for you Samb, it happened to me once. thats a good thread .
there are also those clients that say they want x and pay then start to demand y and z without paying for it, that has happened to me also.
then there are those that pay half upfront, take your ‘prototype’ or ‘proof of concept’ work then disappear with it.
even the ‘big’ clients that are really legit can sometimes force more work out of you then they paid for.
thats just how it is with freelance work unfortunately, you try to be careful but there is plenty of room to be scammed in 1 form or another.
no i wont name and shame anyone.
edit:
to not paint such a bleak picture of freelancing there are also plenty of honest and trustworthy clients out there.
just try your best to cover all the bases.