How to Get Paid Money You Are Owed

Sometimes employers or clients don't pay the people they owe money to. If it happens to you, and somebody owes you money for work your performed, it can be hard to know where to turn for help collecting the money. This article will provide that help.

Things You'll Need

• Accurate records of your numbers
• Physical and email addresses for the people and companies that owe you money

Instructions

1. 

   Organize all of your paperwork and numbers. Go back through emails and retrieve any that may prove you are owed money. If you have a contract, read through it again to re-familiarize yourself with the language and stipulations.

2. 

   Compile physical and email addresses for the people and/or companies that owe you money. You are going to send your demand letter to everybody and anybody related to the individual or company. The squeeky wheel gets the grease, and you want to be very queeky. If you don't know the addresses, search for them on the internet. Using www.whois.com to find physical and email addresses for registered domain names can be helpful, as well as simple searches like Google.

3. 

   Write your demand letter. Be civil and polite but firm. If you have a contract, tell them they are in default (or in breach) and that you demand a cure. Try to echo the language in the contract. If you are/were an employee (as opposed to an independent contractor) you are in luck- you have the Labor Commission on your side. Demand payment and give them a deadline for either a response to your demand, or full payment. You may chose to tell them if they don't pay, you will be either filing a lawsuit (if you are an independent contractor) or appealing to the Labor Commission (if you are/were an employee).

4. 

   At the bottom of your letter, write "This letter is not an entire statement of the relevant facts, and does not prejudice or waive any claim that I have in law or equity against Company or any third party with respect to this matter." Not only does that language protect your rights, it makes your letter seem as if it was prepared with the aid of an attorney. Sign it, "Very Truly Yours,"

5. 

   Attach any emails or contracts that you compiled in Step 1. If you are threatening to file a lawsuit, find out your local procedure for how to file a lawsuit (you don't need an attorney) and fill out the appropriate paperwork. Without actually filing the lawsuit (yet), you can attach a copy of the paperwork to your demand letter to show them you are ready to pull the trigger. If you do decide to file the lawsuit, it will usually cost a few hundred dollars. If that still hasn't shaken the money loose, you may decide to see the suit through: you can do that without the aid of an attorney, although you may have to do some research along the way to deal with the specifics of the suit. If you threaten to appeal to the Labor Commission, you can, likewise, get the appropriate paperwork to file a claim, make a copy (without actually filing, yet), and attach it to your demand letter.

6. Send the letters out. Send the physical letters via certified mail. Do not be afraid to be redundant in your sending: if you have both a physical address and an email address for a person, send both forms of the letter.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to precede your demand letter with a more personal appeal to the owner of the company or the single individual who owes you money. If that doesn't work, write your demand letter and include something like, "You have not responded to my previous inquiries."

• Keep good records of what money was owed to you on what dates. Being organized will help you seem more on top of things and will aid you in creating your letter.

• Be careful of threatening to file a lawsuit if you do not intend to follow through with it. It can degrade your integrity if they call your bluff and you do not follow through with it.

• Don't get personal, it's all business.

• Don't get emotional, stay professional.