I feel so defeated, and have that really uncomfortable feeling in my chest where I know I’ve been wronged but have no idea how to remedy it. The worst part is that it’s partly my fault. I am, of course, referring to my last post, when my ex-magazine didn’t pay me for my interview and went and published it without my name anywhere to be seen.
I called my other ex-boss (the guy who hung up on me’s wife – they own the company together) last night, and spoke to her. She went on and on about how she never agreed to pay me (she should have clarified that I’d be contributing for free, and I really should have discussed a price before agreeing to anything – UGH I’M SO STUPID!), and that my work quality was poor and apparently they had to ‘completely redo everything at the last minute’, and they didn’t use any of the photos I provided. On top of that, she claims that they have other contributors that are willing to do it for free for ‘exposure’. I pointed out that I didn’t get any exposure, and that the contributor she referred to was a photographer who got paid for taking the wedding photos he later submitted to the magazine! It’s not like the magazine asked him to go do something specifically for them for free with no credit!
I hadn’t actually read the interview at the time, so after we hung up I opened up my original document and the published interview to compare them. The title was the same, the lead (introductory text that’s in bigger font than the main text) was the same, and in general, everything was the same except some industry-standard editing throughout the piece. Plus, they used at least 4 of the photos I provided! How is that ‘redoing everything’???
The only thing is, I don’t know if I can take them to court since she’s right and we didn’t set a price, and it’s such a hassle. But at the same time if I don’t do ANYTHING I’ll always feel bad about this. What do I do? I was considering writing to the local paper in HK, at least try and smear their name a bit (people should know how shady they are!!) and hope their business goes down the drain. Sigh.
Any suggestions?? I could use ‘em…
5 comments
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October 19, 2008 at 4:55 am
Lindsay
You can definitely take him/her/them to Court. You might not have had a contract but there are certain pseudo-legal theories that will help you. First one coming to mind is Unjust Enrichment which basically says that one party cannot benefit at the expense of another, as they are doing here. You’d likely have to show that what they used was in fact your work [aka show the original].
October 20, 2008 at 1:49 am
Andrea
OMG I am SO Sorry. I have no advice, except that I would take the documentation that you have and tell the truth. You are right that you will always regret if you don’t do anything. At least if you try and get nothing, you will have tried and lost? Hope that helps. Man.. that is the crapiest thing. SO sorry.
October 20, 2008 at 2:54 pm
艾米
No one will sign any contract for freelancing, it’s not what we practise in the industry. She said she never agree to pay you but on the other hand she never said the whole deal is for free! Who does she think she is? Vouge? That everyone is dying to have theor works seen in the mag? Of coz you should talk about the price beforehand, but even if you didn’t, it doesn’t mean that she could assume it’s for free!If she think someone else can do the same thing you did for free, then why didn’t she ask that guy instead of you? That’s just a load of crap!! I am not familiar with the law, I might not give you any suggestion on that, but you should not give up!! Support you!
October 22, 2008 at 4:22 am
Jenn
If the money you’re missing is worth it, take them to court!
October 22, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Larissa
No suggestions on the legal matters. But man, that SUCKS.