I have a fiat client right now pulling a classic fiat move.

I shot 3 different locations, organized 6-7 actors and equipment- kayaks, a paddle board and even a sailboat.

Got a thumbs up after shoot 1 saying footage looks awesome. Knocked it out of the park for them and delivered the other 2 shoots, all the raw footage… 3 weeks later they say it’s “all unusable.”

8 years doing this professionally and I’ve never seen a client try to pull something this egregious. They’re now asking for a steeper discount (I already charged a minimum rate and over-delivered).

Does it frustrate me? Sure. But I’ll get my payment in full thanks to understanding how small claims court works :) hopefully we don’t have to go that far.

Back when I was operating a car detail business I had 2 clients refuse to pay after rendering service. Both times the threat of being served a court subpoena from a sheriff and having to cover all the legal expenses if they lose the case got them to think twice.

This is part of working for yourself. I won’t react aggressively at first. For now I’m offering to help their editor understand how to use the footage. I have a hunch this person is extremely new and just needs a little training.