Client refuses to pay an invoice, wants to send money instead

[Vivi]

Hello guys! This is my first time posting here, so I'm sorry if my post doesn't belong here. I didn't want to post a beware because they technically did not do anything wrong.

I'm just curious if anyone else finds this very sketchy and what you would do in my situation; I have a client who I've been trying to come to a conclusion with for a few days now, as they are refusing to pay my invoice out of the reason "they are used to sending money to the artist and don't know enough about invoices". At first, they did not want to give me their paypal email, but eventually gave it to me so I sent them the invoice, however they said  "I'm not sure how the invoice will work, I'm not seeing you on my paypal account, but just contact me from there when you are ready to be paid."

I've tried explaining that an invoice is nothing scary, they wouldn't pay anything over the agreed amount of money and I'm the one who pays the taxes, and also the fact we are both protected by my terms of service under an invoice. I've also added that it's my legal obligation to send an invoice to all customers. They did not accept the invoice yet but instead said that they would prefer to send me money as they don't know enough about invoices. After this, I had canceled the commission, however my friend is telling me I may have canceled too quickly. I'm just scared of being scammed.

What do you think about this? 🙂 

Thank you!

 

Edit: I did not start their commission yet. 🙂

Edited January 15, 2021 by Ricuu

[Artconomy]

You made the right move. There is no way that they've never gotten an invoice for a service before, and if they haven't, then they probably shouldn't be commissioning art. The invoice protects you and the client. Even if they 'don't know anything about them', if they wanted your art badly enough, they could open it up and read it and pay. The idea that trying to read and comprehend an invoice is too high a hill to climb to keep you and the client safe makes no sense.

In short: Even if they legitimately don't understand invoices and were confused by it, you don't want to do business with them. It's not worth the hassle, and you don't know what other fundamental thing about the transaction they won't understand, which is a customer service nightmare.

[Vivi]

2 minutes ago, Artconomy said:

You made the right move. There is no way that they've never gotten an invoice for a service before, and if they haven't, then they probably shouldn't be commissioning art. The invoice protects you and the client. Even if they 'don't know anything about them', if they wanted your art badly enough, they could open it up and read it and pay. The idea that trying to read and comprehend an invoice is too high a hill to climb to keep you and the client safe makes no sense.

In short: Even if they legitimately don't understand invoices and were confused by it, you don't want to do business with them. It's not worth the hassle, and you don't know what other fundamental thing about the transaction they won't understand, which is a customer service nightmare.

Ahh thank you, that makes me feel more at ease that I made the right call. 😄

At first, they also only gave me their name and no email.. But they claim they've commissioned many artists before. I don't know, it just doesn't quite add up..

[bimshwel]

There have been a few people who insisted on initiating payment to me before I was ready to send an invoice and I had no issues with it. However, if someone is being deliberately evasive and you can't find past evidence that they get on well with artists and pay for what they request then being cautious makes sense.

[Vivi]

2 minutes ago, bimshwel said:

There have been a few people who insisted on initiating payment to me before I was ready to send an invoice and I had no issues with it. However, if someone is being deliberately evasive and you can't find past evidence that they get on well with artists and pay for what they request then being cautious makes sense.

I see! Are you able to apply your ToS anywhere? I'm scared of chargebacks and things like that, it's easier to defend your case if the terms of service are clear and included with the invoice.

[bimshwel]

I think I only ever refunded one person who tried to pay for a commission, because I had not yet agreed to it.  I base what I charge on the specific subject matter so I never take unsolicited payments up front.   I definitely prefer to use invoices, because I know shifty people who get art and then try to force refunds are out there.  So far I have usually been able to determine where clients come from or who else they know, so that provides a small sense of security.  Someone I never heard of through email, though, I would be wary of.

[Eden]

I think you are right to feel wary about this.  "I sent the payment, sorry it's not showing up for you on Paypal.  Start anyway?" is a common scam, and is a lot harder to pull off when you can see if someone's opened and read your invoice.  I think you dodged a bullet, honestly.

[Vivi]

1 minute ago, Celestina said:

I think you are right to feel wary about this.  "I sent the payment, sorry it's not showing up for you on Paypal.  Start anyway?" is a common scam, and is a lot harder to pull off when you can see if someone's opened and read your invoice.  I think you dodged a bullet, honestly.

They did mention they didn't see my name on their PayPal, but I know that's gotta be false since I already sent them an invoice by that point (I sent it the previous day).

 

Thanks! ❤️

[VosurAekira]

I've seen only the commissioner-side of invoices (never made one myself), but I know that by default Paypal sends a copy to the email-listed for the recipient's Paypal account and also puts up a notice of a "To be paid" or "Requires attention" (or something else of that effect) on the main-page when the person accesses their account. Invoices that are awaiting-payment usually get put to the forefront while other already-performed activity gets separated. Next time I get an invoice, I may have to screenshot it to show how it looks (with censoring PII of course).

[Vivi]

12 hours ago, VosurAekira said:

I've seen only the commissioner-side of invoices (never made one myself), but I know that by default Paypal sends a copy to the email-listed for the recipient's Paypal account and also puts up a notice of a "To be paid" or "Requires attention" (or something else of that effect) on the main-page when the person accesses their account. Invoices that are awaiting-payment usually get put to the forefront while other already-performed activity gets separated. Next time I get an invoice, I may have to screenshot it to show how it looks (with censoring PII of course).

Ahh, I'd greatly appreciate a screenshot!

I have done commissions a few years ago, where people sent me money via the services option, but I don't remember a way of attaching any of my terms and conditions, and if I remember correctly, the money was delivered and sent to my PayPal balance without approval from my side.. It's why I switched over to always sending invoices to clients. Can you elaborate how a commissioner can send an invoice and not just a payment in itself? I'd appreciate it a ton! ❤️ 

[VosurAekira]

I'll drop this here for the how-to for sending an invoice. https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-create-and-send-an-invoice-faq3144

Now, when I get an invoice to pay, I'll see if I can make a step-by-step on how the commissioner sends the payment through the invoice. I have to wait until Thursday first though.

Edit: Here is the text-based instructions on how to do it from paypal's site: https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-pay-a-money-request-or-invoice-faq2206

Edited January 17, 2021 by VosurAekira

[Vivi]

11 hours ago, VosurAekira said:

I'll drop this here for the how-to for sending an invoice. https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-create-and-send-an-invoice-faq3144

Now, when I get an invoice to pay, I'll see if I can make a step-by-step on how the commissioner sends the payment through the invoice. I have to wait until Thursday first though.

Edit: Here is the text-based instructions on how to do it from paypal's site: https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-pay-a-money-request-or-invoice-faq2206

Oh, I don't believe I was clear - I know how to send an invoice, it's just that the commissioner refused to pay this way. They wanted to pay via the "send payment" option. Thank you anyway though. 🙂

[VosurAekira]

Ah, okay. Sorry for the confusion on that. And to be honest, if they do a "Send payment" there is a chance they may accidentally use "Friends and Family", which is unwise on multiple parts (could harm the artist if the artist receives too many payments like that, prevents disputes/claims if a situation arises within the normal 180 day window, ect.).

If you need to, simply mentioning about the preventing of disputes and claims might deter some people from trying to use the "Send Payment" and might encourage them to request an invoice.

[VosurAekira]

BBCode doesn't seem to like me here, so I'll drop links to the images, let me know if they work here.

This is how an email-notice for an invoice looks to the recipient.
https://i.imgur.com/SUYCHPU.png

Here's what they would see on their paypal dashboard page
https://i.imgur.com/zHO8BQg.png

If they go to their activity-page, they will see this:
https://i.imgur.com/4tA2uKg.png

After they find their invoice, this is what they should see:
https://i.imgur.com/UxdjeLK.png

And lastly, this will be be in the pop-up page for paying for the invoice: (note, it may be in a small-window that does not fit everything in it like this)
https://i.imgur.com/A5YVFAf.png

Edited January 20, 2021 by VosurAekira