Help needed: writing a letter to recover money

[DJ James Lake]

I have a letter that I need to send to a client, but am not sure quite how to word it, any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Heres the situation.

Back in February I did a gig to raise money for charity all went well client paid in full. This was to be the first in a series of regular events to raise money for a local charity.

Immediately after the client booked another gig in June and paid deposit. A fortnight before the gig client phones and cancels but want to change date to September. As they were raising money for charity I agreed at the time as a sign of goodwill (and also because it was Friday night and had no other enquiries) to carry forward the deposit for the June gig as a deposit for the September one instead and not charge the cancellation fee stated in my contract).

Today (a day before the September gig) and after trying all week to get hold of the client regarding setup times) I managed to get hold of one of the other organisers who informed me that this gig should have been cancelled in July (news to me). The 2nd organiser says she will try and get hold of the person who booked but has the same response as me, mobile straight to voicemail.

So I decided to contact the venue and was told they had nothing booked.

Now I am extremely annoyed especially since I have bent over backwards to try and help the client. And what is more annoying is that I have turned down 3 gigs because I was booked.

I have contracts in place with a full fee payable under 30 day cancellation, and have decided that enough is enough and I would like to recover not only the full fee from this gig but also the balance from the last gig they cancelled as I feel they have broken the terms of my offer to carry the deposit over.

If any one has any ideas how to draft this letter I want it to be civil but firm if possible. Any help would be appreciated as I dont have a clue where to start.

[huma]

Well I have never had to do this but this is how I would go about doing it based on the dealings of the person who I work for. Write a letter to who ever (person or organization) signed the contract as they are legally bound, bear in mind you need to have their contact details first of course. Start of the letter with dear (whoever)

Explain you scenario (gig was booked, got canceled blah blah...) and then explain:

You have breached the terms and conditions of such and such contract and by law you are bound to pay for damages. Failure of payment for such and such contract will result in legal action (the full cost of damages and legal proceedings will be borne by you (the organization/person)

Thank you kindly

Blah blah

Also I don't think you are going to get your money back for the first gig that was canceled as you gave it up as a gesture of good will.

Another thing to think about is; that it is a charity and may not be able to afford to pay for your damages and the negative publicity (if any) could be damaging to you business.

Ultimately if they do not pay, you might need to take it to the small claims court.

As I said I have no experience in this matter but that's how I would deal with it.

Hope that helps

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

You have breached the terms and conditions of such and such contract and by law you are bound to pay for damages. Failure of payment for such and such contract will result in legal action (the full cost of damages and legal proceedings will be borne by you (the organization/person)


I would seriously suggest not doing that or wording it that way. All you will do is get people's backs up.

[DJ James Lake]

Another thing to think about is; that it is a charity and may not be able to afford to pay for your damages and the negative publicity (if any) could be damaging to you business.

Ultimately if they do not pay, you might need to take it to the small claims court.

As I said I have no experience in this matter but that's how I would deal with it.

Hope that helps It wasnt a charity though it was a private individual would wanted to setup a regular 80s night to raise money for a local charity. They were not linked to the charity in any way.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Did they sign a booking form / contract for the original July booking?
Was another booking form / contract produced for the change of date?
Did you inform them by letter / email / phone about carrying over the booking fee / deposit and did you get a confirmation from them that they understood the situation?

Sorry for all of the questions but I would have done all of the above. If they were fully aware of the situation then it should not surprise them when they receive your letter. I agree, I wouldn't word it like that. I would make it more personal to them and add something with regards to - By them signing the contract they are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions set out on the contract / booking form which includes details on cancellation charges.

Without knowing if you have done any of the above, I can't really advise as to what to write in a letter to them.

[huma]

I would seriously suggest not doing that or wording it that way. All you will do is get people's backs up.

I'm sure you're right but this was a similar resort that the person I work for had taken and provided quick results with payment after months of phone calls. I guess I was assuming the worst considering the attempts to contact the client have been in vain.

[DJ James Lake]

Did they sign a booking form / contract for the original July booking?
Was another booking form / contract produced for the change of date?
Did you inform them by letter / email / phone about carrying over the booking fee / deposit and did you get a confirmation from them that they understood the situation?

Sorry for all of the questions but I would have done all of the above. If they were fully aware of the situation then it should not surprise them when they receive your letter. I agree, I wouldn't word it like that. I would make it more personal to them and add something with regards to - By them signing the contract they are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions set out on the contract / booking form which includes details on cancellation charges.

Without knowing if you have done any of the above, I can't really advise as to what to write in a letter to them.

Yes I did all of the above. I just want to get the letter right so it doesnt come across to firm but they know I am serious about recovering the lost money.

[Excalibur]

Yes I did all of the above. I just want to get the letter right so it doesnt come across to firm but they know I am serious about recovering the lost money.

Not too firm? Ah well, I suppose I'd better take the cordless drills off charge then? :( :( :(

[Tony Scott]

you may have to let this one get away, i think i would write asking for £50 to cover costs and put it out of my mind, if the cheque arrives great....if not move on and never do a charity gig again....always grief in my experience. :)

[DJ James Lake]

you may have to let this one get away, i think i would write asking for £50 to cover costs and put it out of my mind, if the cheque arrives great....if not move on and never do a charity gig again....always grief in my experience. :)

There is definetely no way I am going to let this one go away, fair enough the first one maybe I might have done at the time but to cancel the second one as well and to not even have the courtesy to let me know.

£50 wouldn't even come close to covering costs, I turned down work and am out of pocket by roughly £300 as a result.

[Tony Scott]

There is definetely no way I am going to let this one go away, fair enough the first one maybe I might have done at the time but to cancel the second one as well and to not even have the courtesy to let me know.

£50 wouldn't even come close to covering costs, I turned down work and am out of pocket by roughly £300 as a result.

go for the throat then coz you seem quite upset by it, channel that anger into a killer letter and scare the life out of them! :D

what charity was it in aid of?

[DJ James Lake]

what charity was it in aid of?

I dunno they were supposed to be for different ones each function.

I'm not angry about it, just fed up with clients thinking it doesnt matter if they cancel gigs and dont bother to tell the dj. They managed to tell the venue ok.

[Tony Scott]

......just fed up with clients thinking it doesnt matter if they cancel gigs and dont bother to tell the dj. They managed to tell the venue ok.

fair point..:)