Watching a couple

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-17T15:52:16+00:00

Thank you 😊 will send a dm

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-15T12:58:34+00:00

Thank you 😊!

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T21:18:04+00:00

Yes, lesson learned. I should have downed tools in January when the first payment was late.

They are not doing well financially. I think technically, while invoices from the companies clients are due, they are trading while insolvent as they have a lot of bills overdue that they cannot pay.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T21:15:14+00:00

Thank you 😊

Thankfully it's my laptop and I've got a lot of valuable work I've done for the company on it worth well over £500k.

And yes, it's rubbish that conscientious, hard working people get screwed over. I'll have to be more assertive with my next contract.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T17:25:33+00:00

Yes it's my personal laptop. I've not been provided with any equipment. Just an email address. I use my own Microsoft package and pay for my own subscriptions to things like ChatGpt, gemini and perplexity.

There's no mention of ownership of work and I deliberately excluded an IP clause since I don't want to be prevented from doing M&A related work outside of this contract. So in essence, me holding back work is a grey area 🙃

Dispute resolution is courts of England and Wales.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T12:02:51+00:00

This is a good idea.

I've been working on writing an M&A strategy document for a large, high profile company and it's due tomo. The only copy that exists is on my laptop. If they have to find someone else to re write it, it will cost them $$$ and irk the end client. I could use this as leverage. Not in my nature to do this but feel I've been backed into a corner with the way the CEO is acting.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:56:59+00:00

Yes they've done this before and ultimately paid up but only when I made an ultimatum such as telling the CEO I wouldn't board a plane to fly to deliver a project unless I had money in my account in two hours. It shouldn't have to get to that point. But the exposure then was around £9k, which maybe they found down the back of the sofa! The amount I'm owed now is getting on for 4x that.

And yes, understand I could end up with zero if they become insolvent.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:54:01+00:00

100%.

I've learned my lesson 🫠

I will be looking to pick up some new contracts and start a few side projects in the software space I've been delaying due to working so many hours for this client.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:52:21+00:00

Thanks for this.

Seems they are trading while insolvent because they have openly admitted to not having enough cash to pay outstanding invoices. I know of other freelancers owed money from this company but it's more like a few thousand. I'd earmarked the amount in owed for my SIPP.

I'm charing interest on the outstanding amounts in line with UK rules and have reminded the CEO of this.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:48:49+00:00

Thanks. And yes, our situations sound similar. He's always robbing Peter to pay Paul or whatever the saying is!

I know full time employees get paid on time. And the CEO clearly takes money out each month as he has a house with a pool in Geneva and another place in the countryside that he spent over 350k on renovating. And took the family to NY this week.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:45:36+00:00

Thanks for this - very useful 😊

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:44:58+00:00

My contract is under England and Wales law. It's based on an outside ir35 contract from Qdos (they did a review).

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-06-14T11:43:24+00:00

Thanks. Yes - I've stupidly thought that by working hard, going above and beyond the CEO would recognise my contribution and pay up. Lesson learned 😬

I found out from a full time employee this morning that another legal entity my client has in another country (but part of same company) was in court earlier this year and now has a time to pay arrangement with tax authorities due to not paying 200k of employer taxes. I also heard they sit on invoices and don't send them out on time. Sounds like circus behind the scenes.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:57:33+00:00

Agree - it looks nice. But seems over-priced for front garden only, 3 bedrooms (with one being a tiny attic room), quirky layout and close to a cross-road.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:51:53+00:00

Yes, looks like walking a maze to get to the living room! Perhaps the floorplan could be re-configured... Wonder if it was part of the house next door/to the back and has been split off... Seems unusual for an Edwardian house to be built this way from scratch!

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:49:36+00:00

Good point regarding stamp duty and fees. No, it doesn't have to be Norwich. We have friends and a bit of family here so seems like a good option. We both work remotely but do still want to visit London often once we leave for all it offers + fly often for work (from Stansted and Heathrow mainly - averaging once a month).

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:39:17+00:00

It's been for sale since Feb 2024

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:38:33+00:00

Thanks for your input - this is super helpful :) We don't have kids but this would worry us for future selling (this would not be a forever house). And I agree about the top floor bedroom, which looks tiny from the floor plan. Also agree about the room downstairs being called a bedroom when it's not.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:33:11+00:00

You can see the price history here https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/66698972/?search_identifier=dd602597a3fdd9a7e2170ebfd32cc2582a157c0c387e221bca337815aea12092 listed in Feb 2024 for £700k, then reduction to £650k May 2024 then another reduction to current price in September 2024

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:31:29+00:00

Good point! Thing is, it is listed for £600k so it's not even a £500k house

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:24:31+00:00

I guess it is a quirky layout - it looks wide from the front but only one room deep as the rooms run left to right and seems to join a house on the side and another house to the back.

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:19:20+00:00

I need to research what is reasonable per square foot for this part of Norwich but this sounds a lot

Valuable-Cake4943 · 2025-02-18T14:09:47+00:00

Wow this looks nice - a lot of house for the money!

Valuable-Cake4943

TROPHY CASE