worked, never got paid, guy disappeared

[jPadilla]

in october of 2007, i worked a few days as an assistant to lance gordon of lance gordon photography.

lancegordonphotography.com

being in southern california, work was stifled by the wildfires. after the fires, we talked via phone about starting up some more work but it never came through.

i have yet to be paid for the hours i worked 6 months ago and it is also possible that others, as there were usually 2-3 assistants, have also not been paid. the only contact i have is a phone number and i have left numerous messages with no response.

as i looked at the website today, the server cannot be found...

what should i do???

[ocabj]

Domain Name.......... lancegordonphotography.com
Creation Date........ 2002-12-04
Registration Date.... 2002-12-04
Expiry Date.......... 2008-12-04
Organisation Name.... Lance Gordon Photography
Organisation Address. 4521 Campus Drive Suite 427
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Irvine
Organisation Address. 92612
Organisation Address. CA
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... Lance Gordon
Admin Address........ 4521 Campus Drive Suite 427
Admin Address........
Admin Address........ Irvine
Admin Address........ 92612
Admin Address........ CA
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email.......... lancegordonphotography@yahoo.com
Admin Phone.......... 949-275-0539
Admin Fax............ 949-854-2154

Tech Name............ YahooDomains Techcontact
Tech Address......... 701 First Ave.
Tech Address.........
Tech Address......... Sunnyvale
Tech Address......... 94089
Tech Address......... CA
Tech Address......... UNITED STATES
Tech Email........... domain.tech@YAHOO-INC.COM
Tech Phone........... +1.6198813096
Tech Fax.............
Name Server.......... yns1.yahoo.com
Name Server.......... yns2.yahoo.com

[jPadilla]

i also have this address

Lance Gordon Photography
2002 Jimmy Durante Blvd
del mar, ca

but i am still unsure what to do???

[Mama Tried]

haha just what I was going to do good job!

[Mama Tried]

send a certified letter containing an invoice for your services. He will then have to sign for it and I believe with that you would have grounds to stand on if you wish to go further.

[jPadilla]

1. should i send to both addresses? both del mar and irvine? the del mar address was from his website

2. what if the letter goes unsigned?

[basroil]

1. should i send to both addresses? both del mar and irvine? the del mar address was from his website

2. what if the letter goes unsigned?

i believe he means that by having confirmed that he has received the invoice (certified mail needs to be signed for upon receipt ), then that is enough to pursue further actions if he does not reply

[jPadilla]

okay, i see now, but what if the letter comes back undeliverable?

[Mama Tried]

then go from there but that would be the first thing I would try. Send it to the one that you have and if undeliverable try the other. How much does he owe? You could take it to small claims court if he continues to not pay after the invoice.

[PhotosGuy]

Whatever rights you agreed to give him to the images, include a line in the letter that NO rights have been conveyed until you are paid in full.

[anorman]

What kind of money does he owe you? Does he already have the shots you took? One thing to look at if you dont get paid after the certified mail attempt is, is the amount of money owed worth the "legal" battle will the costs be outweighed?

[jPadilla]

i'm probably owed $200. and the work i was doing consisted of setting up lighting

[illm4k3uscr3am]

Well, you can turn him in to a creditor collection agency and they will hunt him down. I have done this for less than $10.00.

Also, domain registration is not always trustworthy. The TOS of the ICANN say you have to have it up to date but that always does not happen. I know people that just put in fake addresses so they do not have to pay for domain privacy.

[S.Horton]

I happen to be an ex bill collector.

Finding the guy, if he is alive and not hiding, is pretty easy these days.

Your best option for $200 is small claims court. Look it up in your area, call them, they'll tell you how to file the paperwork yourself.

BTW, got a contract?

[Mama Tried]

thats why I said small claims court. most of the time no attorney is needed