question re: pay issue

[gatitosmommy]

Awhile back, I did 4 projects for a company.
When I first approached the person representing the company, this was what I was told first:
Will $15-$20 work for comprehensive 800 words article?
Upon receiving the details about what they wanted, I asked for specifics, and was told:
Regarding the rate let's keep it at $16 per piece if I find some to be long with a lot of details I'll pay bonus.
I felt the amount & terms were fair, so I completed two sets of articles, and was told they were great, and that they wanted more material from me.

However, the two following sets they asked for included the following instructions:
For each article I want you to give me a short 150-160 words summary of the article as to what it will be about so I can write that in the "meta-description" of our website so that users know what is the article about before clicking.
After I completed them, I left the "bonus" up to the company, did not receive any bonus, and when I asked about it I didn't receive a reply.

While I was working on the material, I was asked to come up with topics for more projects. I suggested one, and was told they definitely wanted the material but wanted me to do these projects first. The only reason I didn't press the issue of the bonus was I figured I could "recoup" my losses by making $ on this additional project. However, I was told:
Not starting any new project, we took a significant loss with recent Google Panda Update and we have cut a lot of work from various angles. Will contact you once we have recovered. When they did start hiring again, I asked about this project and was told they were no longer dealing with those kinds of topics.

IMHO, they owe me for those 29 summaries, as the summaries certainly met the terms of making the articles longer & more detailed. While there's probably not a snowball's chance in * that I'll be paid for them, I'm wondering if you guys agree that they owe me for them?

[megank]

You should have been paid, but without arranging for that before doing the work, I think you're out of luck. They may have assumed you didn't mind doing it for what you were already paid.

[gatitosmommy]

Originally Posted by megank

You should have been paid, but without arranging for that before doing the work, I think you're out of luck. They may have assumed you didn't mind doing it for what you were already paid.

You make a good point there.
I guess instead of leaving it up to them to follow through with what they said, I should have arranged for it in advance.

[karmicwindows]

Chances are you will have to write it off as a loss. Always remember to get everything in writing even if you're not requesting a contract. For collection purposes, a non contractual written agreement is still just as binding as a contract when seeking to get paid.

In my case, when being offered a bonus I seek an estimated percentage and information as to what they consider work worth a bonus to ensure that all possibilities are covered.

[bax]

Unless you reached some sort of agreement regarding those summaries, I actually don't think they owe you anything. When they asked for the summaries, you should have said, "no problem, how much do they pay?" Especially when working with a new company, don't assume they'll be fair regarding bonuses or extra payment unless you have a contract or some sort of (very specific) agreement beforehand.

Sorry this happened, though! I know it's frustrating.