exwriter 3 | 250 ☆
Jan 05, 2009 | #1
I have been reading several posts over the last few weeks advising writers and customers of potential legal action against writing companies who do not pay or do not deliver work or deliver work of substandard quality and have decided that its time to set the record straight (least in respect of the position in the UK).
Some have suggested claims through the small claims court- this raises the following inherent difficulty
1) issues in relation to jurisdiction- as many of the companies responsible for cheating writers are not based in the UK they are not covered by UK legislation and therefore not subject to the same rules. This then poses a problem for the courts as to whether a claim can be substantiated against the company
2) proof- it can be virtually impossible to prove that the work submitted by the writer was of good quality or that the company did not receive a complaint of plagiarism or poor quality
3) cost of bringing an action- claims can only be heard in the small claims court for amounts under £1000. Depending on the amount claimed the price of the action increases. Given that proving the claim can be difficult as well as the jurisdiction issues many cannot afford to risk paying for initiating the action in case they lose.
A further issue that might also apply in some cases, is that as the industry is based on self employment the companies instruct the writers on the need to disclose their earnings to the Inland Revenue. I suspect that there are some out there who feel that since they are not officially attending a workplace, and that many can write for these companies without anyone knowing that they are doing so, that some have opted not to disclose their earnings to tht taxman. None of the writing companies demand proof that a writer has declared their earnings and merely reminds them of the responibility to do so. For those who have neglected to inform the tax office bringing an action in the courts will reveal their undisclosed earnings and could lead to them facing their own court action for fraud. As many writers are students using the income to subsidise their university grants I doubt that many have made such disclosure to the tax office so therefore when they do get taken for a ride by these companies they are unable to bring an action.
These companies have realised that many do not declare their earnings and this is why they are so confident that they can withhold the money the writer is entitled to without fear of an action being raised against them in the court.
It has also been pointed out that many writers are international students that are here on visas and are fearful of bringing an action in case they have breached the terms of their visa. I suspect that many of these writers have either chosen not to declare their earnings to the Inland revenue, or have not known how to disclose this information and so have errantly not disclosed their earnings. The introduction of self assessment in the UK has caused problems since its inception as it is not easy to complete. I know of many professional persons who have struggled with completion of the forms and have had to employ accountants to assist, so the ordinary lay person will find it a mine field to complete. For this reason many might consider their earnings to be undiscoverable or of such a minimal level that they will risk not getting caught for failing to disclose.
Bringing a legal action in UK is unlikely to succeed, is likely to cost the applicant money they do not have and could expose the writer to legal charges against themselves. the bet form of action would be to discontinue working for the company once there has been a problem receiving payment and put your losses down to experience, or don't start working for these companies in the first place. Learn from the experience of others and try to find companies that will pay for your time and efforts.
Some have suggested claims through the small claims court- this raises the following inherent difficulty
1) issues in relation to jurisdiction- as many of the companies responsible for cheating writers are not based in the UK they are not covered by UK legislation and therefore not subject to the same rules. This then poses a problem for the courts as to whether a claim can be substantiated against the company2) proof- it can be virtually impossible to prove that the work submitted by the writer was of good quality or that the company did not receive a complaint of plagiarism or poor quality
3) cost of bringing an action- claims can only be heard in the small claims court for amounts under £1000. Depending on the amount claimed the price of the action increases. Given that proving the claim can be difficult as well as the jurisdiction issues many cannot afford to risk paying for initiating the action in case they lose.
A further issue that might also apply in some cases, is that as the industry is based on self employment the companies instruct the writers on the need to disclose their earnings to the Inland Revenue. I suspect that there are some out there who feel that since they are not officially attending a workplace, and that many can write for these companies without anyone knowing that they are doing so, that some have opted not to disclose their earnings to tht taxman. None of the writing companies demand proof that a writer has declared their earnings and merely reminds them of the responibility to do so. For those who have neglected to inform the tax office bringing an action in the courts will reveal their undisclosed earnings and could lead to them facing their own court action for fraud. As many writers are students using the income to subsidise their university grants I doubt that many have made such disclosure to the tax office so therefore when they do get taken for a ride by these companies they are unable to bring an action.
These companies have realised that many do not declare their earnings and this is why they are so confident that they can withhold the money the writer is entitled to without fear of an action being raised against them in the court.
It has also been pointed out that many writers are international students that are here on visas and are fearful of bringing an action in case they have breached the terms of their visa. I suspect that many of these writers have either chosen not to declare their earnings to the Inland revenue, or have not known how to disclose this information and so have errantly not disclosed their earnings. The introduction of self assessment in the UK has caused problems since its inception as it is not easy to complete. I know of many professional persons who have struggled with completion of the forms and have had to employ accountants to assist, so the ordinary lay person will find it a mine field to complete. For this reason many might consider their earnings to be undiscoverable or of such a minimal level that they will risk not getting caught for failing to disclose.
Bringing a legal action in UK is unlikely to succeed, is likely to cost the applicant money they do not have and could expose the writer to legal charges against themselves. the bet form of action would be to discontinue working for the company once there has been a problem receiving payment and put your losses down to experience, or don't start working for these companies in the first place. Learn from the experience of others and try to find companies that will pay for your time and efforts.
